Transforming Higher Education with Open Educational Resources
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This keynote presentation was presented by Michelle Reed at the Advanced Teaching and Learning with Technology Symposium at IUPUI’s Center for Teaching and Learning in Indianapolis, Indiana, on November 8, 2019. The slides are licensed with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Images are individually licensed as noted in the slide notes. Abstract Initiatives supporting the use and creation of open educational resources (OER) can provide cost, access, and student success solutions for higher education. The affordability argument often associated with OER gets significant attention because commercial textbook prices are startling and cost savings accumulate quickly when transitioning to free resources. However, the pedagogical innovation enabled by openness is as highly valued by both educators and their students. In this presentation, we’ll define OER, examine the impact of OER use in higher education, explore values that are fundamental to open education, discuss concepts of information ownership and authority, and highlight examples of open education that have empowered educators, improved information access, and increased student agency. https://atlt.iupui.edu/keynote
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Transforming Higher Education with Open Educational Resources
- 1. Transforming Higher Education withOpen Educational Resources Michelle Reed, Director of Open Educational Resources University ofTexas at Arlington @LibrariansReed
- 4. 0 20 40 60 80 100 Spring 2018 Fall 2017 UTA Student Government Survey Purchased All Skipped Buying One or More
- 6. $120 at Purchase Buy back for $11 Barely used You tell me UTA
- 7. $400 for 1 book?!
- 8. Extortion
- 9. CRIMINAL
- 10. SCAM
- 11. Ridiculous!! It's robbery!! Stop the madness!!
- 12. It’s a racket, a monopoly.
- 13. SMASHTHE PEARSON- McGRAW- HILL TEXTBOOK Duopoly! $$$
- 14. textbook stole my girlfriend
- 15. Rent them or ask a friend
- 16. Don't buy! It'll be on the PowerPoint!
- 17. I wish prof's would actually use them if I have to pay for them.
- 18. Paying to do HW SUCKS same same
- 19. Expensive. I starve for 3 days because I need to buy $200- $300 just for the online code. 😢
- 20. A waste of money. I need money to eat…
- 21. One of my required books is more than a months rent WTF!!
- 23. They're free on private bay -every student
- 24. There's a reason why I download illegally !!
- 25. I'm always afraid of the cops coming for me & my illegally downloaded pdf textbooks
- 27. 36 % are food insecure 36 % are housing insecure 9 % are homeless - Still Hungry and Homeless in College, Wisconsin HOPE Lab Basic Needs Assessment of Four-Year Students
- 28. $2,000 $3,000 $4,000 $5,000 $6,000 $7,000 $8,000 $9,000 $10,000 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 US Higher Education Funding - $/FTE State Funding Tuition Revenue Source: State Higher Ed Executive Officers Association
- 29. ~ 44 million Americans owe > $1.4 trillion outstanding debt - Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Student Loan Debt
- 31. 2012 2016 63.6% 66.5% Not purchase the required textbook 49.2% 47.6% Take fewer courses 45.1% 45.5% Not register for a specific course 33.9% 37.6% Earn a poor grade 26.7% 26.1% Drop a course 17.0% 19.8% Fail a course In your academic career, has the cost of required textbooks caused you to: - Florida StudentTextbook Surveys, FloridaVirtual Campus
- 32. 85 % textbook purchases increase stress 43 % sacrifice food for textbooks 43 % rely on loans 31% reduce course load - Morning Consult/Cengage (2018) Survey: Buying Course Materials a Top Source of Financial Stress
- 33. “The survey’s results should be a wake-up call for everybody involved in higher education.This is especially true for the publishing industry, including our own company, as we historically contributed to the problem of college affordability. The data is clear: high textbook costs pose barriers to students’ ability to succeed in college. Too many learners today are making painful tradeoffs between course materials and bare necessities like housing and meals. Our industry must embrace what students are telling us.” - Michael Hansen, Cengage CEO
- 34. Open education can transform higher education.
