OPEN EDUCATION RESOURCES (OER) FOR TRANSITIONAL STUDIES STUDENTSOPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGESMEREDITH LYNCH CC BY-NC-SA

OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

• Opportunities• Equity• Choice• Accessibility• Flexibility• Collaboration

• Challenges• Sustainability• Quality• Non-revocability • Accessibility • Connectivity

OPPORTUNITY: EQUITY

• Free OER materials expand educational opportunities for low-income students.

• Students do not have to wait for financial aid funds to arrive before accessing the course materials.

OPPORTUNITY: CHOICE

• OER offers instructors many options so that we can choose what is best for our students

OPPORTUNITY: ACCESSIBILITY

• OER can be modified to accommodate students with disabilities

• OER can also be adapted for multilingual learners

OPPORTUNITY: FLEXIBILITY

Because they are free, OER allows students to access and preview materials before a course begins. Similarly, they can keep the resources to use in the future (no need to sell back last quarter’s book to buy next quarter’s book).

OPPORTUNITY: COLLABORATION

• Instructors can work together to develop materials

• Once developed, materials may be updated and revised by others (if given the proper license)

CHALLENGE: SUSTAINABILITY

• Maintaining OER requires time and work• Initial funding may run out• Overworked faculty may struggle to find time to maintain OER

materials

CHALLENGE: QUALITY

• With so many options available, faculty might find it challenging to assess the quality of each resource

• Faculty might also disagree on matters of quality

CHALLENGE: NON-REVOCABILITY

• Once an OER is made available, the creator cannot “recall” it• The creator of the resource can remove the license, but the resources

already in use will remain in use

CHALLENGE: ACCESSIBILITY

• While OER offers great opportunities and flexibility in terms of accessibility, locating resources that are already accessible can be a challenge

• However, as awareness of accessibility increases, this challenge may become less of a barrier

CHALLENGE: CONNECTIVITY

• Some of our students struggle with reliable internet access, and due to work and family commitments, might have trouble finding time to use campus computers

• We will face the challenge of communicating the necessity of internet access when students enroll in courses using OER

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?