Hello again, let’s talk open educational resources…
 
Openness, in the sense of accessibility of education, has always stood out to me as clearly necessary, enabling inclusivity and demolishing socio-economic barriers to education. But when it comes to sharing educational materials, I’ve never considered making my teaching materials openly available. Although I have been aware that students (and teachers) have online access to books, articles, videos on YouTube, and other dedicated platforms, as well as to openly shared online tutoring materials, I never considered the possibility of sharing my own materials openly, such as slides. I’ve also never considered searching for the same. It is always within a university platform, with access restricted to those who attend or co-teach that specific course. I believe, like the scenario, a certain level of uneasiness would arise at the thought of it at first, but understanding that the materials should be of high quality for students anyway and that Creative Commons licenses (CC BY, CC BY-NC, CC BY-ND, CC BY-SA, CC 0) can apply to learning materials gives assurance and can reduce worries related to how materials are used and adapted, as well as ensure proper attribution to the rightful owner.
 
Indeed, the benefits of openness are great, but one immediately thinks it is more so from the students’ point of view, as those who benefit from learning. On further thought, however, teachers also benefit. Apart from the satisfaction of sharing knowledge and empowering many with their own materials, open educational resources also help teachers find alternative materials to incorporate into their own teaching. Open access to learning materials makes students’ lives easier and education more accessible. For us, the library website is the first go-to place, but our institution provides a lot of information as well about where one can search for Open Educational Resources (OER), such as relevant databases for various types of resources, cutting out the second-guessing and making sure we seek information from reputable sources. It was good to learn more about this as I can now explore these resources as well.
 
We could not conclude our discussions without touching on artificial intelligence, of course. AI, and particularly generative AI, is reshaping education in many ways. Generative AI may play a role in creating educational materials. While this is useful (AI can clarify things and come up with creative ways of approaching teaching), teachers must be involved in creating such material and thoroughly check it for accuracy, since it is not always accurate, despite how convincing it may sound. Secondly, teachers must then include a note declaring AI involvement in creating the shared materials. The tricky bit is that there’s really no licensing for AI-generated content, and that content is based on many other materials (owned by others) that the AI models are trained on. So, the question is whether it is fair for a teacher to license such materials as their own? Well, given that teachers should model integrity in education, they should strive for the ethical use of materials and transparency on how AI tools are used. Another questionable use of AI by both teachers and students is uploading certain materials to AI tools, which may, in fact, use and adapt them without considering the applicable licenses. Lastly, on my mind is whether it enhances open learning. Will we even need to access other open educational resources as much when AI seems to sum it all up so quickly and easily? What will the AI impact be? Well, these topics are still open for discussion, but a common and perhaps rather simplistic answer is that it depends on how you use it. AI is likely to enhance learning when used innovatively rather than cutting corners.