What is the role of OERs in the broader society? This paper postulates the presence of two social domain that an individual navigates throughout one's life cycle: the Informal domain, which is characterized by the family, community, and the natural environment, and the Formal domain, which is characterized by public and private institutions and industry. It explores the role of the school system as the gatekeeper of the Formal domain, serving to train individuals for their roles in the legal, public sphere as well as to eventually legitimize their entry into the world of work. Moreover, the school system trains its students to imbibe the culture of the Formal domain and progressively detaches them from the natural and devaluing the informal domain, leading to the myriad symptoms of the malaise that philosophers have associated with modernity and the unsustainable trajectory of modern society.
The internet, a generally decentralized and un-institutionalized arena, mostly follows the Informal domain in how individuals access and interact with it. However, we also find institutions creating their own spaces in the internet. Thus it is posited as a third domain. In this virtual “gray area” hovering above both domains, one can find a re-valuation and re-appreciation of the Informal domain, by providing a platform of communication for the public sphere through myriad virtual communities. This paper is an exploration of how OERs and current ICTs have made this delineation of domains less distinct, thus allowing it to act as a “keymaker” to the formal sphere. Through this platform for validation and equal valuation of the wisdom of the informal domains in interconnectedness, conservation, and sustainability, coupled with the drive of the formal domains towards progress and development, a society can balance its priorities and move towards the creation of sustainable policies and institutions.

Keywords

education reform · formal learning · informal learning · OER in society