OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES BENEFITS & CHALLENGES

By Dr. Jill Snyder

Benefits Improved understanding of public domain and open resources Increased access to resources Increased learning opportunities for students Improves understanding of copyright and attribution Improves the visibility of courses.

Challenges Time consuming to set up & maintain Locating relevant resources Accessibility Access to the web Digital literacy

Improved Understanding of Public Domain and Open Resources

Faculty will obtain the knowledge/training in public domain and open resources in determining how these resources can be implemented in the classroom.

Faculty trained in public domain and open resources can share their knowledge and experience with other faculty.

Benefits

Increased Access to Resources

Faculty can provide access to additional resources for the benefit of students at no cost.

The open resources can replace or complement a textbook. Faculty can instruct students how to locate sources relevant to

their course of study.

Benefits

Increased learning opportunities for students

Faculty can train students the use, citation, and location of domain and open resources to enhance their learning.

The additional resources can contribute to an environment of teaching students to think critically.

Benefits

Improves understanding of copyright and attribution

The study of public domain and open resources leads to an improved understanding of copyright and attribution.

The use of public domain and open resources leads to a campus environment of integrity by focusing on understanding copyright and attribution rules.

Benefits

Improves the visibility of courses.

The use of public domain and open resources leads to an understanding of the need to provide access to students with disabilities.

The use of public domain and open resources leads to an understanding of how to provide accessible course content.

Accessible course content benefits all students by providing multiple means of accessing the content which can enhance learning.

The study of public domain and open resources leads to an understanding of the instructor’s legal and ethical obligations with regard to accessibility.

Benefits

Time consuming to set up & maintain

Time is required to learn about public domain and open resources. to locate relevant sources to study the proper use and attribution of the sources to update links and continually check to make sure the existing

links work.

Challenges

Locating relevant resources

Locating relevant resources may require the study of public domain and open resources.

Locating relevant resources requires practice requiring additional planning time.

Challenges

Accessibility

Faculty not aware of the legal and ethical obligations of providing accessible content may create a less than optimal learning environment.

Challenges

Access to the web

Students may not have access to the internet to view the resources.

Students may not have sufficient bandwidth to view the resources.

Challenges

Digital literacy

Students may not have the skills in digital literacy to effectively use the online content.

A lack of digital literacy required to use the online resources may negatively impact retention.

Challenges