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OERs: How can they benefit faculty?

Open Educational Resources (OER) are a thriving resource that have many benefits for students.  OERs are a cost-effective solution for the increasing price of traditional textbooks. The content is mutable, as it can be updated and distributed in real-time. This can help avoid the problem of revised, multiple editions of print textbooks. OERs are also curated electronically. This migration from paper to digital content makes them more green and sustainable.

What are some benefits that faculty have in creating OERs? What are some other materials besides textbooks can be derived from OERs?

To answer these questions, you can use the resources found in the City Tech Library’s OER Libguide or the video for the first week of the syllabus.

Welcome to our site!

Who are we?

I thought it would be apropos to inaugurate our site space by starting with some virtual introductions prior to our face to face meetings. The Spring 2016 OER cohort consists of 11 faculty – representative of the many disciplines here at City Tech. Welcome all!

Sue Brandt Entertainment Technology Health and Safety in Production
Raffi Khatchadourian Computer Systems Technology Programming Fundamentals
Ellen Kim Hospitality Management Hospitality Services Marketing and Management
Ohbong Kwon Computer Engineering Technology Electrical Circuit
David Lee Humanities (Communication) Business and Professional Communication
Ari Maller Physics General Physics I: Calculus Based
Zory Marantz Electrical Technology Analog and Digital Telephony
Barbara Mishara Architectural Technology History of New York Architecture
Debbie Priftakis Biology Anatomy & Physiology
Rebecca Shapiro English College Composition I
Suresh Tewani Chemistry General Chemistry I Lab

On this site and at the workshops, you’ll also be interacting with library faculty from the OER Committee. We are:

Nora Almeida Instruction & Reference
Monica Berger Instruction & Reference
Cailean Cooney User Services
Junior Tidal Multimedia & Web Services

What is this site for?

Through the course of your OER work, this site will be a place to engage in discussions, ask questions, share experiences, tips, fails, and successes with our community (including OER fellowship alumni!).

The Home/Landing page will feature our “posts” and comments, aka, our dialogue thread. The next tab on the main menu is the Workshops Syllabus which includes brief readings and assignments to complete in advance of the workshops. For each workshop, librarians on the OER committee will post provocations to get the conversation started early. We’ll also intermittently post topics, noteworthy updates, and tips relevant to open education and open course materials; please feel free to do the same as well.

Next, there is the Bibliography tab- this includes a list of recommended readings and videos. Finally, the Resources tab links to several resources intended to help you throughout the program. Of most immediate use will be the library’s OER Guide and the OER Fellowship page, home to important information (project deadlines, etc.) about our program.

Any questions? Feel free to email or post a Q to this site. Happy exploring!

-Cailean