What Is OE And Why Is It Important?

Open Education (OE) is a philosophy about the way people produce, share, and build on knowledge. If you are committed to OE you work to eliminate barriers like high monetary costs, outdated or obsolete materials, or legal mechanisms that prevent or inhibit collaboration among scholars and educators. ¹

But what exactly does “open” mean for education? To start, we have the philosophy of Open Educational Practices (OEP).  OEP’s can be any practice that supports open, accessible learning. For example if you invite community partners into your course and allow guests to join for that event at no cost you are using an Open Educational Practice. OEPs can also be the incorporation and use of open educational resources (OERs). OERs are just that…resources that are openly licensed and support education.  A simple example of an Education Resource might be a textbook, course notes, a tutorial, an instructional video, a diagram, an infographic. But they aren’t OERs until they meet the fundamental criteria…that they are openly licensed and accessible. That’s what helps move them from simple educational resources to Open Educational Resources.

Why Commit to Open Education

Students are concerned about cost and educators should be too! Check out the #TextbooksBroke campaign initiated by the BC Students Federation.

What if students could access their textbook for free? Around the world instructors have created teaching resources, and with an eye to openness, they have made those materials and resources available for others to use.

The other concern that many students have is relevance. Instructors and students can be adopt and even adapt the materials they use, if they are openly licensed.

Keep the guidebook handy as all the knowledge you acquire will help you complete your OER Quest completion form available at the end of the quest.

¹. Open: The philosophy and practices that are revolutionizing education and science.