OPEN EDUCATION RESOURCES: PROS AND CONSCreated by Josh Krone for “How to Use Open Education Resources (OER) Winter Cohort 1”This work Licensed under CC BY NC SA 4.0

A FEW BENEFITS Creative Commons Licensing provides clear

usage requirements/restrictions for the end user. This saves time tracking down owner’s rights to media.

These resources are provided for free! Provides access to education/knowledge for

those with barriers to traditional methods. Provides a means of sharing creative works

while providing protection from plagiarism. Presents alternative approaches to subject

matter that may be helpful as a supplemental resource to students.

CONCERNS Unless an OER is presented by a “trusted source” (MIT, etc.)

it is up to the instructor/department to validate the resource. Since there is a vast amount of information accessible, this is a daunting task.

Social acceptance of a work does not guarantee it’s accuracy. This could lead to “truth by popularity” which is very misleading and confusing for the learner. The teaching professional has the knowledge to determine validity, but how does the student?

Though highly accessible, OERs are not well understood by students or instructors. Most don’t understand the difference between public domain or the CC licenses.

OER courses may be misunderstood by students to provide some sort of degree or accreditation.

Most OERs require some form of technology to access, not to mention reliable internet connection.