Four Reasons to Consider Using Open Education Resources (OER)

Open Education Resources (OER) are shared online teaching resources, typically free and licensed under Creative Commons. OER are usually used as a supplement to or full replacement for traditional textbooks.

OER have come a long way in the past few years. When I first started using them in the fall of 2018, the databases available resembled something from the last century. In fact, open content for teaching is nothing new. Dr. David Wiley started the Open Content Project back in 1998. Today there are new, easy-to-navigate websites, such as https://www.oercommons.org/. The site could be a good place to start. Though the amount of material can be overwhelming, they do offer training in how to research and use OER.

Here are a few of the reasons you may want to consider using OER for your classes.

Save Students Money

Textbook publishers are for-profit businesses. OER tends to be non-profit (like OER Commons). Being for-profit provides motivation for continuous updates to textbooks. That makes it harder for students to buy used books. It’s also more work for faculty by having to review and update many of their materials. Given the cost of textbooks today, using OER to replace textbooks can save students a lot of money.

While official definitions of OER typically involve materials being freely open and accessible to anyone, I include free materials that may be limited to a subset of students, such as students at a particular university or even just those enrolled in a specific course. The key differentiator is that the materials should be free to the student.

One way to get materials that aren’t already on a creative commons license is to use your (department or school’s) library budget. At my previous institution, there was a library budget for each department. Often this money would be unspent. So, asking the library to spend a portion of the budget to buy a license for a digital copy of a book was easy. Check with your library liaison or a librarian who covers your field to find out if there is any budget for buying digital licenses. I was able to get four books without a problem. Two of the books required year-round licenses, since the course was taught throughout the year. Some licenses can be purchased on a part-year basis. If you only use a book one semester or quarter per year, this may be an option and increase your chance of getting the purchase approved.

You Can Have Greater Control Over Content

OER gives faculty more control over the specific content. Faculty can pull together a variety of materials that better fit what they are trying to teach. Whereas with textbooks, the content is determined by someone else. Of course, for those not wanting to put much effort into teaching, that makes sense. But for those more committed to designing and delivering the best course possible, then OER is better suited.

There are some drawbacks, of course. Using OER requires time and effort to find materials. And they may not come with any supporting material like slides and exams. But you can work with your librarian to help research and find such materials contributed to the commons by fellow faculty.

There Might Be Some Money in It for You

Before you jump into using OER for the first time, check for incentives. For several years, my previous institution offered a small stipend to faculty to try out using OER materials. I think it was $100, which was a nice reward for something I was wanting to do anyway. If your university doesn’t offer this, put in a recommendation to do so.

Students Appreciate It

Ever since I started using OER in place of textbooks, students have made it a point to thank me specifically for it. While the cost of textbooks is a drop in the bucket compared to tuition, housing, and food, every little bit helps. Students have told me that the fact that I made an effort to save them some money showed that I cared about them. Not that it was the only thing I was doing, but this was one thing that stuck out for many students — especially the students who are food and/or housing insecure. The $100-200 saved by not buying a traditional texbook can go towards meals, rent, or gas. While this won’t do much to boost your student evaluation scores, it is nice to get thank yous from students.

An additional benefit is that students can “keep” the books after the class is over. If they are true OER and permanently free, students can access them anytime, anywhere, since they are digital. This can be an added value for students in that they can refer back to material, perhaps years, later (which might be when they finally realize the value of the material). If the material is something that was acquired through a library license, students should still have access to the material after class, as long as they have access to the library.

If you have used OER in your courses, what has been your experience? If you haven’t yet used them, what questions or concerns do you have? Feel free to share in the comments section below.