I have been interested in the nature of OER, Open Educational Resources, and their impact in education. Researching the term ‘open,’ I find confirmation that this means that resources are freely accessible. Unfortunately, what I’ve noticed about some OER that I have used in the past is that they now require memberships to access their rich resources; a few resources are posted, so one gets a flavor of the site, and then one can then choose whether to pay to join. Obviously, the idea of many of these ventures is that – yes, one starts as an OER, sees if there is interest, and then one switches to a pay model, or one may be offered a buyout, as the site is seen as reputable and profitable.
How does one maintain a high quality OER to keep it as such? What is the current viewpoint on OER? These are the questions that are top in my mind. As TLs we know technology and reliable trustworthy sites shift, and it is part of our job to keep up with these trends. Thus, here is another. What are the most useful OERs for our teachers? Like other resources, we know that the OER and their materials must be relevant to our learners and to our standards.
Seeing what’s available about OER, I find a seemingly trivial lawsuit that brings up more questions for me. Great Minds, named OER, is providing materials for educators, and is currently suing FedEx because FedEx, a third party, is reproducing its materials for a school teacher/district, and is making profit. Going onto the Great Minds site, I see that curricula is for sale. Oooh – so these materials are freely accessible for a price, not free. My understanding is askew. These educational materials are optional to support curricula. Here’s another hat TLs could wear: do research to find worthwhile curricula for its teachers/school to pay for.
Searching some more, Smith (2016) writes that’s “The BCOER Librarians are a group of librarians in British Columbia that have come together and emerged as a successful community of practice on librarians and OER.” Smith (2016) comments that the definition of OERs does vary. Here is one definition fromT he William and Flora Hewlett Foundation that is used by many and aligns with my original understanding:
OER are teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use and re-purposing by others. Open educational resources include full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge (Hewlett Foundation, n.d., para. 1).
Further, Smith (2016) writes that “[b]ecause of their free and open nature, OER are a possible solution to the textbook affordability crisis by making education more affordable to students.” Studies have been conducted to see the positive, negative, or negligible effects of using OERs. Here is an article led by John Hilton III (updated 2016) to review for its report as well as commentary by others. Overall, within university settings, students perform as well, and at times better than students using traditional textbooks. This review is located on a site that is dedicated to ongoing research on the effects of OER.
References
Christou, C (2017). Preserving OERs for the future. Information Today, 34(2), 1-2.
Hills, III, J. & Mason, S. (2016). Review [online website]. Retrieved from http://openedgroup.org/review
Smith, B. (2016). Librarians and OER: Cultivating a community of Practice To Be More Effective Advocates. Journal of Library & Information Services in Distance Learning, 11(1-2), 106-122. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1533290X.2016.1226592
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We are adding OERs to our trend assignment. I have some interest in understanding how they can be used in school libraries – what the drawbacks are as I clearly see benefits. One of the things I wonder about is related to time in creating a OER. The other has to do with the issue you bring up around creation and selling. Most school districts have buried in Board policy an intellectual property clause – claim IP of curriculum work developed for the school. IOW they own your work, not you. I have never seen this claimed – but I wonder about it and how it might work with OERs. So when it becomes something that is sold by either you on something like teachers paying teachers, or co-opted as the example you mention IP becomes very sticky. Also I think paying is a philosophical violation of OERs but since we monetize EVERYTHING it is hardly surprising.