OER Pros and Cons

AMBER SAMANIEGO

JULY 2015

PROS Cost saving This could save tons of money for students and schools in the long run IF used. Not

only used, but used to its full potential.

Allows peer review and collaboration This allows us to be aware of what is going on at schools across the world in our field

of study.

This will open the doors for peer review and collaboration.

High quality material The materials that I was able to find was high quality from well known

establishments.

Easily accessible Students are able to access tools and materials quickly and efficiently.

Constantly Evolving In fields like medicine there is new information constantly. This would allows

instructors to easily keep up with those changes.

CONS

Tough to find the right materials for your specific field. While this class was very helpful in guiding me on ways to find material. I found it difficult to find material that was relevant to my field, at least at the level we are working with.

Understanding how to use the material It can be hard to know that you are using material properly. I do believe that this will come easier with time. But it can be a daunting task. No one wants to use someones material without permission.

Lack of common knowledge. In order for this to take off and be widely used people would need to be more aware of this process and how to use it.

Student confusionUp until now we have used very standard and traditional ways of getting information to students. Changings things will cause confusion initially.

Instructor confusionThat same thng applies to instructors that are set in their ways. Changing formatting can add a level of confusion and frustration to class prep.