Serendipity35

This month, panOpen announced that it is partnering with Instructure to integrate panOpen's OER-based learning platform into the Canvas learning management system. This is important because it furthers the use of Open Educational Resources, and it is something to watch as it moves OER deeper into the commercial side of higher education. 

I'm not opposed to this move. It reminds me of how open source software - such as another LMS, Moodle - became a platform you could purchase through a partner who would host it and manage it for a school. It was ten years ago that I wrote here about bringing Moodle to my university. I had done a presentation on the process which I had initiated in 2005 and compared it to kittens. "It's free - like free kittens." That phrase came back to me in looking at the panOpen website where they say this about OER being free:

"Educational content that is licensed under a Creative Commons license is free to use and share. Depending on the CC license, one may also be able edit and create derivative versions. If there is a cost to OER, it is not for the underlying content but for the technology and support services that enhance them to create more compelling learning tools. As is commonly noted in open source software, OER are free like puppies not like beer. It takes some effort to make sure they’re healthy and strong. Even so, when there’s a fee associated with OER it’s typically a small fraction of the cost of conventional textbooks."

Instructure's Canvas is probably the fastest growing LMS in the marketplace today, so this partnership has the potential to make real inroads. Is OER entering the mainstream? Are they being viewed as a compelling alternative to commercial content?