Education is now an unavoidable problem. Because technology is now the first productive force, only with a good education that you can have the opportunity to change your life. However, many still do not have enough money to get a better education because of the pressure of life or because they do not have enough money to get a better education. Sadly, they cannot receive education because of money despite their great interest. In “Open Pedagogy,” the author introduces a new kind of opening learning (OERs). OERs are educational materials that usually are openly licensed with a Creative Commons license, and therefore they are generally characterized by 5 perspectives: reuseable, retainable, redistributable, revisable, and remixable. The author wishes they could use this system to inspire teachers to teach students should have critical thinking.
Furthermore, the high cost of textbooks is also mentioned in the article as a problem that many students cannot continue their studies and is essential. It is sad that some students are falsely accused of being lazy learners because they can’t afford the high-priced textbooks instead. But I don’t think textbooks should be blamed for being expensive because the scholars who wrote these textbooks probably spent many years and put a lot of thought into writing them. And it takes a lot of labor to bind them into books. If the price of textbooks is not proportional to the time spent by scholars, then perhaps fewer scholars will be willing to put their hearts and souls into writing textbooks, which is also a loss to society.
Therefore, I think the appearance of OERs shows the importance of Internet development. The Chief Academic Officer of Lumen Learning – David Wiley, demonstrates that OERs could offer a free alternative to a high-price commercial textbook. The open license would also allow students to contribute to the knowledge commons.
I hope that more and more people will find their interest in learning through the convenience of the Internet.
Reference：
Mays, E. (Ed.). (2017). A guide to making open textbooks with students. Rebus Community.
11 Comments
I agree with the point you make. When an author has put a lot of time and effort into writing a textbook, they deserve to be rewarded accordingly. We should not blame the authors for the high price of textbooks. I think a lot of the educational problems we face today will be improved by the continued progress of open learning.
Hi Moky,
Thanks for sharing your opinion. I also believe the educational problem we face nowadays has been mostly solved. Opening learning and distributing learning because of OERs also have not much financial pressure on buying high-priced textbooks.
Julie
I agree with you that students shouldn’t be falsely accused of being lazy because they can’t afford textbooks, and I agree with you about paying for knowledge, but I think the price of knowledge should be at a reasonable price to help everyone see, write The income of the person who wrote the book became lower but it allowed more people to see his work.
The best
Lei.
Hi Lei,
Thanks for your comments. I agree that textbooks should be lowered the price in order to make more people affordable to read. However, I also think the price of textbooks nowadays has great difficulties to be lower. We must consider the cost of labor in capitalist countries and the cost of printing the books as well as binding them. The price of textbooks nowadays is certainly not a premium. But the good thing is that OERs can have free resources for people to go with.
Julie
Thanks for your post, Julie! You raise an interesting point about the cost of commercial textbooks. You are suggesting that they need to cost $100-300 to recoup the costs. It might be worth your time to look at the royalties that authors receive off of textbooks to see if that is what has driven the costs so high. Relatedly, most textbooks are written by professors, who already make large salaries and don’t necessarily need the extra income. Overall, are you advocating for the continued use of commercial textbooks or would rather see students learning with OERs?
Near the end of your post, you write: “I think the appearance of OERs shows the importance of Internet development.” Can you explain what you mean by that?
Thanks!
Hi Ryan,
Thanks for your comments. As a student, I still advocate for students to study on OERS. As an international student, tuition is already a considerable expense. If you need to buy textbooks for every course, you may be unable to meet ends. But with OERS, students can let go of some of the financial pressure and focus on their studies to make the tuition our parents pay worth it.
For me, the appearance of OERs shows the importance of the development of the Internet because the Internet allows us to get more information faster than before when there was no Internet. OERs are also a kind of opening and distributing learning which we can learn anywhere and anytime. So I think that as OERs become more sophisticated, it also proves that we have the development of the Internet.
I hope this has answered your questions.
Julie
I agree with you that technology is the first productive force in our society now, and it is difficult to change our lives without a good education. I also agree with you that the cost of books should not be blamed, and that we should respect the intellectual property rights of these authors who have put in a lot of work for this. I think our educational environment will become better and better in the future.
Hi Minrui,
Thanks for sharing your idea. After this week’s reading, I realized that the form of education has become more diverse. This is a good sign to see. According to “open Pedagogy,” I learn what OERs are and how it solves the problem for students with financial issues. I also appreciate seeing our educational environment goes better and better.
Julie
Hi Julie，
My opinion is very consistent with yours. Although the price of textbooks we cannot change, the introduction of the OER learning method allows more and more students to have the opportunity to study, and students are no longer unable to study because they are worried that they cannot afford textbooks.
Hi Yilin,
Thanks for sharing your opinion. I’m also glad we find an affordable way instead of buying high-priced textbooks. In the past, it was always difficult for me to purchase textbooks because they were too expensive. Sometimes I think it is very ineffective to buy textbooks. Because the subjects you study don’t include everything in the textbook. But now, with OERs, maybe it’s time to fall in love with reading textbooks.
Julie