Using Open Educational Resources: Benefits & Challenges

Jodi Ruback

Benefit

There is no cost which makes them readably accessible.

Challenge

They are not reviewed like formal texts and publisher released materials are which means that the quality cannot be guaranteed.

Affordable

Benefit

Anyone can access these at any time, anywhere using a variety of technology.

Challenge

There is a wide variety of material to sift through and this may overwhelm users as they try to determine which resources they should/should not use and the quality of the resource.

Readily Available

BenefitUsers can access course content on topics of interest without enrolling in classes. An additional plus is that many open courses come from well-known universities.

Challenge Lack of engagement with peers and instructors may be challenging to users when questions arise on content.Potential for confusion about course completion vs. the earning of credit and/or certificates of completion.

No Formal Enrollment Required

BenefitMaterial is available on a wide range of topics and in a variety of formats meaning users can now access open classes in areas they are interested in.

Challenge Sustaining open classes may be challenging because funding for projects may not be guaranteed.Without continuous updates of open course materials the information included could potentially quickly become out of date.

Wide Array of Courses/Topics to Choose From

BenefitCan be used with proper attribution which eliminates copyright issues.

Open licenses allow for material to be adapted or improved upon by users.

Challenge Users must have knowledge of creative commons licenses and the public domain and understand how materials need to be attributed.

Openly Licensed

Personally, I think the benefits outweigh the challenges in using open educational resources, but if you are still not convinced:

Take the time to explore the open resources that are out there. And, this about how you could use them to supplement or expand upon your current curricula.

You may find that there is much you can use that has already been created, or at the very least you may get some fresh ideas.

So, now what?