What is an OER Specialist?
Officially, an OER Specialist can be defined as:
Someone who supports the adoption and creation of open and affordable course content. The Specialist provides guidance and compliance assistance on copyright and fair use issues related to OER, as well as copyright use in classroom teaching and technology, online courses, published materials and other mediums.
An OER Specialist is a person who may help to create and compile OER materials.
Imagine de Robert Armstrong de la Pixabay
These Specialists should possess certain skills that will help them to succeed in their position. These skills include:
- Strong computer skills in desktop and web-based applications including:
- Mac and/or Windows OS
- Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, etc)
- Google Suite (Google Docs, Google Drive, Gmail, Google Calendar, etc)
- Strong analytical and organizational skills
- Effective interpersonal, collegial and communication skills (both oral and written)
- Strong Critical Thinking skills
- Ability to work for faculty interests, setting aside personal preference, bias or beliefs
- Comfort with Public Speaking
- Ability to set and adjust priorities and work flow in a dynamic and changing environment and accept new challenges to realize goals with a focus on time management.
- Ability to present effectively to a variety of audiences.
- Ability to work creatively, collaboratively, and effectively both as a team member and independently and to promote teamwork among colleagues.
- Capacity to thrive in an exciting, ambiguous, future-oriented environment and to respond effectively to changing needs and priorities.
- Ability to learn new skills quickly
- Desire to be constantly challenged
Out of all of these skills, the last is the most important. Specialists will be in a constant state of adapting to unique needs and problems. The desire to be challenged will help a specialist to face the unique nature of each project with a positive outlook to better serve the faculty they work with.
Don’t Panic!
If you or your specialist doesn’t have all of these skills, there is no need to worry. Each specialist will bring their own unique skills to the task. A large part of being an OER Specialist is the ability to continue learning and adopting new skills.