- 37. Open Educational Resources (OER) Free educational materials shared to allow for reuse and revision
- 38. • Content Customization • Localization • Open Pedagogy Open Enables
- 41. “Despite my interest in keeping the price of textbooks low, I found that the cost was still prohibitive for many students….There are many reasons for why this series is an Open Educational Resource, including but not limited to textbook affordability, access, empathy, openness, inclusion, diversity, and equity. I want students to be able to have access to the textbook on day one and after the course ends, not have to choose between buying food and purchasing the text, and not have to worry about a lost, stolen, or expired digital access code.” - Dave Dillon
- 47. Replace $$$Textbooks ● Free textbooks for high-enrollment courses ● Remixed, localized versions of existing OER Training,Outreach, Distance Education ● Manuals, guides, handbooks, course ‘teasers’ ● Proceedings and Gray Literature Public DomainAnthologies ● Anthologies of work published pre-1923 (US) ● Government docs or other public material Student & Community Authored Projects ● University-Community Partnerships ● Student writing, class projects, ePortfolios OER from MavsOpen Press https://uta.pressbooks.pub/
- 54. • 98% of the students said the quality of their UTA CARES course materials was better than (48%) or the same as (50%) traditional commercial resources; 2% said the quality was worse. • 97% of the students said ease of access of their UTA CARES course materials was easier than (52%) or the same as (45%) traditional commercial resources; 3% said access was more difficult. • We asked if this kind of resource use would impact future enrollment decisions. 77% said yes & that they're more likely to enroll in a course using open/free materials. 5% said they'd prefer a course with traditional resources. 15% said it depends & 3% said doesn't matter. Spring 2019 Data (284 students)
- 55. The book provided for the course was very helpful and well written. Because it was very specific for the class, the book was extremely useful.
- 56. The textbook given to us this semester was absolutely amazing.
- 57. [My professor] wrote a really engaging and fun french book!
- 58. It is awesome and cost effective for students who have limited income and it is a great program which should be supported and highlighted in the college mainstream.
- 59. I am very delighted that UTA is moving towards free or reduced- cost textbooks that are online. I am a low-income student and these resources help me greatly.
- 60. Low cost materials helped focus more on learning rather than worrying about how to pay for the education coming from different resources that may cost money, which helped the grade overall.
- 61. The reduced cost is very good for students who are financially strained and offers them an equal opportunity.
- 62. I had potential to do better in this class due to the resources relating closer to the course subject we are learning.
- 63. It was better since I felt that the professor was able to tailor the content of the resources exactly to the what she wanted us to know and what she would test on.
- 64. Easier to access and follow. Less stress when acquiring and using.
- 65. It was easier because there was no log in or sign in process.The link took me directly my book.
- 66. It was a simple link to follow to find the PDF of the book. No unnecessary log in's or other complications.
- 67. I accessed the material by literally clicking a link posted by my professor. No multiple clicks, no ads, and user-friendly interface.
- 68. I could open up the book/website anywhere I wanted.The format was easy to read and just overall better.
- 69. It's convenient to be able to access the copy of our lab manual online just in case you forget it at home. Also its good to be able to print multiple copies of the assignments to study.
- 70. The ability to see it on my phone when out and about was super useful.
- 71. They could be downloaded and it was accessible without wifi which is helpful.
- 72. It was readily available online and could be downloaded if you were gonna go somewhere without internet access.
- 73. It was instantly available as opposed to having to travel to bookstore and pay or wait for my financial aid to come in and buy the books.
- 74. I liked that I did not have to order online and that I could pickup at the book store.
- 75. I bought the printed version of the manual but I liked that I also had access to it online so I could reprint pages to practice labeling and drawing structures.
- 76. It was basically perfection.
- 77. Please do this for every class.
- 78. Please continue to use these resources.The reduced price and ease of use are so important.
- 79. This is a fantastic program that should be more wide- spread throughout the university and departments.
- 80. You go, y’all.
- 81. • Appreciation for format options (increases student agency) • Appreciation for customization of content (increases efficiency) • Appreciation for cost savings (increases affordability + student success) • Significant encouragement for continuing and expanding the program Student Feedback onOER
- 84. • Empowerment • Ownership • Agency Open Enables
- 85. Thank You!
