Open Educational Resources

Black Hole or Treasure Trove?

Jacqueline GeorgeSeattle Central Community College28 April 2014

OER Challenge #1• Dizzying array of

choices

OER Challenge #2• Is the material

credible?• Can I dive right in or

should I be wary of the contents?

OER Challenge #3

Searching for OER

Minutes

Hours

Days

Weeks

It’s easy to get sucked into the Web when searching for … anything!

OER Challenge #4

Is the material we find the most authentic?Do we think we have the original, only to find it’s a knock-off?

OER Challenge #5

It can be tough if you’re searching on your own. Better to work in a group, but it’s not always easy to find your peeps.

OER Benefit #1

The possibilities for finding materials that will serve the needs of students are endless. We can search through vast amounts of

materials and use only what we need.So, it’s not wasteful – not too much, not too little –

just the right amount of goodness.

OER Benefit #2

Students have the opportunity to work with source material instead of a glossed version that may not fit their needs.

OER Benefit #3$$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$

More reasonable and reduced costs for students.

OER Benefit #4

Instead of waiting and waiting and waiting for current materials to become outdated, new studies and articles can be found

immediately -- before their contents are on the brink of

extinction.

OER Benefit #5

In the way that Central Park belongs to all of us, OERs remind us that the roots of education involve sharing and collaboration.

“Digital sharing is not competitive.” (David Wiley)

Black Hole or Treasure Trove?

Treasure Trove!!