After reading Tony Bates' article OERs: the good, the bad and the ugly I was left with a much more negative impression on OERs than I had in the past. A few months ago I attended a lecture from Dr. Cable Green who is one of the leading voices for OERs. While his main platform is Creative Commons licensing, specifically, he also discussed his passion for the future of education and the impact of OERs.
After ruminating over Bates' comments, I agree with his statement that, "There are costs in the system, and they have to be paid for, one way or another," (Bates, 2012). Despite institutions creating content that is free for all, typically, using that "free" information isn't going to be free. If you only goal is to better yourself and expand your knowledge of a given subject for your own personal enjoyment then OERs are the deal of the century. However, most likely, if you are using an OER such as Perdue Owl, you are attending a university where you pay money. There is a bit of a ruse going on, as Bates points out.
This leads me to another point. Having read a significant amount of material in the last few week on DE and OE, I have come to understand that one of the main purposes for their creation was to provide education to the underprivileged. However, if you look at the cost of many online universities it is often even more expensive than traditional universities. Also, with the boom of online education, there have also been an increase in unaccredited online institutions. Typically, these institutions are very expensive, but lure students in with promises of a fast and easy degree. This is how we got the degree mill. They prey on students who don't know how important certain accreditations can be and don't realize the true cost of that education.
OERs are a good thought, but it will take far more than free resources to truly make education accessible for all. There is indeed a cost for knowledge, and students are paying it.
Bates, T. (2011). OERs: the good, the bad and the ugly. Tony Bates. Retrieved June 17, 2014, from http://www.tonybates.ca/2011/02/06/oers-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/
Megan,
ReplyDeleteYour thoughts are very insightful. I am drawn to your last paragraph. You mention that most online universities cost significantly more than traditional universities. I am inclined to say that it might be worth the extra cost, just for the pure convenience of distance education. To me, it was worth the money spent on my MBA from UMUC, which was rather expensive, even with tuition remission, because I was able to work on assignments and “attend class” on my own time (though the program is very demanding). There actually is not a difference between online courses, hybrid courses, and on-campus courses in UMUC’s MBA program. That said, if there was a difference in price, I would still jump at the chance to take the program online. It all has to do with convenience. Sometimes convenience comes at a price. And sometimes those conveniences are worth that price.
Also worth the price, is the aspect of accreditation, which you mentioned. Accreditation matters, which is not obvious to all students.
Leeanne Poist