OPINION: Why Can’t OER Enjoy the Same Success as Open Source Software? | EdSurge News
peter.suber's bookmarks 2014-09-07
Summary:
"Few today would consider the greatest strength of Open Source Software (OSS) that it is free. Indeed, it has lowered costs. But more fundamentally, it’s reshaped the way we think about the production, distribution, and sharing of software as an artifact. It has challenged centuries-old notions of property rights and authorship, and through these challenges inspired new socio-economic relationships and countless innovations. These are some of the points I made in an essay published last week. David Wiley, one of the leaders of the movement, then published a critical response to some of my views. His response is well worth reading."
Open Educational Resources (OER) have the capacity to extend this framework to education, provided that their proponents likewise view them as more than simply a means of lowering content costs. At the same time, one must also recognize the distinctions between the actors (hackers vs. instructors) and their products (software vs. educational materials). The achievable goal for OER by doing this is that it reshapes pedagogy as profoundly as OSS has reshaped software.