How could Open Education Resources Cause Changes in Schools?

The Department of Education defines Open Education Resources as teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under a license that permits their free use, reuse, modification, and sharing with others. This idea really isn’t all that different from the mantra we’re taught during student teaching; beg, borrow, and steal from other teachers. Our colleagues and other educators are our greatest resources in the education world. I have learned more during my teaching experiences and discussions with other professionals then in the four years of my undergraduate.

There will always be positives and negatives to every situation that brings change. A few positive changes in OER would be: students are able to access information from anywhere at any time, multiple times. There is no limit of access to information for students. Students are able to receive information in a timely manner, no longer are they waiting for current events to be published in textbooks. Open education resources could also be used to replace textbooks which would help to eliminate textbook costs for school districts.

 However for the past five years, I have been working on a curriculum committee for our district to write the English Language Arts Curriculum. It has been a struggle to build a curriculum from the ground up with little to no resources. While our district is saving money on textbook expenses, I can guarantee our cost of copiers; paper, ink, and copy repairs are through the roof. We are constantly searching for materials to use to create our curriculum, not just to supplement. I know what you’re thinking, if you’re creating a curriculum in the 21^st Century, what are you doing waiting in the world’s longest line at the copier? Wellllll, even with money saved from textbooks, we still don’t have the funds to provide devices to each student. Our devices consist of two computer carts with laptops that you can check out during blocked off class periods. Even when checking out computer carts for a lesson, there’s no guarantee the Internet will be a willing participate in your lesson. The struggle can be too real. Hence, why most teachers are at the copier… most know they can’t depend on the tech. Not just that, but when working with a close read, for me nothing beats a physical copy. My learning style requires that I highlight, annotate, and use close reading marks to comprehend information. It’s part of our job to assist students in identifying their individual learning styles and adapting curriculum to meet those needs.

I don’t believe that there is a one size fits all in education. In my opinion, Open Education Resources are great to supplement and modify curriculum. OER should not be used as the primary curriculum just as a textbook shouldn’t be either. As a special education teacher the name of the game for me is to modify, adjust, and personalize learning to meet the needs of my students. I do this through curriculum I create, online resources, and pieces from previous textbooks. Teachers have always been creative and capable of creating something more for their students. Why limit them to just one tool?

Information was obtained from:

The Department of Education https://tech.ed.gov/open/