7.5 CHALLENGES OF USING OERs

Despite, noble intentions behind OER, it turns out that using OER is not always straight forward. Practitioners face various challenges when it comes to harnessing OER as-

• Sourcing appropriate OER- This is an issue because there is no one-stop-shop for OER. They are scattered across the Internet.
• Understanding open licenses- Not everyone is familiar with different open licenses and what they permit.
• Adaptation of OER requires new skills- To adapt and repurpose OER, the practitioner needs more than basic ICT skills and needs practice in revising and remixing resources.
• Traditional mindsets predominate- Many educators feel it is wrong to use other people’s work, and thus they protect, rather than sharing their own resources.
• Robust Internet connectivity and good ICT availability are essential to access and adapt OER.
• Schools and universities seldom incentivize lesson creation.

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