What

To be successful as an educational framework, open education needs to have resources that are free, accessible, and that contain information that is on par with that of post secondary or vocational training. According to Friesen (2009) the 2002 UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) Forum on the Impact of Open Courseware for Higher Education in Developing Countries, sponsored by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation was the first to endorse the term open education resources. They found that these resources were to be open, enabled by information and communication technology, and could be adapted and modified by a group provided it was done for non-commercial purposes. Conole and Brown (2018) further argue that since the inception of open education resources in 2002, they are having an increasingly greater effect on education thanks in part to new digital technologies and social media. 

So What

As high-lit by Friesen and later Conole and Brown, there are a number of essential items that make educational resources open. The first of such is that the open resources must not be put forth for commercial purposes. The rationale that follows is anything that is commercialized is difficult to keep unbiased. Funding has a tendency to foster a bent towards information that favours the funder. The second of such is that monetizing a resource goes against the primary goal of open access. It is not reasonable to have a resource that is used for commercial purposes and to consider it open for all. 

Another point of note is that OERs according to Conole and Brown should adhere to the following framework as discussed by Wiley (2007):

  • Reuse – use the work verbatim, just exactly as you found it
  • Revise – alter or transform the work so that it better meets your needs
  • Remix – combine the (verbatim or altered) work with other works to better meet your needs
  • Redistribute – share the verbatim work, the reworked work, or the remixed work with others.

This framework (later including a fifth part, Retain – the right to make, own and control copies) is important as it established a solid criteria of what makes a viable OER. On a final note, it should be stated that Conole and Brown also point out that OERs are not always a positive resource, just because they are open. Rather, like any resource, it is a matter of how that resource is used and appropriated that makes it good. Just because I plan to use an open resource in my practice does not necessarily make it a good choice. There is a great amount of care that needs to be taken, regardless of the type of the resource, to ensure it is a proper fit for a given lesson. 

Furthermore, just because a resource is touted as an OER, does not mean that everyone throughout the world has access to it. OERs that are web based are only accessible by people with a strong enough internet connection to view the information. They also need computers that are powerful enough to stream the media on the websites. Other open access platforms such as online lectures and MOOCs (Massive Open Online Course) have the same requirements as above, but often also require an individual to be available at a certain time to participate. 

Now What

Surprisingly enough, other than social media and learning platforms such as Youtube and Pinterest, I have seldom heard about open educational resources; especially those that are more formal such as MIT courseware, Open Learn, and World Lecture Project. Learning this has been unexpected given that I completed my education degree in 2011, after OERs had been standardized. That said, I have been missing out on potentially valuable learning resources for a long period of time. Since reading these articles about OERs, I have spent a considerable amount of time on MITOpenCourseWare and found it useful in numerous ways. First, OERs such as this provides me with a well laid out plan for learning a new skill or language. Second, these OERs provide me with a new avenue to access information for students (or have the students access it) regarding content I may be unfamiliar with. Ultimately, I plan to spend a great deal of time looking at OERs in the future to incorporate into potential learning avenues for students.