For the past two weeks, our group was focusing on Open educational resources (OER)and Open educational practice (OEP). We decided to investigate on “What are the problems with OEP (Open Educational Practices) and OER (Open Educational Resources)” What are problems associated with (Open Educational Practices)/OER (Open Educational Resources). Lastly, we looked at Students’ views of both (Open Educational Practices)/OER (Open Educational Resources).

Background

There is a problem in institutions of higher learning worldwide, and the problem is that Prescribed materials are being commercialised and as a result, some students are unable to afford materials needed to complete their studies. The high costs of textbooks are one contributing factor to students to drop out. the student not performing according to the way they desire because they can afford prescribed materials. According to some studies, prescribed material for the student in an institution of higher learning has risen by at least 88%. This is more than three times the rate of inflation. for many students, the price of books is the largest direct cost of attending college (Lead Winds, 2018).

Challenges associated with the high cost of Prescribed materials include, High textbook prices hurt students in more ways than just their pocketbook. Having to pay high costs are causing students to have to make tough choices, such as whether to pay a bill or buy a textbook, or whether to keep a class or to drop it. College students struggle for daily meals. Increasing Textbook Prices Forcing Families to Give Up on Necessities, therefore, institutions should not make textbooks mandatory (Lead Winds, 2018).

Defining OER and OEP

It is because of these challenges that a new pedagogy came into being. Open educational resources (OER)and Open educational practice (OEP). Open educational resources (OER) according to Washington State University (2019) are teaching and learning materials that are freely available to students, educators, and the general public. They are openly licensed so that others can adopt or reuse this material for their purposes. To be more specific, when we say that OER is openly licensed, we mean that they can be retained, reused, revised, remixed, and redistributed without cost. 

The goal of Open Educational Practice (OEP) is to build the knowledge, skills, and behaviours that support and improve teaching and learning. Using open educational resources (OER) presents unique affordances for educators, as the use of OER is an invitation to adapt, personalize, and add relevancy to materials that inspire and encourage deeper learning in the classroom and across institutions (OER Commons, 2019).

Opportunities for Using OER and OEP

OER Content can be Retained – meaning one has the right to make the content their own, and control copies of the content (e.g., download, duplicate, store, and manage)

OER Content can be Reuse – the right to use the content in settings like classes, study groups, on websites, in videos, etc.

OER Content can be Revise – the right to adapt, adjust, modify, or alter the content itself (e.g., translate the content into another language)

OER Content can be Remix – the right to combine the original or revised content with other material to create something new (e.g., incorporate the content into a mashup)

OER Content can be Redistribute – the right to share copies of the original content, your revisions, or your remixes with others (e.g., give a copy of the content to a friend)

Free or low-cost: OER programs report saving students millions on the cost of education. Low costs mean that students can access course materials from the start of class and, therefore, have every opportunity to succeed.

Customization: Faculty members can customize their class instruction for their students using. David Wiley, adjunct faculty at BYU, argues compellingly in “iterating toward openness” that OER can facilitate more meaningful, more inclusive pedagogical practices.

Student-driven, multimodal learning: OER is one way of engaging students more deeply in the educational process, moving beyond lecture and text. Open education gives instructors the tools to involve students in the creation of learning materials.

Lifelong learning: Because OER is open, they allow students to return to course content again and again–before and after courses (Washington State University, 2019).

Challenges of using OER and OEP

Permanence: Digital information–including OER–can disappear if it’s not archived and backed up in a trusted repository.

Permanence: Digital information–including OER–can disappear if it’s not archived and backed up in a trusted repository.

OER and OEP Set-up is expensive: implementing OER and OEP first time may be costly and may yield fewer results as people are still keen on the traditional pedagogy way of leaning.

Potential corporatization: Corporatization is one reason for the sharp rise in the cost of educational materials. There is a concern that, as companies like Amazon take on OER, they will also monopolize or otherwise limit the openness of the OER.

Complex IP issues: Although OER uses open licenses in part to reduce complexity around intellectual property, issues do arise. Open licensing in itself can be a challenge to navigate; besides, third-party materials like media and images may introduce complexity into an OER project.

Missing ancillary resources: Although some OER projects like OpenStax are working to incorporate more resources for instructors and students, other open resources lack instructor copies, outlines, quizzes/tests, clicker exercises, and materials that can make publisher offerings attractive.

Quality issues: OER may be produced with little added support for copy-editing and design. Also, some may not be updated as frequently as the education community might like.

Time: Creating and/or locating existing OER can be extremely time-consuming. For this reason, libraries, administrators, and instructional designers at various institutions are increasingly providing support for faculty members who wish to use OER in their courses.

Learning disability: it does not accommodate all people with learning disabilities (Washington State University, 2019).

Students Perspective regarding OER and OEP

According to findings, there are four reasons why students are for OER and OEP. (1) They are the latest e-learning initiative to attain widespread popularity among many institutions of higher learning. Students are signing up. (2) because they need to learn about a certain topic, outside the traditional methods of classroom learning. Where they are not limited by time and venue constraints. (3) to refresh what they had learned before, or to learn a ‘‘just-in-time’’ topic that could help them in their work, somewhat akin to borrowing a textbook from the library to learn. (4) to stay ahead of Technology and being involved with the latest pedagogies.

study, shows That students perspective through four categories: (1) A stimulating and good way of acquiring knowledge that also promoted flexible and self- directed learning, (2) An overwhelming amount of material on the Web, making it difficult to find appropriate material, (3) Critically evaluating resources is a complex task, but at the same time it fosters a critical attitude, (4) Using OER is a complex task requiring preparation, time and appropriate skills to manage successfully

References

Hew, Khe & Cheung, Wing. 2014. Students’ and Instructors’ Use of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs): Motivations and Challenges. Educational Research Review. 12. 10.1016/j.edurev.2014.05.001.

Lead Winds, 2018. 5 Ways High Textbook Prices Are Hurting Your Students. [Online]
Available at: https://www.leadwinds.com/high-priced-textbooks/
[Accessed 1 November 2019].

OER Commons, 2019. Open Educational Practice and Professional Learning: Strengthening Our Practice through Collaboration and Design. [Online]
Available at: https://www.oercommons.org/hubs/open-educational-practice
[Accessed 31 October 2019].

Washington State University, 2019. Open Educational Resources (OER): Tools for Affordable Learning. [Online]
Available at: https://libguides.libraries.wsu.edu/affordablelearning/definingoers
[Accessed 1 November 2019].