The potential of open education resources | Research Information

"OERs are here to stay. But the rate of OER adoption, quality, accessibility, discoverability, standardisation, sustainability, and inclusivity very much lies in the hands of you and I: participants in the collaborative community of publishers, institutions, educators, learners, and policy makers. If there ever was a ‘team-effort’ required in the industry, this is it. After more than 20 years working with top consortia, libraries, ministries, hospitals, and corporations within research and education, I have never been more excited. The industry is immersed in an influx of discourse and innovation across the entire educational spectrum. Innovation is critical, but we must innovate together to achieve true openness. Within the OER framework, there are currently many questions we do not have defined answers for. Questions like: how can we work with publishers to ensure OERs are not a threat to traditional publishing? How do we support the immense efforts of authors and content creators so content quality remains a priority? How can we work effectively with policy makers to protect intellectual property rights? The grey area of illegal content gateways tells us one thing: there is a global issue of accessibility and affordability. Emerging regions, where school and institutions are underfunded, are impacted the most. As we take steps closer to the Sustainable Development Goals, we must work together and look at alternative ways of collaborating...."