Open Educational Resources @MJC

Those who use OER do so for a variety of reasons. Some believe every learner has the right to equal access to high-quality and effective educational materials. Some teachers appreciate the freedom from traditional content providers. For others, OER take worries about copyright out of the classroom and the sharing community.

 "Why OER?" by The Council of Chief State School Officers is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Music: The Zeppelin by Blue Dot Sessions: CC BY NC 4.0.

Attribution: "What Does the Research Say" by The Council of Chief State School Officers is licensed under CC BY 4.0

In studies that investigate the effects on student learning when traditional commercial textbooks are substituted with OER, findings suggest that students perform as well or better in courses that use OER. A growing body of research has investigated cost savings, equitable access, student learning outcomes, and perceptions of quality.

Pedagogical Benefits of OER

OER empower educators to take ownership of their course content and better connect with students in localized environments. Benefits of OER include moving funds into other areas of critical need and transforming the way teachers engage with students. An open approach to the classroom also empowers students by allowing them to play a role in content creation.

OER empower educators to take ownership of their course content and better connect with students in localized environments. Benefits of OER include moving funds into other areas of critical need and transforming the way teachers engage with students. An open approach to the classroom also empowers students by allowing them to play a role in content creation.
 

"How Can OER Help Educators" by The Council of Chief State School Officers is licensed under CC BY 4.0

Don't You Want ...

• First day access to course materials
• The decentralization of knowledge
  • More instructor control
  • More diverse set of voices
  • More varied tones
• Multimodal possibilities
  • Goes beyond text
• Information Literacy
  • Models good information literacy practice for your students.
• Continual Cycle of Content Improvement
  • Unlike textbooks and other static sources of information, OERs can be improved quickly through direct editing by users or through solicitation and incorporation of user feedback. Instructors can take an existing OER, adapt it for a class, and make the modified OER available for others to use.