Using Open Educational Resources (OER) to Support Classroom Teaching: Building Stronger School Libraries, Stronger Future

Using Open Educational Resources (OER) to Support Classroom Teaching: Building Stronger School Libraries, Stronger Future

By Azeez ADEOYE, Ph.D (Wizard Librarian)

As artificial intelligence continues to advance, teachers and school librarians will still be essential in facilitating the teaching and learning process. No technology can replace the human guidance, interaction, and emotional intelligence required to make learning truly effective.

Teaching is both a science and an art. As a science, it is grounded in established pedagogical principles, instructional models, and learning theories that guide how knowledge is delivered, absorbed, and retained. As an art, it depends on the teacher’s creativity, intuition, and professional judgement in transforming structured content into meaningful learning experiences that resonate with learners.

From a theoretical standpoint, several learning theories underpin effective teaching and learning, including social cognitive theory, theories of learning and forgetting, and constructivist approaches that emphasise active learner engagement. In practice, these theories are translated into instructional strategies such as the lecture method, play-way method, Montessori approach, project-based learning, and various classroom management techniques. These approaches are designed to improve comprehension, enhance retention, and support recall by making learning more structured and engaging.

However, effective teaching extends beyond methodology to include the strategic use of instructional resources. Research has consistently shown that learning becomes more meaningful when multiple senses are engaged. This is the basis for the use of teaching aids and instructional support materials in the classroom.

Instructional support materials refer to resources that support instruction and make learning more concrete, engaging, and understandable. They include visual materials such as charts, diagrams, and posters; audio resources such as recordings and radio; audio-visual materials such as videos and multimedia presentations; real objects and models; printed materials such as textbooks, worksheets, and handouts; and ICT-based tools such as digital platforms, simulations, and educational applications. While these resources significantly enhance teaching effectiveness, they often require considerable financial investment, technical capacity, and ongoing maintenance. In many educational settings, particularly those operating under limited budgets, these requirements present significant challenges for both school administrators and teachers.

Despite these constraints, the benefits of  instructional support materials in classroom instruction are well established. They improve understanding of abstract concepts, increase learner interest and motivation, enhance knowledge retention, support diverse learning styles, encourage active participation, and strengthen communication skills. These advantages are particularly important in contexts where disparities in access to quality instructional resources persist, especially across regions in the global South. Such disparities have created a growing need for innovative, cost-effective, and scalable educational solutions.

Table 1: Previous Innovations on Open Education

S/N	Model / Initiative	Year	Initiator(s)	Key Contribution to OER Development
1	Open University	1969	UK Government	Promoted open and distance learning; widened access to education
2	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center)	1966	U.S. Department of Education	Provided free access to educational research and resources
3	Project Gutenberg	1971	Michael S. Hart	First free digital library; open access to books
4	GNU Project	1983	Richard Stallman	Introduced freedom to use, modify, and share content
5	Free Software Foundation	1985	Richard Stallman	Advocated open access and software freedom principles
6	National Science Foundation Network (NSFNET)	1986	National Science Foundation	Expanded internet access for academic collaboration
7	World Wide Web	1989	Tim Berners-Lee	Enabled global sharing of information and resources
8	Open Source Software Movement	1980s–1990s	Richard Stallman and others	Promoted open collaboration and licensing concepts
9	SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition)	1998	Academic institutions and libraries	Advocated open access to scholarly publications
10	MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching)	1997	California State University System	Shared online teaching and learning materials
11	Ariadne Project	1996	European Commission	Promoted digital libraries and resource sharing
12	Public Library Movement	19th–20th century	Governments and Andrew Carnegie	Promoted universal access to knowledge
13	Distance Education Movement	19th century (expanded 20th century)	Universities and correspondence institutions	Introduced flexible and remote learning systems

Open Educational Resources (OER) have emerged as one such transformative solution. OER are teaching, learning, and research materials that are either in the public domain or released under open licences that permit free access, use, adaptation, and redistribution. The concept, formally introduced by UNESCO in 2002 and reinforced by subsequent global policy frameworks such as the UNESCO OER Recommendation and the Dubai Declaration on OER, positions open resources as digital public goods that promote equitable access to knowledge.

