• Do you think OER initiatives are
  sustainable? Why or why not?

Sustainable?
OER initiatives are sustainable because they are commonweal; they are in the best interest of the people. However, this is not a simple task. “Sustaining work the results of which are given away for free is difficult.” Since sustainability is often defined as “an ongoing ability to meet its [OER project] goals” (Wiley, 2007), it is especially important for the OER project to identify and focus on its goals.

Do you think OER initiatives are sustainable?  Why or why not?

What can we learn from new Web models of decentralization and participatory, user/producer culture in thinking about the future of OER?

What surprised me in the reading this week, is how little the authors of papers on the sustainability of OER projects covered economic sustainability.  They all had a similar list of economic models that various groups have tried.  Again and again they emphasized that the most important feature of sustainability, was to know what your goals are and to accomplish them.  

I loved Stephen Downes comment that you can't give anyone an education... 

Are OER initiatives sustainable? Why or why not? I think OERs are sustainable because people want them. When a group of people want something they tend to take actions to get it. Sometimes those actions include fighting obstacles (as in the case of a freedom movement faced with a repressive regime). But it’s harder to maintain an obstacle in the road than to allow free movement on that road. So goals that move a group toward freedom are usually achievable in the end. Thus, I think that the communities that use OERs will find ways to sustain them.

Do you think OER initiatives are sustainable? Why or why not?

Do you think OER initiatives are sustainable? Why or why not?

After reading this week’s articles on the sustainability of OER, I do think that the initiatives are—or will be—sustainable.