4. From OpenCourseWare to Open Educational Resources and Open Textbooks
There's a lot of history to get through to understand the evolution from OpenCourseWare to Open Educational Resources and then to Open Textbooks. MIT's OpenCourseWare initiative was the first institution-wide open educational resources program, and in a sense "kicked things off" for the field. Up until that point the field was composed primarily of individuals working on their own without much institutional support. These resources provide you with definitions, examples, and a sense of the direction open content is currently moving.
OpenCourseWare
Open Educational Resources
Open Textbooks
Pulling it Together
Activities for From OpenCourseWare to Open Educational Resources and Open Textbooks
There is tension around textbooks. On the one hand, textbooks are considered an antiquated format which it would be taboo to champion in the 21st century. On the other hand, textbooks are the most pervasive form of educational material used in formal education now, and teachers are familiar with them as a format. At the same time some are pushing for abandoning textbooks, others see the textbook format as the best way forward for open educational resources. What do you think? If open educational resources become too closely associated with the textbook format, will it help or hinder their adoption? What do you feel would be the best two or three strategies for proponents of open educational resources to use in encouraging their adoption?
Write a blog post (or record a video and embed it in a blog post) answering these questions. Try to be as forward-looking as you can. Use your imagination! Maybe you can find a more effective strategic path forward for open educational resources.
Remember - to submit (aka share) your work all you have to do is publish your blog post and link to it in a comment below!