1. OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES The Good, The Bad, and The Unlovely Kai Savi Red Rocks Community College

2. WHAT ARE OER?  Open Educational Resources (OER) are available for others to freely use. They may include full courses, course modules or materials, free textbooks, videos, photos or images, or other resources that are in the public domain or have been released under an open license that permits their free use (definition by Hewlett Foundation).

3. OER – THE GOOD!  OER resources are free! Compiling course materials can be a time- consuming and sometimes expensive process. Free is always good!  The more people understand and use open licensing, the bigger the pool of available resources. For OER to be sustainable, openly licensed materials need to be shared and used. The more the merrier at this party!  OER resources may include more recent or up-to-date material.  OER is becoming more readily accessible. Today, there are 950 free online courses available at openculture.com.  Sharing materials allows instructors, faculty, and course developers to avoid reinventing the wheel, and reuse or build upon already existing materials.  Did I mention it’s free???

4. OER – THE BAD…  Instructors, faculty or course developers may be reluctant to share their materials for fear of judgment or criticism by others.  This may be uncomfortable, but in the long run the peer-review process allows for stronger materials.  You may not always be able to find what you are looking for. Sometimes it would be wonderful to find that perfect image to insert into your PowerPoint presentation, but it is just not available as an OER.  You’re working late on that incredible presentation about the American bald eagle, and all you can find freely available is….

5. OER – THE BAD…(CONT.)  Institutional policies on academic freedom or intellectual property may impact or hinder use of open access licenses.  Where to look?  Searching for materials can be time consuming. There isn’t really one place to make looking quick and easy. There are some great search options through Google and Creative Commons, but it is not always a simple process to find something that really applies to your need.

6. OER – THE UNLOVELY  Sure, OER has it’s advantages and disadvantages, but is there anything truly unlovely about it?  Maybe just this guy:

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