3. Open Educational Resources and the Case for Prioritizing, Using, Finding, and
3. Open Educational Resources and the Case for Prioritizing, Using, Finding, and Sharing OER Content | Readings
Anita R. Walz
In this section, we introduce and describe characteristics of open educational resources (OER), describe ways of using OER, methods of locating existing OER, and review pros and cons of OER for PreK-12 teachers.
Learning Objectives
Learners should be able to:
- Define and differentiate open educational resources (OER) versus free resources.
- Describe the general level of awareness regarding OER in PreK-12 contexts.
- Articulate the work required to adopt OER.
- Try on a posture of “planning to share”.
- Reflect on one’s own current practice of sharing (or not sharing) under open licenses.
Assignment
- Adapt or create a 10-15 minute interactive presentation and transcript you can use to introduce teachers to open educational resources. If you use materials that you did not create yourself, make sure that you have some sort of permission to use them, and be sure to attribute them (if required).
- Choose an open license for your presentation and write one paragraph regarding why you selected that particular license.
Introducing Open Educational Resources
Imagine finding a resource that fits your course. It fits how you or your collaborator tend to teach. It has nearly all of the features you need and want. It aligns with course objectives or learning standards. It would help students to understand key concepts and relationships and extend their knowledge to other situations or tasks. The reading level is appropriate for your students. You believe it will help students to collaborate with each other when critically evaluating and assessing information, and that students will perceive the subject material as relevant. It is already free online too. It is as close to perfect as it gets! You want to incorporate it into your course materials and share your version with your colleagues.
Beyond these characteristics, what sort of upfront permission do you find most useful? Your answer might be something like this: “I want to be able to copy and share it” or “I want to be able to edit it to fit my students’ needs and make copies for my students” or “I want my students to adapt or build on this as part of their learning.”
Using open educational resources may help educators get there.
The three main things to know about OER are:
- OER are freely and publicly available,
- OER have some form of upfront permission that allows free use, adaptation, and sharing, and
- OER can be exhibited in a variety of formats.
Something Greater Than “Free” is Here: OER versus Free Resources
Educators especially value the ability to adapt and share. Freely-shared educational materials, especially ones that are thoughtfully designed, reviewed, described, and released in a way that maximizes the potential for others to find, evaluate, and use them can greatly expand a teacher’s toolbox. However, low awareness exists among teachers regarding how OER are dif