Month: March 2025

Introduction

In today’s evolving educational landscape, traditional teaching methods are being reimagined to improve collaboration, engagement, and accessibility. Open Pedagogy empowers students to contribute to their learning experience and this process is enhanced by the use of Open Educational Resources (OER). These freely available and adaptable learning materials minimize financial barriers while providing various methods to engage with educational concepts. This blog post will describe the principles of Open Pedagogy, the role of OER in education around the world, and the importance of Creative Commons licensing. By understanding these concepts, both educators and learners can contribute to a more inclusive and dynamic educational experience.

What is Open Pedagogy?

Open Pedagogy is a teaching method that emphasizes collaboration and active knowledge creation rather than passive consumption. Unlike traditional teaching methods, where students absorb and reproduce information, Open Pedagogy encourages students to actively contribute to the learning environment by creating and sharing educational resources (Short et al., 2024). This approach aligns with the Open Educational Resources (OER) framework, which allows free access and modification to online educational materials. This process empowers students and educators to actively engage in the educational process, which promotes a deeper understanding and sense of ownership over one’s educational journey (Wiley & Hilton III, 2018).

The Role and Impact of OER

OER plays an important role in education by reducing costs, increasing accessibility, and allowing individuals to customize learning materials. One of the greatest advantages of OER is their affordability. Using this method, students can access free online textbooks, videos, and other accessible resources. OER also allows educators to improve resource accessibility as OER allows educators to access free resources in multiple languages, formats, and accessibility-friendly versions (Olivier & Rambow, 2023). Supporting a learning culture of sharing resources and continuous improvement encourages students to adopt a community-driven and dynamic approach to education rather than a static process. 

Generated by ChatGPT (Dall-E, 2025)

Global Trends in OER

The adoption of OER is growing worldwide and this growth is influenced by government policies, institutional initiatives, and cross-border collaborations. Both Canada and the United States have promoted OER through funding initiatives and policy changes within academic institutions (McGreal, 2020). These efforts highlight the increasing recognition of OER as a method to improve education accessibility and quality. While OER provides many benefits, challenges such as technological disparities and content quality concerns provide barriers to widespread use (Olivier & Rambow, 2023). Addressing these challenges requires ongoing efforts to improve digital infrastructure and increase public awareness regarding responsible use of resources.

Understanding Creative Commons Licensing

An important aspect of OER is the use of Creative Commons (CC) licensing, which allows educators and students to legally share and adapt materials while acknowledging the creators’ rights.

CC Licenses include…

• CC BY: This license is the most permissive and allows for the sharing and modification of content if the original creator is recognized.
• CC BY-NC: Non-commercial. This allows others to use, share, and modify work, however, they are not allowed to use the original creator’s work for commercial purposes.
• CC BY-ND: No derivatives. This license allows others to use and share work but they are not allowed to modify the work in any way. is more restrictive. (Spichtinger, 2022).

Understanding these licenses helps users share and modify content without legal concerns. For example, if I created an educational video on Open Pedagogy, I might license it under CC BY. This would allow others to share and modify my content as long as they credit my work. By using CC licensing, educators and learners can contribute to growing global communities of knowledge.

Attributes of Open Pedagogy

Key components of Open Pedagogy include collaboration and student-centered learning. These concepts can be implemented through open planning, where students co-design learning activities, and open reflection, where they document their learning journeys (Short et al., 2024). For example, a course could involve students publishing their assignments for peer review rather than submitting them privately to an instructor. This would improve engagement while encouraging students to contribute to a larger body of knowledge. Open Pedagogy fosters a more inclusive and participatory educational environment by valuing student contributions and encouraging diverse perspectives (Wiley & Hilton III, 2018). By implementing these concepts, educators can create more meaningful learning experiences that empower students to actively participate in their education. 

Generated by ChatGPT (Dall-E, 2025)

Conclusion

Open Pedagogy and OER are reshaping educational methods by increasing accessibility, participation and student involvement. Through global initiatives, Creative Commons licensing, and innovative teaching strategies, these concepts contribute to a more equitable learning environment. While challenges remain, the use of Open Pedagogy and OER has the potential to create a more inclusive, collaborative, and dynamic educational experience using digital environments.

References

• McGreal, R. (2020). Open educational resources in Canada 2020. Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology, 46(1). https://doi.org/10.21432/cjlt27935
• Olivier, J., & Rambow, A. (2023). Open educational resources in higher education : a global perspective (1st ed. 2023.). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-8590-4
• Short, C. R., Hilton, B., Hilton, J., Wiley, D., Chaffee, R., Guilmett, J., & Darrow, J. (2024). Higher education instructors’ perceptions of open pedagogy: an exploratory study of open pedagogy definitions in practice. Open Learning, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/02680513.2024.2334237
• Spichtinger, D. (2022). Uncommon commons? Creative Commons Licencing in Horizon 2020 data management plans. International Journal of Digital Curation, 17(1), 9-. https://doi.org/10.2218/ijdc.v17i1.840
• Wiley, D., & Hilton III, J. L. (2018). Defining OER-enabled pedagogy. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 19(4), 133-. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v19i4.3601