Open Educational Resources

Using open educational resources to improve access to and affordability of learning resources

Colin McNeil, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Problem

Equitable access to education is not often achieved in academic institutions around the world, even in the most developed societies (Willems & Bossu, 2012). The issue of access is particularly evident in developing countries, where there consistently is a dearth of quality materials available to students (Kanwar, Kidhandaraman & Umar, 2010). Education budgets continue to be stretched while public expectations continue to grow, forcing school districts and institutions into the difficult position of trying to do more with less (Wiley, Hilton, Ellington & Hall, 2012). This disparity in resources can even exist within a relatively small area, creating a dissimilar learning experience for students despite their close proximity (Wilson, 2008). This problem is also not defined by population density, as both urban and rural schools in Petrides and Jimes' (2008) research are impacted by a lack of resources. Specifically, a lack of textbooks and other basic materials are the primary obstacles in delivering quality education (Richter & McPherson, 2012). One of the reasons for this shortage is textbooks and other education resources, as reported in Wiley, Hilton, Ellington and Hall (2012), have undergone a great deal of scrutiny in recent years to determine if the amount of learning they facilitate justify their costs. Furthermore, students in Ngimwa and Wilson's (2012) research report that it is far too costly to buy textbooks and pay subscription fees for journals and other academic resources. Even when districts do provide students with up-to-date textbooks, these materials must be persevered for several years, which can prevent students from taking texts home or from writing notes in the texts to aid studying (Wiley, et al.). Finally, another problematic issue relating to resources is that the economic difficulties often presented by the rising costs of textbooks can translate directly into pedagogical challenges for all learners (Wiley, et al.).