OER are free for students to access and use! OER are recognized by post-secondary institutions and governments to be sustainable solutions to expensive textbooks. Check out eCampusOntario’s data on savings for students to date.
Students who use OER find them to be accessible, relevant, and engaging. Research has shown that students using OER perform just as well or better than those assigned with commercial textbooks. One study concluded that changing to OER increased the quantity of A and A- results by 5.5% and 7.73%, respectively.
OER can help keep education affordable so students will be able to stay in school. In one large US study, lower-income and underrepresented minority college students reported that OER courses will have a significant impact on their ability to afford college.
OER can liberate how professors teach their courses. Without the pressure to "teach to a textbook" in order to justify textbook costs, professors can focus on their curriculum and pedagogy and try new ways to engage with students on the course topics. Some of the benefits include: Being able to curate materials that are more relevant to their students' interests, contextualize content with local examples, and add interactive exercises such as H5P objects to enhance learning.
Open educational resources enable student-centred learning. Being more relevant and engaging and without the cost barrier, OER encourage students to review the materials outside of class and come prepared to participate in activities such as group work and problem-based learning.
Open education is “less about encountering knowledge and more about interacting with it” (Robin DeRosa). There are examples of students annotating online texts, creating exhibits with archival materials, and collaborating on syllabus design. Visit the Open Pedagogy Notebook for more information and examples.
Beyond the no-cost aspect, open educational resources empower educators to:
Watch this video (59:37 min) on “How OER can Support Student Equity and Diversity.”
Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) means that students do not need to purchase textbooks for a course. ZTC courses and programs use open educational resources and other materials such as library e-books and articles that are free for students to access. Increasingly, many Canadian colleges and universities are developing ZTC courses and degrees.