On Oct. 29, the Department of Education encouraged schools to use openly licensed educational materials, and proposed that all materials created with Department grant funds have an open license. This will grant accessibility to online lesson plans, assessments, quizzes, games, videos, and more. Quizzes and assessments would be able to be graded instantly. An open license will grant equal access to academic resources online and is available to the students regardless of their location and background as long as they have access to technology. OpenEd.com is one of many services that are supporting this Dept. of Ed. campaign, allowing students to access educational material online that not only feature books, but games, videos, and more interactive material, without the hassle and expensive costs of textbooks.

Over time, education has grown out of its old system. Many schools used an old-fashioned method designed for factory workers, and the material taught was limited to those who had books. If free or reasonably-priced products were offered, compared to traditional textbooks, a greater number of students, “no matter their zip code,” would have access to high-quality resources.

For instance, with OpenEd, students will receive more access to education since technology can be accessed at anytime, anywhere. It will be available to all students with equal standards and educational material, which includes lesson plans, games, videos, assessments, and more that can be changed and updated as the material changes. Open Ed will also be more functional for students since teachers will be able to modify the material to help adapt to what the students should learn depending on their pace of learning.

#GoOpen is a campaign that was initiated by the Department of Education that encourages school districts and educators in all states to use openly licensed material to provide a learning environment with up-to-date material. Openly licensed resources include documents and media that are free to the public to view and use. With OpenEd.com service, the quizzes are graded automatically, and individual results are analyzed so the students will become aware of their academic standing in a more efficient and effective way, and it also recommends resources to areas in which students might be lacking in proficiency. Educational games, videos, and lesson plans are all tied into and reflect Common Core standards. All the material will be continuously updated, which resolves the issue of students and teachers using what is outdated. Currently, there are a few teachers on campus who use OpenEd. Several school districts in the country have begun to adapt to openly licensed material and intend to help students maximize their ability with these resources.

“I kind of feel like this is where everyone is headed, but based on the amount of resources you have, it is not only a book,” Marine Biology teacher Kristin McKown said.

Openly-licensed material provides an effective and savvy way to learn more applicable information in the digital age that will be able to include everyone with a willing mindset to learn. With more accessibility to educational material, students will be able to branch out of learning from traditional textbooks and move on to the digital age.