With tuition and textbook prices rising dramatically in the US and many other parts of the world--not to mention advanced education continuing to be out of reach to many across the globe--international attention has turned in recent years to Open Education Resources (OER).
It's hard to dispute the logic--why force students to pay big money for textbooks when you can create content that is as good or better and make it freely available online? In the digital age, it's hard to make any ethical argument in favor of the textbook publishers' monopolistic pricing. OERs can bring education to those to for whom it would otherwise be financially out of reach, and offer at least as good--potentially much better--educational experience for all.
The international Open Government Partnership, in conjunction with the UN, recently made impressive commitments to support the global movement to increase the quality and availability of OERs.
Within a generation, paying for textbooks may be a thing of the past!
It's hard to dispute the logic--why force students to pay big money for textbooks when you can create content that is as good or better and make it freely available online? In the digital age, it's hard to make any ethical argument in favor of the textbook publishers' monopolistic pricing. OERs can bring education to those to for whom it would otherwise be financially out of reach, and offer at least as good--potentially much better--educational experience for all.
The international Open Government Partnership, in conjunction with the UN, recently made impressive commitments to support the global movement to increase the quality and availability of OERs.
Within a generation, paying for textbooks may be a thing of the past!