Category: Open Educational Resources

Given that Open Educational Resources (OER) are a relatively recent development in higher education, many people are still exploring the ways they can be leveraged towards the goal of increased student engagement.

For the most part, OER are made available online, thereby granting all users access ( (as long as the individual has a working Wi-Fi connection and internet-ready device). But OER are not synonymous with “digital,” since they require the additional consideration of being openly-licensed. Theoretically, a printed course pack could also qualify as an open resource, if it had been released under an open license.

For this reason, identifying the specific advantage of OER (as opposed to digital materials or online learning) can be tricky. A variety of projects are underway to explore this issue.

1) Prof. Matt Brim (College of Staten Island, CUNY) challenged his graduate students to seek out materials that could be integrated into OER, for the field of Queer Studies. The resulting site, Free Queer CUNY, showcases these items and offers student feedback about how they could be used in class.

2) Although created for a high school class, the concept has potential for the college level as well – students were asked to “translate” Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities into 21st century English. Their “translation” is offered as a parallel to the original, providing an interesting comparison for discussion.

3) A Physics course from the University of British Columbia requires students to create “learning objects.” The concept is that if students interact with the material with the goal of teaching others, it will enrich their own experience.

And finally, here is a list of Open Pedagogy Assignments, compiled into a shared doc by educator Quill West.

Open Educational Resources (OER) are in the news lately. Here are a few relevant highlights:
An article in InsideHigherEd notes that there is “undeniable growth” in faculty awareness of the OER. A recent report from Babson Survey Research Group found that almost 50% of 4,000 surveyed faculty had heard about OER in some depth. Co-author Jeff Seaman expressed his surprise at the shifting landscape – “I had not expected the change in print versus digital…I expected it to go [more] slowly.”
In an interview for EdSurge, Jess Mitchell notes the potential of “critical digital pedagogy” as a conceptual framework for incorporating OER into the classroom. According to Mitchell, questions of “how the materials are presented—the format that they’re in, what kind of mode they’re in,” can be used to guide student understanding of the choices behind educational materials.
A similar, but distinct concept, is that of “open research” – the idea that research methodology can be made more transparent, sharing data at all stages of collection, and many other considerations. Finally, if you’re interested in the evolving movement towards open, consider checking out OpenHub, which researches “the impact of open educational resources (OER) on teaching and learning practices.”

Open Educational Resources (OER) are increasingly being used across the country (and the world) as an alternative to high-priced textbooks from traditional publishers. In many ways, OER offer new ways to engage students, and modify the course content to their needs. However, because OER rely primarily on digital platforms, issues of student privacy must also be considered.

Open Educational Resources (OER) were developed in response to the traditional textbook model, which is driven by for-profit publishers (and occasionally leads to $999 textbook costs!). Given the levels of creative control that are possible by drawing upon openly licensed material, faculty are newly enabled to adapt and tailor the course content.
As we start to create our own OER, it’s good to keep in mind – are we just re-inventing the wheel, or using the platform as an opportunity to re-shape the curriculum in ways that reflect the needs of the student population?
For example, an OER course site can integrate more up-to-date readings into the course, or hone in on a specific topic not as well covered by existing textbook offerings. One example of this new potential is a UK-based project on the topic of LGBTQ Health: relying upon open resources, they developed student-led programming on the topic, recorded interviews, and more.

In a post about “Equity & Openness” from the Community College Consortium,  educator Quill West shares about her experience: “One of my realizations was that still, even with OER, authorship looks like a single or cohesive collection of people authoring materials meant to be used by everyone else. There is a very clear line between who writes educational material (mostly academics educated in a Western tradition) and who consumes educational resources.” 
West’s observation that “OERs are not inherently diverse, nor are they necessarily inclusive,” is a good one to keep in mind. There is significant potential for courses to develop in a way that supports student learning and involvement, and provide alternatives to the traditional top-down model referred to above.
 
 
 

Open Educational Resources (OER) have been in the news lately, partly because of the rising interest in this trend. Here are a few recent news items, in context:
+ SPARC (The Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition ) announces that OER has saved $1 billion dollars for students across the world. This estimate is based upon reports from individual OER programs, across K-12, and higher education.
+ EdSurge notes the increasing role of libraries, as a place to promote, and further integrate OER.
+ A blog post from OpenStax addresses the question of how open textbooks are made, giving a window into the development process.

+ Tangentially related to OER is the question of digital vs print materials, and whether either one has a more positive impact on student learning. The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that there is “no easy answer,” and acknowledges the topic as an ongoing debate. (OER materials can be printed out, but typically they are hosted in a digital environment, and therefore may be seen as a hybrid model.)
 

This week, we’ll be featuring an OER course site developed through the OER Faculty Fellowship, here at CityTech.

English 1101: Reading & Writing About New York City – Developed by Prof. Theodora Siranian, the site’s clean appearance is amplified by a photo of the Brooklyn Bridge, which helps orient visitors to its content.
Prof. Siranian notes, “City Tech’s OER Faculty Fellowship helped me create an open-access, resource-sharing site for my English 1101 course. This site provides my students with cost-free access to the course’s entire curriculum, and creates a wonderful digital synthesis between classroom activities, homework, and long-term projects.” 
The overall cohesion  is supported by the layout: students can quickly navigate to their Syllabus, Research Project, and Essay Assignments from the main menu bar. If they are seeking additional writing resources, those are also available under “Helpful Style & Grammar Resources,” such as the Purdue OWL site, and Excelsior OWL. CityTech resources, such as links to the Atrium Learning Center and New Student Center are found on the homepage, where students are most likely to find them.
Prof. Siranian’s site achieves visual simplicity, while also providing a direct path to important content. She also confirmed that the student experience has been strongly positive: the class “has been extremely receptive to [the site’s] accessibility and cohesion.”