OER: Equity & Openness

When discussing open educational resources and exploring their use and benefits, remember that access and equity are not the same.

This video, Equity in Open Education, explores how equity intersects with open education.

The video describes existing challenges to learners in diverse educational settings and how the use of OER provides additional opportunities to make education equitable, affordable, and accessible for all learners. The low-to-no cost of OER helps keep the cost of education affordable for all students. Additionally, OER allow instructors to update and modify course material in a variety of ways. Open education, through practices like open pedagogy, allow faculty to tailor resources to meet their teaching styles and specific needs of their students. Having access to resources that are diverse in format, content, and language improve learner engagement and  provides students with positive learning experiences.

As you learn more about OER, consider how open education practices and the use of OER can enhance your own teaching practices and learning materials to become more equitable and accessible. Explore additional resources and research at the end of this lesson for more information on equity in and efficacy of OER and open education practices.