Advantages and disadvantages

Some benefits of OER include:

• Fosters pedagogical innovation and relevance that avoids teaching from the textbook
• Broadens use of alternatives to textbooks while maintaining instructional quality
• Encourages pedagogical innovation
• Lowers costs of course materials for students
• Contribution to a community
• Method of collaboration
• Helpful to future educators

Some disadvantages of OER include:

• Quality of available OER materials inconsistent
• Need to check accuracy before use
• Materials may not meet Section 508 ADA accessibility or SCORM requirements and must be modify to bring into compliance
• No common standard for review of OER accuracy and quality
• Teachers sometimes not rewarded by the system for their efforts
• Need to check accuracy of content
• Customization necessary to match departmental and/or college curriculum requirements
• Technical requirements to access vary
• Technological determinism created by the delivery tool