Assignment for class

1. Benefits and Challenges of
Using OER Materials
Peg Balachowski
Everett Community College

2. Benefits
• Those of us who have been in this course believe that one
of the biggest benefits to using OER materials is the cost
benefit to students. In my own experience, students can
hardly believe that they do not have to pay for an
expensive textbook OR for an access code to online
homework! They express their eternal gratitude!
• The content that is available is diverse, covering most
disciplines, and within a discipline, many different
courses and materials are available.

3. Benefits
• As you search for materials you will notice that many
well-known and widely respected universities have
created materials, including MIT, Penn State, and
Carnegie Mellon (to name just a few). We expect these
materials to be of high quality.
• We also believe that the content is created by teachers in
their disciplines (rather than relying on publishers telling
us what we should use).

4. Benefits
• It is also the case that materials for professional
improvement, life long learning and general interest are
available.
• Images such as those from flicker and other sources can
be used to add color and interest to materials that
instructors create.
• Depending on the type of license used, instructors can
modify materials so that they meet the precise objectives
and outcomes for their college.

5. Challenges
• I also believe that we all realize that there are multiple
challenges when using OER materials, not the least of which is
that there is a lot of material that is of poor quality.
• Quite a bit of time can be spent looking for materials,
especially in certain disciplines. Math and science seem to be
the disciplines where most of the better material has been
created. If you teach in an obscure area, you may have to
create your own – and this would require lots of time.
• While there is a cost benefit to students, there is also the
challenge of access. While we assume that most of our
students are tech savvy, they may not have regular (or any)
access to computers. Labs on campus may not be available
when students need computers, and smart phones are not
necessarily the best device for completing a class.

6. Challenges
• Materials in an OER course may not align with your
department’s objectives or outcomes.
• Because of different types of licensing, it may not be possible
to change or tailor materials to the needs of your
department/college.
• Oddly, not all department members support the use of OER
materials. It may be difficult for an instructor (in particular an
adjunct) to convince tenured faculty that using materials that
are not supplied by a publisher is a good way to go!
• Publishers get upset when you tell them you are not using their
material! And the bookstore worries that they will not make a
profit if lots of instructors begin using OER.

7. The Future
• While there are many benefits and challenges to using
OER materials, I believe that in time these will be
resolved. Sometimes it’s easier to get forgiveness than
permission (i.e. don’t tell people in your department that
you are using OER!). In time those who oppose the use of
OER will retire and faculty will be able to pursue the use
of a wide range of materials to create interesting and
dynamic courses in their disciplines.