In Of OER and Platforms: Five Years Later, David Wiley of Lumen revisits his 2012 essay, 2017:RIP OER. This latest essay was published in EdSurge on 1/26/17.
As a learner, online assessments when appropriate for the content, and online grade management, provide formative assessment feedback in a timely and organized way. They help with the instructor’s organization and communication with students as well. Course management, readings, and synchronous and asynchronous learning also provide the learning environment many of us are used to. We set up our class in the LMS and provide an online textbook on a fantastic platform that has built in online problem sets and quizzes, and off we go.
Wait, the etext costs $300? I had no idea. Are there other options? It’s great that there are open textbooks, but if I change to another textbook I need to look at everything in my course. Everything! I don’t have time for that.
Adoption of OERs and Open Textbooks should not be onerous. It should fit into the natural rhythms of faculty teaching life. What makes sense for the course? What will work for the instructor? What is available in the land of OERs and what would need to be created in order for the course to be taught the way the instructor envisions it?
Start simple. Think ease of use. Think efficiency of time and creativity. Select a few Open Textbooks and share them with a curious instructor. Change is slow to come, but come it will.
