OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES:BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES

Erica CoeDean of Library, Learning Resources, & eLearningOlympic College

"Why Open Education? " by Giulia Forsythe, BCcampus

OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES: BENEFITS

Lower cost for students by replacing textbooks and other costly resources

Collaborate with faculty around the world to create resources

Facilitate peer review of materials and encourage continuous improvement

Provide access to people around the world who may not otherwise have access to college

Foster understanding of copyright issues and open resources by encouraging students to use open resources in their coursework

Increase student engagement with assignments by asking them to make their deliverables open for use by future students in the course and others across the world

OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES: CHALLENGES

Selecting sources can be time consuming and not all subject areas have well developed and vetted open resources

Developing, revising, and maintaining materials can also be time-intensive

Open textbooks may not include test banks or other ancillary materials

Some colleges may not recognize the value of creating open educational resources for tenure purposes

Some courses, like those preparing students for specific certifications, may have to use proprietary texts and materials