Open educational resources/Accessible

Open educational resources are an internet phenomenon, because currently only the internet can offer the almost zero-cost and universal access that characterizes OER. OER are generally available for public use, without password-protection or registration requirements. A higher degree of openness concerning accessibility relates to the freedom to study the work and to apply knowledge acquired from it.

Underdeveloped or poor infrastructure also need to be considered when thinking about open access.^[1] Teachers Without Borders is attempting to address this issue in developing nations by partnering with centers where internet is publicly available. They encourage barrier free communication between educators^[2].

Accessibility can also be used in the narrower sense of ensuring that OER are accessible to disabled users. Accessibility practices include creating subtitles, providing alternate text for images, audio article transcription, generating high contrast color schemes, verifying that content is accessible at larger font sizes, and testing that interfaces are navigable via keyboard and/or alternative devices^[3]

1. ↑ http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/disacc00.htm
2. ↑ http://www.teacherswithoutborders.org/about
3. ↑ http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref/