Who the “21st century learner” actually is
The phrase suggests a single type of person, but it covers a very mixed group. A learner might be a school pupil on a shared family tablet, an adult studying in the evening after work, or someone in a region where mobile data is the only practical connection. What these learners tend to have in common is not a particular skill set but a particular set of circumstances: they study in short windows of time, on whichever device is at hand, and often alongside other responsibilities.
For anyone creating open educational resources (OER), this is the useful starting point. You are rarely designing for a captive classroom audience with a fixed schedule. You are designing for people who may find your material through a search, use it once, and move on, or who may return to it over many months. Outcomes vary a great deal between learners, and the evidence on which design choices improve learning is mixed, so the sections below describe common expectations and sensible habits rather than guaranteed fixes.
Mobile-first reading and viewing
In many places a phone is the main or only device for study. That does not mean every resource must be a phone app, but it does mean a resource should remain readable on a small screen. A few habits help:
- Use text that reflows to the screen width instead of fixed-size pages.
- Keep tables narrow or provide them in a form that can scroll sideways without breaking.
- Avoid relying on hover effects, tiny buttons or drag-and-drop as the only way to interact.
- Keep images and media light, so pages load acceptably on slow or metered connections.
A fixed-layout document that looks fine on a desktop monitor can be close to unusable on a phone. Testing your own resource on a small screen, even informally, is one of the cheapest quality checks available.
Short formats and chunked content
Many learners expect to be able to finish something useful in a single sitting of ten or fifteen minutes. Breaking a topic into short, self-contained pieces fits that pattern, and it also fits what researchers describe as cognitive load: people can hold only a limited amount of new information in mind at once, so shorter units with one clear idea each are often easier to follow.
Short does not mean shallow. A good short unit has a stated purpose, one main idea, an example, and a way to check understanding. Writing clear learning objectives for each unit helps you decide what to include and, just as importantly, what to leave out. Be wary of cutting so aggressively that the links between ideas disappear; learners still need to see how the pieces fit together, so a brief map or sequence at the start of a series is worth including.
Flexible pathways and learner control
Current learners often expect to choose their own route: to skip what they already know, to revisit what they find difficult, or to study in a different order from the author’s. Open resources are well placed for this, because they can be broken apart and recombined. Designing for this means making each unit understandable without having read the one before it, or at least stating clearly what a reader needs to know first.
This ties into the idea of learner agency, where the person studying has a real say in pace and direction. It also means giving people a way to see where they stand, through short checks or self-review prompts, so that the freedom to choose does not leave them guessing about their progress.
Openness, licensing and reuse
What distinguishes OER from ordinary free web content is the permission to reuse and adapt it. Learners and teachers increasingly expect to copy a section, translate it, update an example or combine it with other material. That only works when the license is clear and visible. Choosing a recognized open license, such as one of the Creative Commons family, and stating it on every page or file, removes guesswork. If you build on someone else’s work, check that the licenses are compatible and credit the original properly.
Copyright and licensing rules differ between countries and between situations, so this article is general information only. For a specific project, consult the official license text and, where needed, your institution’s copyright office or a qualified adviser.
Reuse also depends on practical choices. Editable source files, plain structure, and avoiding content locked inside images all make it easier for others to adapt your work. A resource that can only be viewed, never changed, is open in name more than in practice.
Access, connectivity and devices
Not every learner has a reliable connection, a recent device or unlimited data. Part of writing for current learners is being realistic about this. Offering downloadable versions, keeping file sizes modest, and avoiding unnecessary video where text and a diagram would do can widen the audience considerably. Problems with device and data access are one reason that a resource designed only for fast broadband and a large screen will quietly exclude some of the people it hopes to reach.
Accessibility belongs here too. Headings that follow a logical order, text alternatives for images, captions or transcripts for audio and video, and sufficient color contrast help learners using screen readers, those with low vision, those in noisy environments, and anyone who simply prefers reading to listening. Treating these as basic quality rather than an optional extra is widely recommended.
Interaction, practice and feedback
Learners also tend to expect something to do, not just something to read. Even in a simple text resource you can include short questions, worked examples, and prompts that ask people to explain an idea in their own words. Practice that asks learners to recall information, rather than re-read it, a method often called retrieval practice, is generally supported by learning research, though the size of the benefit varies with the subject and the learner.
Automatic feedback is useful where it exists, but it is not essential. Answers hidden behind a “show answer” section, or provided at the end of a page, give a learner something to compare against. If the resource is likely to be used without a teacher, make sure the feedback explains why an answer is right, not just that it is.
A cautious approach to trends
New formats and tools appear constantly, and it is tempting to chase each one. A more sustainable approach is to build around durable habits: clear writing, light files, visible licenses, accessible structure and honest signposting of what the resource can and cannot do. Tools can change while these habits stay useful.
It also helps to gather feedback from the people who actually use your material, and to treat early versions as drafts. A short feedback form or a visible way to report problems lets you correct errors and improve over time, which is one of the real advantages of working openly.
Putting it together
When planning a new open resource, a simple checklist can keep these ideas in view:
- Who is this for, and on what device and connection will they most likely use it?
- What is the one thing each unit should help them do?
- Can they use each unit on its own, and in a different order if they wish?
- Is the license clear, and can others edit the source?
- Is it accessible, and does it include some way to practice and check understanding?
The answers will differ for each audience, which is why the other articles in this cluster look at particular groups of learners and subjects in more detail.