Reflections on OER

In order to earn a digital badge or completion certificate in this course, you need to complete this exercise. Take some time to reflect on what you have learned from your exploration of the course content, and interactions you may have had about these materials.

Your response can be as concise or in-depth as need be. Imagine that you are in conversation with your colleagues and reflecting on the prompts below. We want to hear your perspective on what you have learned here!

Share your response to one of the following prompts:

  1. News about tuition, textbook prices and models, enrollment, and other higher education issues seem ever-present. Identify one recent education-themed news article or editorial that seems significant to you, and discuss how OER might provide a response, answer, challenge, or barrier to this reading. What have you learned from this course that seems relevant to the understanding of this issue? Provide a link or publication information for the news item you’re responding to. (Not sure where to start? Scan Inside Higher Ed for ideas.)
  2. Describe how you already use open materials in your class or role on campus, sharing your content if possible. What about this use has been effective? What challenges have you seen arise from this? How does this practice inform courses or other job duties where OER isn’t in use?
  3. Locate your department or institution’s strategic plan. Is OER directly mentioned? If so, what action do you see being taken towards that, and how has it impacted your responsibilities on campus? If not, where might an OER initiative align with other goals on this strategic plan?
  4. How would you describe OER to people outside of higher education, such as friends or family members? What’s at stake for non-academic populations when it comes to open educational course materials?