University of North Texas 
Discovery Series Presents:
by Professor Rory McGreal
The rising cost of education has been a common topic in conversation and in the media
for some time. The cost of information is a highly contentious topic. One component
of this conversation is the cost of textbooks. But did you know there were other
options for faculty to choose?
Prof. Rory McGreal is joining us from Athabasca University in Canada to present his
argument that the world's knowledge is a public good that should be made available
to everyone. OER is a critical resource in the efforts to build a knowledgeable society.
He will focus on the implications of OER on today's educational environment, particularly
on the quality of education and the financial burdens of expensive textbooks on the
students.
He will be discussing some critical questions that are important:
Why are OER needed, not just desirable, in education?
Where are we going with OER in the US and Canada?
What are the limits of "fair use"?
How can OER help not only in teaching but also with online collaborating?
What can we as faculty do to help our students with their expenses?
This lecture was hosted at The Agora, in room G150, at Discovery Park (3940 North
Elm Street, Denton, TX 76207). It was recorded on Thursday, December 15, 2016 from
2:00—3:30 p.m.
Dr. McGreal studied for his PhD (Computer Technologies in Education) at a distance
over the Internet from Nova Southeastern University's Graduate School of Computer
and Information Science. He studied the implementation and management of distance
education systems and networks from technological, pedagogical and policy perspectives.
His present research interests include the use of Open Educational Resources and standards
in technology assisted learning, particularly in the development and application of
learning objects. He is also researching how these would be applied and formatted
on mobile devices for M-learning.