Open Educational Resources

Gordon GulCentralia College, Centralia Washington

CC Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License

BenefitsCostAccessibilityAvailabilityFlexibilityChoice

Cost

With a rising cost in tuition and book prices that range from $50 to $100, sometimes exceeding $200, Open Educational Resources can help keep educational costs down.

Accessibility

Rooted in, but not restricted to, electronic media, Open Educational Resources are well suited for assistive technology.

Availability

Open Educational Resources are accessible to anyone in the world, as long as they have an internet access.

Flexibility

The electronic nature of Open Educational Resources lends itself well to changes, updates, and corrections.

Choice

With the help of a growing body of work and the free nature of Open Educational Resources, educators are able to try different options and pick the ones that suit their needs.

DrawbacksLocatingQualityAdaptingTechnologyRestrictions

Locating

It takes time to find useful Open Educational Resources material. With a high workload, educators may not have the necessary time.

Quality

Due to a large pool of creators, the quality of the material in Open Educational Resources can vary greatly. It can be difficult to find high quality and reliable work.

Adapting

Even when useful content has been found, the material needs to be custom tailored to fit into an existing curriculum.

Technology

Because Open Educational Resources are mostly electronic, it is inaccessible to people without an internet connection.

Restrictions

While Open Educational Resources are highly adaptable to the needs of people with disabilities, not all of the material is accessible.