OPEN FOR DISCUSSION: Much has been made about the potential of Open Educational Resources (OERs) to make quality education materials more accessible around the globe. (After all, who doesn't like a free lunch?) But there are considerable differences in the process through which such content is delivered, as discussed in this brief from Contact North. The authors see OERs that are currently "pushed" through MOOCs as a "passing fad," whereas the "real future of OERs" lies in the "pull model" where the learners realize that everything they need is already on the web and make their own decisions about what to use. The paper humbly concludes with a plead for "a little more humility about the potential role of OERs."