OER are typically available in digital formats, making them easy to copy, share, and adapt at little or no cost, although some also exist in print. A central feature of OER is the “5Rs” framework, which allows users to retain, reuse, revise, remix, and redistribute content. This flexibility enables educators to modify materials to suit specific teaching contexts and learner needs.

These resources exist in various forms, including open textbooks such as those provided by OpenStax, open courseware like MIT OpenCourseWare, multimedia learning platforms such as Khan Academy and TED-Ed, lesson plans and teaching guides available through platforms like OER Commons, and interactive simulations such as PhET. Together, these resources provide educators with a wide range of adaptable, high-quality instructional materials.

The integration of OER into classroom teaching offers significant opportunities for strengthening both instructional practice and school library services. For teachers, OER provide immediate access to adaptable teaching materials that can be tailored to learners’ abilities, curriculum requirements, and cultural contexts. This supports more flexible and learner-centred approaches to instruction. For school libraries, OER redefine traditional roles by transforming libraries from repositories of physical books into dynamic centres for digital access, curation, and instructional support. In this evolving model, school librarians become key facilitators in identifying, organising, and curating high-quality open resources for both teachers and learners. As a result, school libraries increasingly function as learning commons that support curriculum delivery, digital literacy development, and independent learning.

The implications of OER adoption for teaching and learning are far-reaching. They reduce the financial burden associated with educational resources, expand access to high-quality materials regardless of location, enable localisation of curriculum content, encourage collaboration among educators globally, promote learner autonomy, and enhance educational equity by reducing resource disparities. Empirical studies also suggest that students who learn with OER-supported instruction often demonstrate improved academic performance due to increased access and engagement.

Nevertheless, the adoption of OER is not without challenges. These include limited awareness among educators and administrators, inadequate internet connectivity in some regions, lack of cultural and linguistic localisation, concerns about quality assurance, and sustainability issues related to long-term maintenance and institutional support. Although OER are freely accessible, their creation, adaptation, and continuous improvement require investment in capacity building, infrastructure, and policy support.

Table 2: List of Open Educational Resources fot Teachers and Students

OER Platform	Level	Resources/Content	Website
Khan Academy	Primary & Secondary	Videos, exercises, quizzes (Maths, Science, English)	https://www.khanacademy.org
Utah Education Network (UEN)	K–12 schools	It provides open textbooks, lesson materials, and curriculum-aligned content that teachers and students can use without paying.	https://www.uen.org/oer/
CK-12 Foundation	Secondary	Free textbooks (FlexBooks), simulations	https://www.ck12.org
OpenStax	Secondary	Peer-reviewed textbooks (Science, Maths)	https://www.openstax.org
BBC Bitesize	Primary & Secondary	Notes, videos, quizzes	https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize
OER Commons	All Levels	Lesson plans, teaching materials, activities	https://www.oercommons.org
PhET Interactive Simulations	Primary & Secondary	Interactive science and maths simulations	https://phet.colorado.edu
UNESCO OER Platform	All Levels	Policy guides, teaching resources	https://www.unesco.org/en/open-educational-resources
National Geographic Kids	Primary	Articles, videos, images (Geography, Science)	https://kids.nationalgeographic.com
TED-Ed	Secondary	Animated lessons, discussion-based learning	https://ed.ted.com
Project Gutenberg	Secondary	Free eBooks, literature texts	https://www.gutenberg.org

In conclusion, Open Educational Resources represent a powerful and transformative approach to addressing persistent challenges in education, particularly in resource-constrained environments. When effectively integrated into classroom practice and supported by robust school library systems, OER have the potential to significantly enhance teaching quality, promote educational equity, and improve learning outcomes. The synergy between innovative pedagogical practices, open resources, and empowered school libraries provides a strong foundation for building more inclusive, responsive, and sustainable educational systems for the future.