I enjoyed reading this first blog post by Matt Graff:
I really liked reading about the points brought up regarding the global trends, and this hesitancy against the upfront costs associated wit creating the OERs. I also like the highlights of the benefits, such as reducing educational costs, which may be tough in a capitalistic society. Alongside that, its important to highlight like Matt has the equitable access, as well as adaptable and localized resources you can adapt and modify. Its really important to hone down on this idea that there is a long term investment with these OERs that you get once overcoming the initial costs. This is what I’d say is a pain point for students, expensive and inaccessible resources. The painkiller is these OER resources. The investment from institutions for these resources will allow students to save more money, in which they can, as they love to, take more money from the students and put it into their own pockets. Might be a little bit harsh to say, but at the end of the day, the real point to recognize is providing OERs takes the money out of the book writers pockets that are banking on providing outdated information at eggregious prices, and back into the students’. This is the goal of Open Pedagogy, equitable and accessible resources for all. Beyond the initial investment hurdle, I do not see any long-term downsides that outweigh the benefits of these resources.
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