Opening Your Classroom to the World of OER: Benefits, Challenges and Practical Approaches
Presentation at the ACHE Open Educational Resources Workshop, 2018, Athens State University
In the last 
decade, the concept of Open Educational Resources (OER) has gained an undeniable momentum. However, it is an easy trap to confuse download and registration rates with actual learning and interest in the adoption and reuse of OER. As educational content is increasingly available for free over the Internet, making effective use of informal and incidental online learning opportunities has become a challenge for students, teachers, researchers and self-organized learners. Information is everywhere; but how can learners actively make sense of their everyday information ecology and contribute to their learning environment? How can instructors empower students to develop capacity for informal learning with OER, and how can educators leverage OER for curricular learning goals?
Discussion Prompts
- Think about a current class you are currently teaching. What is missing from your materials? Which section does not seem to work well? is there something you always wanted to do / redo? How could OER help?
- To what extent and in what ways do you want to engage your students in open learning?
- How prepared are your students to engage in informal and lifelong learning?
- What was your last successful example of an informal learning experience? What made you succeed?
- What happens when you spend less time on creating and preparing content, and more time on creating authentic assessment, giving feedback, and mentoring?
- When your teaching material is open to change, how can you create assignments that engage students in active learning?What type of materials (videos, podcasts, text, quizzes, research articles, quests, graphics, simulations, animations, charts, datasets) would your students like to have more of / less of for their learning?
OER Sources
OER Sources: Overview of different OER portals and repositories
OER Bibliography and Reader
OER Literature: Bibliography of OER articles and reports
Assignment Ideas with OER
Can your table come up with different assignment ideas or classroom activities in your subject areas that reuse or repurpose OER?
