Key Concepts in OER
In the first section of the webinar, Dr. Blyth provides key concepts and definitions, expanding on the value of OER and its main features of OER in comparison with regular copyright licenses. This explanation is followed by a section on OER types and licenses which includes examples from diverse authors.
Objectives
At the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Critically explain key concepts on Open Education and Open Education Resources;
- Describe main affordances of using OER in language teaching and learning;
- Describe OER licenses and their main features.
Self-reflection
Before continuing, please take a moment to reflect on these questions:
- What is your experience with Open Educational Resources (OER)?
- What are some benefits of using OER in language teaching and learning?
- What are some challenges of using OER in language teaching and learning?
In his introduction, Dr. Blyth presents core ideas and perspectives behind the key concept of ‘openness’, which will become the center thread of this module. As the presenter explains the acronym COERLL, he describes how economic barriers push people out of education. In this context, the relevance of Open Educational Resources is highlighted as one way to support education access for all. Dr. Blyth continues with a detailed description of the main rights (the five ‘Rs’) that OER afford their users: retain, reuse, redistribute, remix and revise.
In this section, Dr. Blyth provides financial and pedagogical arguments for the creation, integration, and implementation of OER to alleviate economic and social inequalities. Although his examples mainly draw from college-level education, the issues he describes affect students and their families and communities at all levels of instruction. Moving to the pedagogical reasons for OER, the presenter explains how these resources enhance teaching and learning by providing current, original, highly adaptive content that targets specific learners’ needs.
To conclude this section, Dr. Blyth describes the type of OER licenses and the permissions they grant. By defining Creative Commons to the content that people create and freely share, the presenter connects this practice to language, emphasizing that “Language belong to all of us, language is not copyrighted, it is part of Creative Commons.” The segment finalizes with a short description of each OER license and the iconic representation of different practices guiding their use.