Open Educational Resources

You can walk into most schools and talk to a group of teachers during their planning period, and one obstacle they face is the resources available.  Not only will they want to know what resources are available, but they will question the cost.  How will teachers offer a 21st education when funds are limited, and resources are few? According to The Horizon Report, an emerging technology trend practice we can use is OER known as Open Educational Resources. They define this trend as a variety of materials designed for teaching and learning that are both openly available for use by teachers and students and that are devoid of purchasing, licensing, and/ or royalty fees. This is music to a teacher’s ears.

Educators around the world are similar to students where we are provided with limited resources or an abundance. What works for some though may not work for others? Similar to a library, an educator should have a wide variety to choose from. Explaining this to school districts I imagine would be difficult. When implementing a new trend there should be a structure, training, and education to the resources available. Institutions could collaborate with others around the world to create a virtual library. Their job would be to compile and categorize the resources making them accessible for the educators and students. Another money saver would be to adopt what Germany has done and hold #OERcamp, which serves as an incubator through informal meetups across the country.  This form of encouragement from teachers could offer the support needed when introducing new initiatives. From the shoes of a new teacher, I follow many other teachers on social media. I have taken ideas, suggestions, and comments from teachers all around the world. The collaboration is necessary and beneficial to educator growth.

The trend of OER is necessary to understand and address, especially with educators. (Kamenetz, 2020) articulates what we are to face once the new school year begins and how educators may need to continue remote learning. OER can aid the transition and be a tool necessary for the future of education. One barrier that could be predicted is the availability of all the resources and yet still have teachers that are complacent and fear change or new technology. Ensuring that educators are utilizing the tools offered would be a must. Therefore, going forward with this trend would mean offering time for faculty to review and align with their curriculum and level of education. One thing for sure is adopting this trend would be a time and money saver for both the teacher and the district as a whole.

Works Cited

“2020 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report^™: Teaching and Learning Edition.” 2020 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report™ | Teaching and Learning Edition, 2 Mar. 2020, library.educause.edu/resources/2020/3/2020-educause-horizon-report-teaching-and-learning-edition.

Kamenetz, Anya. “9 Ways Schools Will Look Different When (And If) They Reopen.” NPR, NPR, 24 Apr. 2020, www.npr.org/2020/04/24/842528906/what-it-might-look-like-to safely-reopen-schools.