Open educational resources sound fantastic. So why are there not more widely available? 

Evidently, there are many open resources out in the academic world, I just have never known where or how to look for them. (Until I was shown in post-secondary classes). And to be perfectly honest, I’m not sure I am an expert yet. When reading about these vast resources available to academics and educators I was expecting to see sites that I already use. However, that was not the case – so apparently, I have been doing this whole thing wrong for a while.  

But this revelation, got me thinking … what about high school students? I know that I teach my students to properly cite any sources that they use. And I expect them to give at the very least a list of sources where they found their information. But I don’t know if I have spent any time showing students where to find and how to use open resources.  

Despite these resources being widely available, I feel they are still restricted (unintentionally) to the academic world. Even the articles I looked at this week are all directed at post-secondary education, academics and individuals inquiring about specific information.  

Not to say there is not a place for open educational resources for the everyday, I just haven’t seen it in practice. (That could just be my ignorance to the use of open educational resources, and not a true reflection of their use in the average life of a teacher).  

Maybe the bigger question is why hadn’t I heard of open educational resources outside of the academic world? Or taking a step further and asking how we can make these resources well known and commonly used.  The first thing to look at would be what barriers are in place and how we can remove them.  (Which I’m sorry to say I do not have an answer for.) The second would be to promote the use of open educational resources in K-12 education. The more students are informed about the information that is out there, the more likely they are to use it.   

The more open educational resources are used, the more efficient and effective they will become. Or at least that is the trend I have noticed in the educational world. Take social media for an example, what started as a neat idea to implement in the academic world, has grown to be a highly used and effective source of professional development.  

Maybe it will just take some time to spread the use of open educational resources. Or maybe it’s just me, an out of touch educator who will now begin to learn the use of open education resources in the classroom.