The topic 2 is about open education resources (OER) and how to provide an equal learning environment to everybody. Among the participants the working premises differ but we have had fruitful discussions! And this is the best part of PBL work: I am learning!:)

In 2012, David Wiley wrote an enlightening article about OER, its possibilities and obstacles, and reflected upon what it is going to be like in the future. He concluded that only time can tell. In my opinion, that future is already present and just like online teaching and learning, the OER have come to stay and is developing very fast (fascinating to read in a Swedish newspaper today that similar processes are seen in the media environment where journalists find themselves “threatened” by other communicating instances – and it is not only an issue of information and desinformation). Probably the universities have to “join the race” of OER instead of resisting it. And I think the content of our courses is no secret, so I don’t have any problems with sharing it in an open environment. But I do hope – like we also said in the group – that the university as a governmental institution will provide support. If not, a lot of teachers will end up in the same situation as when online education started: teaching had to be done but the technical and economical support was almost non-existent.

Furthermore, the teachers who share need to be aware of some aspects like sharing the content of a subject without being manipulated to discuss issues with those who read our material and without using the environment as a political platform, for instance.

As a conclusion, whether OER will develop or will be substituted by something else, education is being created and recreated continuously. The interesting article by David Wiley (see below) was shared in the PBL group and indeed it is worth reading. Thank you!

https://library.educause.edu/resources/2012/5/chapter-6-why-openness-in-education