02691nas a2200121   4500008004100000022001400041245007800055210006900133260004200202520227300244100001602517856003602533       2008                        eng d  a1913-610200aWhy Give Knowledge Away for Free? The Case for Open Educational Resources0 aWhy Give Knowledge Away for Free The Case for Open Educational R  aOttawabTalent First Networkc08/20083 aAn apparently extraordinary trend is emerging. Although learning resources are often considered as key intellectual property in a competitive higher education world, more institutions and individuals are sharing digital learning resources openly and without cost, as open educational resources (OER). The issues of why this is happening, who is involved, and the important implications were addressed in a 2006 study carried out by the OECD Centre for Educational Research and Innovation with the support of the Hewlett Foundation. The main conclusions are summarised here, together with some insights from a follow-up, and not yet published, study from spring 2008.

Higher education is facing a number of challenges: globalisation, an aging society, growing competition between higher educational institutions both nationally and internationally, and rapid technological development. OER is itself one of these challenges, but may also be a sound strategy for individual institutions to meet them. The trend towards sharing software programmes through open source software and research outcomes through open access publishing is already so strong that it is generally thought of as a movement. It is now complemented by the trend towards sharing learning resources: the OER movement.

OER are a fascinating technological development and, potentially, a major educational tool. They accelerate the blurring of formal and informal learning, and of educational and broader cultural activities. They raise basic philosophical issues dealing with the nature of ownership, the validation of knowledge, and concepts such as altruism and collective goods. They reach into issues of property and its distribution across the globe. They offer the prospect of a radically new approach to the sharing of knowledge, at a time when effective use of knowledge is seen as the key to economic success, for both individuals and nations.

OER projects can expand access to learning for everyone, but most of all, for non-traditional groups of students. They thus widen participation in higher education. They can be an efficient way of promoting lifelong learning, both for individuals and for government, and can bridge the gap between non-formal, informal, and formal learning.1 aHylén, Jan  uhttp://timreview.ca/article/175