When talking about textbooks, I often think of the cost first rather than the knowledge they provide, I know that we can not put a price on knowledge, but it is just too expensive. However, the price of the textbooks is something I must pay for the purpose of studying in university, and plus, the textbooks are actually very helpful for me to understand the course material better, therefore I still consider textbooks as a good element for students and instructor, however; the advancements of educational technologies during this pandemic showed me the convenience of not needing to carry books to attend classes, which make me like the open educational resources even more.
This week’s reading is about open educational resources, and Mays’s A guide to making open textbooks with students. As a person who dislikes textbooks, I found this article pretty interesting, as it introduces the idea of open educational resources to me. To me, open educational resources are something like Khan Academy (my friend told me so), but I did not understand exactly why Khan Academy is an open educational resource. According to Mays (2017), the basic elements of open educational resources are remixable, reusable, revisable, redistributable and retainable. And thanks for Mays’s article, I understand the reason why Khan Academy is qualified to be an open educational resource because Khan Academy’s characteristics match the elements of an open educational resource.
I really like the idea of open educational resources because of their potentials and their convenience, to me, being able to carry all the materials I need for the courses is so much better than have to carry serval books to school. At my younger age, I had to carry 6 to 8 books per day to school, and I can sure that I did not enjoy those days.
I also agree with Mays’s thought on learning from learners. In my opinion, different from instructors, learners have a different perspective on learning, it also helps learners to have a better understanding of the course materials because they need to understand the materials well to teach others. I happen to have experience of being taught by my classmates. It is very helpful for me to understand because they can understand my struggles and know what is easier for me to understand the material. And I think that this could also help to share instructors’ responsibilities, thus helping instructors to teach their classes easier.
Reference:
Mays, E., & DeRosa, R. (2017). A guide to making open textbooks with students. The Rebus Community for Open Textbook Creation.
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