Why You Should Consider OERs
Though some place more trust in traditionally published materials, many studies have shown that OERs can be just as effective as a printed textbook. Students tend to appreciate lessened cost of course materials, as well as appreciate the ease of access and portability of digital texts. OERs come in many forms as well, and those who respond well to auditory or visual teaching will appreciate the various multimedia formats in which OERs are available. Browse the research on this page to see what researchers studying use and perceptions of OERs are finding out about people's use and perceptions of these materials.
Impact of Textbook Costs on Student Progress
(Click to view full size image on original site)
Prepared by Florida Virtual Campus (2016) and shared under CC BY 4.0
Advantages of OERs
- Benefits of Using OERThis page from Penn State shares several examples of the advantages of using OER, as well as videos from both an instructor's and some students' points of view.
- Pros/Cons and Evaluating OERsConcise list of the pros and cons of OER adoption, as well as evaluation criteria and a short section on how to gauge your return on investment after implementing OERs for the first time.
Research on the Efficacy of OERs
- Open Educational Resources and College Textbook Choices: a Review of Research on Efficacy and Perceptions (Article)Article by John Hilton, III. Originally published in Educational Technology Research and Development volume 64, pages573–590(2016)
Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ - Case StudiesCollection of case studies compiled by OERhub.net on use and impact of open resources.
A Review of the Effectiveness & Perceptions of Open Educational Resources
This video from Research Shorts explains how OERs benefit students, and addresses the concerns some people may have due to negative perceptions of using free resources in academia.
Why Open Education Matters
Video originally shared on YouTube.
Introduction to OERs and the importance of Creative Commons licensing in educational materials.