December is Universal Human Rights Month. On December 10, 1948, the General Assembly United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The document consists of thirty articles outlining the basic rights and individual freedoms of all persons, and it built on the declaration that “recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.”
Article 26 of the document even affirms the right of all people to education as well as the importance of higher education being equally accessible to all. Even so, there are a number of obstacles, some big and some small, to making this a reality both in the US and around the world. The cost of required course texts is one such obstacle. While not a perfect solution to this barrier, a central goal of Open Education Resources (OER) is equal access.
What are OER? According to Creative Commons, “Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching, learning, and research materials that are either (a) in the public domain or (b) licensed in a manner that provides everyone with free and perpetual permission to engage in the 5R [Retain, Reuse, Remix, Revise, and Redistribute] activities.” These resources help make education more accessible and in doing so contrite to student success. If you are interested in more information on OER, contact your librarians.
0 Comments.