Open educational resources: key to global economic growth?

“Discussed at length at the inaugural Unesco World Open Educational Resources Congress, this approach sees Open Educational Resources (OER) as the key not only to solving the global education crisis but to unlocking sustainable global growth in the 21st century- that is, if governments are ready to seize on their potential. OERs are learning materials that can be accessed, used, and transformed by anyone, anywhere. Though the concept is simple, the economic potential is tremendous and the advantages are two-fold: First, OERs can lower education costs substantially. OERs can also help universities reduce their marketing costs. Open resources have been a boon for recruitment: 35% of MIT applicants tell their admissions office that they chose MIT after they looked at its OpenCourseWare. Open resources can also help bolster a school's global reputation: 91% of visitors to Open University's page on iTunes U are from outside the UK. But what crystallised at the Unesco Congress are the larger economic implications of the OER movement and its potential to dramatically expand the global knowledge economy ... OERs could do more to stimulate global economic demand and growth than all the world's tax holidays combined - then multiplied ten-fold. How? By making education more accessible and adaptable to the changing needs of the global economy. The best new OER programs, including a new $2 billion initiative by President Obama, are working closely with industry to create credentials earned from OER that are linked to specific occupations or job openings. So, for example, a company that needs cybersecurity experts will work with an educational institution to make sure the OER training and or education is aligned with exactly what that business needs. Moreover, there is mounting evidence that learners can be trained more quickly using OER. A recent study conducted by scholars associated with Carnegie Mellon University's Open Learning Initiative demonstrated that students who use OERs can obtain the same or better learning outcomes in half the time compared with students using traditional methods... The OER movement has been steadily gaining momentum since its inception... Over 400,000 teachers have benefited from theTeacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa program, whilst the Open University's OpenLearn website has had more than 21 million visits since its launch in 2006. One by one, the world's most prestigious universities are launching new OER initiatives. In May, Harvard University announced it would join forces with the MIT to create edX, a platform that provides free access to rigorous online courses to students anywhere in the world. Stanford University is planning a similar venture... Governments are by far the biggest suppliers of education worldwide. They have the most to contribute to the OER movement and the most to gain in terms of cost savings and economic growth. The first Unesco World OER Congress concluded with a declaration that urged governments to play a more active role in supporting this movement...”