Embracing openness: The challenges of OER in Latin American education

The Open Educational Resources (OER) movement and the Open Access began only over a decade ago. During this period, the progress of the Open Educational Resources movement took place in developed countries for the most part. Recently, new projects have begun to emerge with a strong emphasis on open education. Yet, the concept of openness in education is a very innovative one, and it has not been embraced by many. In some regions, such as Latin America, OER is still in its early stages and faces many challenges that need to be addressed. Some of these challenges include awareness raising and capacity development. But there is a bigger challenge to face: embracing openness as a core value and an institutional strategy. In this paper, we offer a brief overview of the meaning of the term “open” in education and we analyze the challenges facing the OER in Latin American countries.