Learning Outcome 4: Examine and reflect upon the potential for equitable access for all learners in online and open learning contexts.

I think a big part of the reason I reached this outcome is because of Topic 3. In the article by Mays that I read in Topic 3, he mentioned that “Even though 67% of college students in Florida and 54% of those in British Columbia cannot afford to purchase at Even though 67% of college students in Florida and 54% of those in British Columbia cannot afford to purchase at least one of their required course textbooks, we more readily attribute their inability to complete assigned readings to laziness and entitlement than I was very impressed by this(Mays,2017). I myself know how expensive textbooks are, as I have mentioned in my blog 3.

After reading the article, I learned that this problem can be solved through OERs, which allow all students or educators to have equitable access to the educational resources they need. The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights asserts that “higher education shall be equally accessible to all.”(Mays,2017), and OERs are the beginning of this. We can imagine that all students are on the same starting line and will not be unable to complete their education due to different family situations or unable to concentrate on their studies due to the burden of money.

My pod member Dennis made the same observation as I did:

Under his blog, I echoed his thoughts：

In the Digital Equity and Perspective Pod project, my group and I also discussed how people with physical disabilities can be treated equally in learning and enjoy a normal education. Here is the analysis of our group’s table:

From completing these activities, I learned that there is currently inequality among students and that many cannot afford the financial pressures that come with studying.

The things I learned matter to me because I hope to help OERs develop through my own efforts, and I hope that in the future OERs will develop to address these inequalities and allow all students to participate in learning without fear.