PROS & CONS

OEROpen Educational

Resources

“OER Pros & Cons” by Melinda Weatherford

Image: Is licensing really the most important question for OER? by opensource.com is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

What are Open Educational Resources?

Open Educational Resources (OER), as defined by OER Commons, are “teaching and learning materials that you may freely use and reuse, without charge.”

Flat World Knowledge: Open College Textbooks by Libby Levi for opensource.com is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Pro Con

Significant financial savings for students

Lack of faculty awareness and understanding of OER

Unknown effects on student learning

Benefits and Challenges of OER

Piggybank by Freepik is licensed under CC BY 3.0

Pro Con

Students can have immediate access to course materials as soon as class starts

Once something is licensed under Creative Commons, the license is not revocable

Benefits and Challenges of OER

Locked padlockby Freepik is licensed under CC BY 3.0Clock time tool by Freepik is licensed under CC BY 3.0

Pro Con

OER course materials can be in a variety of formats; print, digital

Quality control of materials; there is no organized peer review or editing process

Benefits and Challenges of OER

Educational book by Freepik is licensed under CC BY 3.0

Pro Con

Course materials can be easily updated and adapted

Extended access to course material

Providing proper attributions for licensed materials can be cumbersome and confusing

Benefits and Challenges of OER

Pro Con

Wider access to materials and increased collaboration among faculty

Time consuming and difficult for faculty to find OER to replace textbooks

Desired materials not always available

Benefits and Challenges of OER

Two businessmen hands salutation by Freepik is licensed under CC BY 3.0