Picture it: April 2020, roughly one month into our unprecedented global lockdown. Our heroine (ahem, me – it’s my story, so I get to be the protagonist) is going stir-crazy. Her then-undiagnosed ADHD flaring wildly, causing her to sometimes bounce off her home’s four walls. Anything for distraction, stimulation- Tiger King, Dr. Brené Brown podcasts, a towering pile of books – when what should her eyes scroll across but a free Coursera class from Yale, The Science of Well-Being?

 

 

In retrospect, I see how quickly I jumped into Open Educational Resources (OERs); eager for structure, eager for something  anything to make me feel productive. I wrote about Coursera briefly in my Update 7 Learning Project post. Honestly, last week – and certainly five years ago – I didn’t fully understand OERs or think about them critically. I saw “free” and “Yale” and thought, why not? What else am I doing? But after our class discussion on Tuesday, I realized I should look more objectively at Coursera – not just as a learning platform but through the lens of accessibility, bias, and the digital divide.

A Tale of Coursera and Me: A User-Friendly Knowledge Gatekeeper?

With a brain that gets into trouble when inactive, I’ve experienced my fair share of OERs (without realizing that’s what they were called; a dim bulb brightens). Intuitive, visually appealing, breezy enrolment – I have to admit, Coursera’s interface is one of the best I’ve used for online education. If you take a quick scroll, you’ll quickly see their layout is clean, the courses very well-organized… and I’ve never felt lost in their endless sea of classes (which is saying something).

But, of course, there’s a catch…

While many courses are free to audit, getting a certificate or accessing more in-depth content often requires you to pay up. I’m set to complete my third “free” course soon, and – while I’m grateful for the acquired knowledge – I don’t have a credit or stylish piece of paper to show for it. And now that I know a bit more about OERs, I am starting to question Coursera’s status as one. Is anything truly “open” if full participation and accreditation come with a price tag?

Blast from the Past: Revisiting The Science of Well-Being

Like I said, I completed The Science of Well-Being a few years ago in the midst of Covid-chaos, just when I needed mindfulness and happiness reminders every 5 minutes. Dr. Laurie Santos is an amazing facilitator (I highly recommend her The Happiness Lab podcast); she makes well-being engaging and practical. The course is jam-packed with high quality lecture videos, reflective exercises, downloadable infographics, quizzes, and assignments that push you to actively apply these strategies in your life.

Revisiting now, however, I’ve started to consider my positionality (cisgender female, educated white settler) and whose perspectives might be missing.

When researching and/or reading, I tell my students to question: Whose voice is highlighted and whose voice is absent?

Five years ago I wasn’t practicing what I now preach; a case of Dr. Angelou’s “when you know better, do better.” The course is deeply rooted in Western psychology, which is fine in itself, but now I wonder how clearly it translates to people from diverse cultural backgrounds. Not to mention, how much of Western psychology is an uncredited remix of more traditional methodologies? Do these happiness strategies work universally? Should other non-Western philosophies be shared, or should that perspective be relegated to other culture specific classes? These are the kinds of questions I find myself asking more and more as I complete my grad studies and engage with diverse educational resources.

The Digital Divide: Who Gets Left Behind?

One of my biggest gripes with Coursera – and OER in general – is the ever-increasing digital divide. When I consider OERs on a surface level, they sound like “the great equalizer,” but they still require reliable internet access and a relatively high level of digital literacy. The pandemic showed me (if nothing else) that not everyone has those privileges.

Beyond accessibility, I have concerns about content bias. As we discussed in class, many MOOCs (massive open online courses) rely on funding from institutions, corporations, and/or governments. And whenever money is a factor, influence plays an inevitably pivotal role.

“As of December 2019, the total number of partners is more than 200 across 29 countries. Coursera mainly works with universities and colleges, but also with corporations and governments” (source).

200? Whose knowledge is prioritized? Investors and strategic partners – while necessary because money unfortunately doesn’t grow on trees – create a slippery slope. Are we really getting an “open” education if the narratives are only shaped by those with the most financial backing?

So, Are OERs Valuable? Yes, But…

As a die-hard online learner, I absolutely see the value in OERs. The teacher in me loves the idea of having high-quality, free resources that can supplement traditional (often woefully outdated) materials. I don’t know about you, but my division isn’t shelling out thousands for any new Pearson textbooks in the foreseeable, recession-filled future. Free and updated sounds great, but…

Some challenges that keep pestering me:

• Biased Buy-In: Scrolling through Coursera, there’s a general trend. See if you can spot it: Humanities free; STEM expensive. Hmmm, I wonder what and who is prioritized?
• Quality Variability: Not to throw any course or OER under the bus, but while The Science of Well-Being is a fantastic resource, other courses do not always deserve this praise. I’ve stopped two other courses (in other OERs) for this reason, showing me that – without proper vetting – quality reliability is hard to determine until you’re IN the course.
• Representation Concerns: Too often we’re so dazzled by a free price-tag (I know I was) that we don’t stop to fully consider who’s creating these resources? Whose perspectives are dominant? How are marginalized groups represented (if at all)? How are marginalized groups welcomed into this free learning environment (or are they)?

Breaking Down OER Barriers, Inviting Change

If OERs are truly going to revolutionize access to free education, we need to:

1. Raise Awareness: Knowing what we know now, it’s our duty to ensure other educators understand how to find and vet OERs effectively.
2. Increase Inclusivity: We need to make our attention and cash clearly show that more diverse perspectives are needed in course content.
3. Provide Equitable Access: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it a thousand time, public libraries are the unsung Utopias of our society. How can we use this resource to provide open education access for marginalized groups? How can we open up our schools to do the same thing for our communities?
4. Reconfigure Funding Models: Money has to come from somewhere (I’m an adult who pays bills, I get it), but what supports and transparency obligations can be implemented to ensure that corporate and institutional funding does not impact unbiased learning?

Final Thoughts: Fulfilling the Potential of OERs

I will always love the idea of open education, and Coursera has and is providing me with truly valuable learning experiences. But revisiting The Science of Well-Being course, and acknowledging my positionality, has outlined a deeper lesson for me. Access isn’t just affordability; it’s about who gets to participate, whose knowledge is valued, and who falls in the chasm of the digital divide.

If we want OERS to fulfill the promise of making education actually open, we have to see beyond the glittering, neon signage of “FREE!” OERs must be inclusive, accessible, and diverse, accepting and representing the full spectrum of our collective human knowledge.

POINTS TO PONDER

Once again, I thank you for reading. Please respond to one/all the following questions and/or provide your own insights, feedback, and resources.

1. Have you ever taken an OER course before? What was it, and what was your experience like?
2. Do you believe OERs are accessible for all, or just a privileged demographic?
3. In addition to the four changes I outlined in my post, what adaptations/adjustments would you like to see in the OER space to make learning more equitable?