75% of the faculty in higher education doesn't know about Open Education Resources Open education is a hot topic in both the K-12 and higher education spaces due to a number of factors, including the desire to make education more affordable. The cost of textbooks has added a tremendous financial burden to students around the world. In response, the U.S. Department of Education initiated the #GoOpen movement last year, which helped provide the impetus for schools and universities to consider the use of open educational resources seriously. One of the leaders in this rapidly changing landscape in education is Cable Green, director of Open Education for Creative Commons. Green emphasizes using accessible technology. "If we're putting an open license on materials, we need to make sure that the resources that we are sharing are in an editable, accessible format," said Green. In other words, if the content is provided in a locked down format like a PDF, then that works against accessibility. Materials should be provided in an editable format that allows for remix and reuse. Laws in many countries require all educational materials (including OER) to be in an accessible format, so everyone, regardless of their abilities, can access learning resources. One of the benefits of OER in such an environment is that the CC BY license allows for maximum remixing and reuse in other formats. One content creation tool has caught Green's eye. "Pressbooks is great," he said. "Pressbooks is interesting because it's based on open source software and… it provides the content in HTML format." That format makes remixing and reusing content easier, a critical component to its success. See http://ift.tt/2lMZJDc
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