Over the course of the last two decades, online education has evolved and grown more prominent due to technological advancements and increased awareness of its pedagogical effectiveness and flexibility. Criticism of online educational models, often led by traditionalists, often cites that the lack of traditional brick-and-mortar classrooms impedes students’ learning. However, studies have shown that a substantial number of students view online learning as beneficial in its flexibility and learning models (Weller, Ch. 6, para. 7). Personally, I have found online learning to be flexible, accessible, and cost-saving. Particularly, my personal learning journey has been affected greatly, and mostly in a positive way, by the use of open educational resources.

Martin Weller states that learning conveyed over the Internet can be given many names, writing that “online education, web-based instruction, networked learning” are all terms that are used to describe this type of learning (Ch. 6, para. 5). This can be broken down further if using the Internet as an educational tool by the concept of blended learning. Blended learning has four major categories that attempt to interpret the educational system’s increasing utilization of technology. Sometimes there are blends of media and technology, of approaches to teaching, of face-to-face instruction combined with technology, or of activities that require technology (Weller, Ch. 6, para. 5). Regardless of the degree of blending or the exact term used, online learning continues to expand and respond to the distance learner’s needs.

One of the needs of many students is the ability to receive a quality education at a reasonable cost. By using the Internet to deliver instruction, online education, in general, is more cost-effective for the student. However, added to the cost of tuition is often the price of expensive textbooks and materials required to supplement course instruction. Open educational resources (OER), however, can help minimize these extra costs for the student by offering accessible, free, and reusable course materials. Before reading the course materials on this topic, I knew, in general, that open textbooks made my online learning journey easier, but I did not know about the specific details of OER materials’ copyright licenses. Weller writes that OER have an open license that allows users to adapt and redistribute with relative freedom (Ch. 11, para. 1). I also did not know the exact distinctions between an open textbook and an online textbook. The open textbook allows for the student to keep access to it across their entire studies, and reuse it as much as they wish. The online textbook, however, often involves a login and password, and usually after the course, is no longer accessible.

My own experiences with open educational resources such as open textbooks, videos, articles, and learning modules are positive. In past courses, expensive textbooks often are not used much, and a lot of the material is not applicable to the exact lessons we are learning. OERs allow instructors to pick specific materials and redistribute them to the student, allowing for a more targeted education. Often, an instructor will give a student a packet of resources through a classroom Google Drive that has a mash-up of materials. Having read Weller’s chapter on OER, I have a better understanding of exactly what these materials are and a deeper appreciation for open licenses. Instead of rifling through a thick, expensive textbook to find the one specific passage that supplements the course work, I can open a Google Drive and find multiple sources handpicked by the instructor.

Works Cited
Weller, Martin. 25 Years of Ed Tech, AU Press, 2020.