The Not Quite Everything You Wanted To Know About OER

in a Required PowerPoint Presentation

Jack Harton – Highline College LibraryMarch 2015

OER: What Are They?Definition

“OER are teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that

permits their free use and re-purposing by others. Open educational resources include full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support

access to knowledge.” Hewlett Foundation

OER: The Benefits (Part I)It Helps Address This Issue:

Source: Kingkade, Tyler (2014, Jan. 4) “College Textbook Prices Increasing Faster Than Tuition And Inflation”. Huffington Post. Accessed 03/03/15.

OER: The Benefits (Part II)Economic Benefits to Students

Students face substantial economic barriers in pursuing a higher education. In addition to the rising costs of textbooks . . .

In Washington State, for example, the cost of tuition and feeds for a full-time student in a community/technical college has risen from $2,925 in 1010/11 to $4,000 in 2013/14.

Source: WA State Board of Community and Technical Colleges Annual Report, 2013/14

OER: The Benefits (Part III)Quality of OER

“For the subset of faculty with sufficient exposure to both traditional and OER it appears that there is preference for the quality of traditional resources, but

this preference is not large. Nearly three-quarters of faculty consider the quality of open educational resources to be the same as or better than that of

traditional resources.”

From the Babson Survey Research Group Report on Open Educational Resources:Opening the Curriculum: Open Education Resources in U.S. Higher Education, 2014

OER: The Benefits (Part IV)

Flexibility For Faculty

“With most openly licensed content, users can revise and remix the material, fixing errors, correcting any factual inaccuracies, and combining different resources to suit the specific

needs of the course.”Open Educational Resources Virginia Community Colleges: EdTech@the VCCS

Open resources are one way to address the rising costs of education, and they also have the potential to facilitate new styles of teaching and learning. Giving faculty the ability to

pick and choose the individual resources they want to use—and to modify those resources and “assemble” them in unique ways—promises greater diversity of learning

environments. 7 Things You Should Know About Open Educational Resources. Educause.

OER: The Benefits (Part V)

The OER Originator Can Benefit From:• a wider range of learners

• student/user feedback and open peer review

• reputational benefits, recognition

• benefits (efficiency and cultural) of collaborative approaches to teaching/learning

• opportunities to work across sectors, institutions and subject disciplines

• increased digital literacies (particularly around IPR)

• reaching a wider range of learners

(Open Educational Resources Toolkit. JISC)

OER: The Benefits (Part VI)

The OER Learner Can Benefit From:• enhanced quality and flexibility of resources

• seeing/applying knowledge in a wider context than their course would otherwise allow, e.g. international dimension

• support for learner-centred, self-directed, peer-to-peer and social/informal learning approaches

• skills development (e.g. numeracy) through release of generic OER that can be re-used and re-contextualised in different subject areas

• the opportunity to test out course materials before enrolling – and compare with other similar courses

• authentic or 'real-life' learning experiences through OER that link to employer or professional sector activities

(Open Educational Resources Toolkit. JISC)

OER: The Challenges (Part I)

Lack of Awareness

Key Findings From the Babson Survey Research Group Report on OER (2014)

Faculty are not very aware of open educational resources. Depending on the strictness of the awareness measure, between two-thirds and three-quarters

of all faculty classify themselves as unaware on OER.

From the Babson Survey Research Group Report on Open Educational Resources:Opening the Curriculum: Open Education Resources in U.S. Higher Education, 2014

OER: The Challenges (Part II)Various Barriers Perceived by Faculty

(What’s Wrong with Open Educational Resources: Barriers and Solutions. Open Education Ideas)

OER: The Challenges (Part III)

Other Potential Barriers • Legal issues - still a significant real and perceived barrier. Existing materials

may contain materials that can't be released openly.

• Institution wide approach - HE institutions may not have culture or mechanisms to support institution wide dialogue which is needed for OER

initiatives

• Uneven development due to subject discipline focus and cultures - some departments may be more inclined to openness and some may have been

more experimental with new technologies

(Open Educational Resources Toolkit. JISC)

OER Continues and Grows

Based on the results of the [Babson Research Group] survey, the use of OER may potentially increase greatly over the next three years. When faculty

members that are not current users of open educational resources were asked if they expected to be using OER in the next three years, a majority (77.5%) reported that they either expected to use OER or would consider using OER.

From the Babson Survey Research Group Report on Open Educational Resources:Opening the Curriculum: Open Education Resources in U.S. Higher Education, 2014

This Presentation is Over:A Closing Thought

OER is Here to Stay. It’s a Good Thing. Embrace It.

Like most good changes, it is awkward in the beginning, with ups and downs and inconsistencies. However, the value and potential impact of OER far

outweighs the challenges involved in adopting such resources. It’s the future, and a positive one. Go with it.