To me, OER is a social justice issue. Here in Canada with the #textbookbroke campaign, there has been a lot of talk about textbook affordability as a barrier to academic success and student learning. But I think it's important to remember that there are many barriers to education, especially for first generation students and for those from traditionally more marginalized backgrounds. 

I really love this post by Robin DeRosa (2017), who highlights some of these barriers in our education system and the role of OER in social justice. Do we presume that our students have access to broadband at home so that they can access open educational resources? Do our students have the digital skills needed to participate in these open communities of practice that are so often housed online? Are these materials accessible to those with disabilities or to those who prefer alternate formats or different learning styles?

Over the next two weeks, I would like to learn more about OER more broadly, as well as issues relating to open licensing and the public domain. I am also interested in learning more about existing resources (OER repositories, open textbook platforms, etc.) in order to help faculty efficiently locate and create relevant OER materials.

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