Open educational resources as educational technologies: Critical thoughts

Abstract

The Open Educational Resources (OER) movement is now more than 15 years old. In Brazil the movement’s success can be illustrated with the inclusion of OER in the 2014-2024 National Education Plan. However, the document places these resources as a category of educational technologies, regarded as tools or neutral artefacts. This article examines this positioning based on a discussion about OER from a perspective that highlights historical, political, and ideological issues. The text reiterates the idea that the thorny relationship between education and technology requires analyses that highlight contextual aspects and considers relations with present time and history.