Historically, educational content has always come at a premium. Education was a luxury that only the rich could afford, whether it was private schools, tutoring, or lessons. More recently primary education was considered a human right, at least in most developed countries, and is offered to our children for free, even required. However, higher degrees of education, in Canada, are still extremely expensive, causing many who still desire an education to take on large amounts of debt. Some of these educational resources are available online, at a cost. Openly licensed educational content has a different pursuit however. The goal is to make educational content available to the public free of charge. The main difference then is that online educational content either has a cost associated to it, or its access and use is limited. However, openly licensed educational content is free to use, and often can even be replicated, and modified to create additional teaching resources.
An example of such an educational resource is Kimball’s Biology Pages, which can be found at the following url: https://www.oercommons.org/courses/kimball-s-biology-pages
It is a freely available resource created by John W. Kimball. It’s a biology textbook, formatted in HTML to be viewed and easily navigated through a standard web browser. It covers a variety of topics, and is kept up to date regarding changes in the world of biology as well. It’s an excellent resource for anyone interested in the topic, but unable to afford a $200 textbook.
Relevance: The information would address class objectives relating to biology.
Accuracy: The information is accurate, with no obvious content errors or omissions. No obvious spelling errors or typos. It is unclear whether the material has been peer reviewed.
Production Quality: The information is clear and understandable, the interface is simple, but not completely user friendly. Due to the simple html it is not as easy to understand the layout as it could be. The design features do not strongly enhance learning. It is not a multimedia resource.
Accessibility: The resource does not seem to be available in alternate formats.
Interactivity: The resource does not encourage active learning or class participation. However, it could be adapted to do so, since the license allows modifications. There appear to be no embedded questions.
Licensing: The license does allow for educational reuse of the materials, as well as modifications and adaptations.
I would use this OER as a reference regarding basic biology concepts so as to have a reliable source to go to instead of simply “googling” terms or querries. It is searchable, has clearly defined sections, and was put together by a professional that is very familiar with the material, and strives to keep it all up to date.
I personally use OER’s in my own life for many of the DIY prjects that I take up. This includes minor home repair, as well as simple programming, like setting up and using a Raspberry Pi. The OER’s available I find very useful for my own educational purposes. I also use OER’s when applicable for creating content for a variety of the course assignments I I’m given, for example creating PowerPoint presentations, or in class educational activities.