Open Education - Resources, Tools, Assessments - makes so much sense in my field. I teach first and second year writing courses to college students, but I don't just teach to one program area. One course may be designed for 10, 12, or 14 program areas. Finding a textbook for such a diverse audience is difficult and ensuring students all have access to tools (and the ability to use those tools!) can be a headache. Trying to assess writers of varying levels of mastery and language proficiency can be a nightmare. OER has so much promise in helping to solve these issues.

Adaptability
If a good OER for, let's say, mechanical engineering technologists pops up, I can adapt it for electrical engineering technicians, or welding technicians (if the licensing permits!). Also, I can flex resources for online or F2F use.

Flexibility
With OERs, I'm not just limited to one source of information, or activity or assessment. I can flex the materials/lessons or better yet, I can allow the students to flex their knowledge consumption and demonstration to better suit their learning and needs.

Accessibility
Using an OER allows all of my students to potentially access all of our resources. There is no financial restriction, technology restriction, or geographical restriction. The "class" is not reliant on the classroom or classroom technology. It is not reliant on the students' bank accounts. It is there, waiting to be used.

I said it in the very first activity from this course and I'll say it again. OER is freedom. It's freedom in resources, tools, and assessments. It's freedom in course design and implementation. It's freedom for student learning and engagement, and it's freedom for faculty involvement and curriculum development. I am choosing freedom for myself and my students.