OER4Ed/Why OER



The aim of OER is to improve access to learning opportunities by sharing knowledge and learning resources. If you join this international community of educators you can;
 * save time,
 * cut costs
 * and contribute to improving the quality of learning in your own classroom and around the world.

The OER movement and community seeks to stimulate, facilitate and increase the growth of the pool of learning resources freely available on the Internet. With OER you are free to use, adapt, mix and share the resources, and become part of this growing community.

Using OER is simple and rewarding!

Each of these things can be done with traditionally copyrighted material, but requires more effort and resources.

The value or benefits for learners
'' Extract from Open Educational Resources InfoKit part Stakeholders and Benefits '' Extract from Good intentions: improving the evidence base in support of sharing learning materials
 * able to customize their learning experiences with the flexibility OER offer;
 * access to the work of leading institutions and world renowned researchers and teachers;
 * seeing/applying knowledge in a wider context than their course would otherwise allow ( e.g. international dimension);
 * freedom of access (e.g. at work/home/on placement) and enhanced opportunities for learning;
 * enable and support learner-centered, self-directed, peer-to-peer and social/informal learning approaches;
 * the opportunity to test out course materials before enrolling – and compare with other similar courses.
 * supports collaborative learning;
 * supports development of student content within and outside formal learning;
 * easily accessed through student-owned technologies;
 * increased access for non-traditional learners (widening participation);
 * likely to encourage self-regulated and independent learning;
 * likely to encourage peer support and mentorship.

The value or benefits for educators
 Extract from Open Educational Resources InfoKit part Stakeholders and Benefits  Extract from Good intentions: improving the evidence base in support of sharing learning materials
 * student/user feedback and open peer review;
 * reputational benefits, recognition;
 * benefits (efficiency and cultural) of collaborative approaches to teaching/learning;
 * availability of quality peer reviewed material to enhance curriculum;
 * collaborative approaches to teaching/learning (CoPs);
 * professional/peer-to-peer learning about the processes of OER release.
 * supports ease of access through search engines such as Google;
 * supports sharing of knowledge and teaching practice;
 * encourages improvement in teaching practice;
 * supports immediate one-off instances of sharing;
 * encourages multidisciplinary collaboration and sharing;
 * increased transparency and quality of learning materials;
 * easily incorporated with institutionally-owned technologies;
 * promotes the concept of lifelong learning;
 * encourages innovation and experimentation;
 * supports effective retrieval through professionally created metadata;
 * supports the sharing and re-use of complex learning resources.