Editor's Notes
- This keynote presentation was presented by Michelle Reed at the Advanced Teaching and Learning with Technology Symposium at IUPUI’s Center for Teaching and Learning in Indianapolis, Indiana, on November 8, 2019. The slides are licensed with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Images are individually licensed as noted in the slide notes. Abstract Initiatives supporting the use and creation of open educational resources (OER) can provide cost, access, and student success solutions for higher education. The affordability argument often associated with OER gets significant attention because commercial textbook prices are startling and cost savings accumulate quickly when transitioning to free resources. However, the pedagogical innovation enabled by openness is as highly valued by both educators and their students. In this presentation, we’ll define OER, examine the impact of OER use in higher education, explore values that are fundamental to open education, discuss concepts of information ownership and authority, and highlight examples of open education that have empowered educators, improved information access, and increased student agency. https://atlt.iupui.edu/keynote
- The University of Texas at Arlington is investing $500,000 to fund open educational resources (OER) led by UTA Libraries in the 2019-20 academic year, the largest award by a public academic institution in the state of Texas specifically supporting OER initiatives. The investment is intended to increase both the affordability of college and the success of UTA students. Open educational resources are free teaching and learning materials that are licensed to allow for revision and reuse. They can be textbooks, videos, quizzes, learning modules and more. https://www.uta.edu/news/news-releases/2019/10/01/library-oer
- University of Texas at Arlington students reported their textbook costs during a Student Government Event in Spring 2018. Images of students holding signs reading how much they spent on textbooks that semester: $300, $500, $650, and $350. Photos: all rights reserved, Katie Gosa.
- University of Texas at Arlington students reported their textbook costs during a Student Government Event in Spring 2018. That semester, 63 students reported skipping the purchase of at least one required course resource and 58 reported purchasing all of their required resources. The same students reported skipping the purchase of at least one required course resource and 43 reported purchasing all of their required resources during Fall 2017.
- UTA Textbook Speakouts were held in UTA Libraries during Spring 2017 (179 entries) and Spring 2018 (145 entries), totaling ~325 responses. Students responded to prompts about textbooks and/or course resource costs on glass walls in the Libraries’ foyer and, separately, on large paper rolls placed near the entrance of the building. I want to share some of the responses with you. Because it is important, if we’re talking about transforming education, to understand what we are transforming from. And I do think it’s also important, at events like today’s, that we make time to listen to our students. A couple of disclaimers. I have eliminated almost all of the profanity. There was a good bit. What you’re about to hear isn’t terribly positive, but it is representative.
- Comment from UTA Textbook Speakout $120 at Purchase Buy back for $11 Barely used You tell me UTA
- Comment from UTA Textbook Speakout $400 for 1 book?!
- Comment from UTA Textbook Speakout Extortion
- Comment from UTA Textbook Speakout Criminal
- Comment from UTA Textbook Speakout SCAM
- Comment from UTA Textbook Speakout Ridiculous!! It's robbery!! Stop the madness!!
- Comment from UTA Textbook Speakout It’s a racket, a monopoly.
- Comment from UTA Textbook Speakout SMASH THE PEARSON- McGRAW- HILL TEXTBOOK Duopoly! $$$
- Comment from UTA Textbook Speakout Textbook stole my girlfriend
- Comment from UTA Textbook Speakout Rent them or ask a friend
- Comment from UTA Textbook Speakout Don't buy! It'll be on the PowerPoint!
- Comment from UTA Textbook Speakout I wish prof's would actually use them if I have to pay for them.
- Comment from UTA Textbook Speakout Paying to do HW SUCKS Same Same
- Comment from UTA Textbook Speakout Expensive. I starve for 3 days because I need to buy $200-$300 just for the online code. 😢 (sad face)
- Comment from UTA Textbook Speakout A waste of money. I need money to eat…
- Comment from UTA Textbook Speakout One of my required books is more than a months rent WTF!!
- Comment from UTA Textbook Speakout A necessary EVIL.
- Comment from UTA Textbook Speakout They're free on private bay -every student
- Comment from UTA Textbook Speakout There's a reason why I download illegally !!
- Comment from UTA Textbook Speakout I'm always afraid of the cops coming for me & my illegally downloaded pdf textbooks
- What this tells me is course materials are a point of frustration, anxiety, and desperation for my students. They are a barrier to effective and equitable education. All of this local data has reinforced what we’ve learned at a national level. The same thing is happening all across the US, and it’s systemic. Image by analogicus on Pixabay
- Textbooks vs. food Textbooks vs. rent More campuses opening food pantries and shelters. From report overview: “This is the largest national survey assessing the basic needs security of university students. It is the HOPE Lab’s 3rd national survey; the other two focused on community colleges. This year we report on 43,000 students at 66 institutions in 20 states and the District of Columbia. That includes over 20,000 students at 35 4-year colleges and universities, as well as students at community colleges. We find: • 36% of university students were food insecure in the 30 days preceding the survey. This year’s estimate for community college students is 42%, but our larger study last year found 56%. • 36% of university students were housing insecure in the last year. Housing insecurity affected 51% of community college students in last year’s study, and 46% in this year’s study. • 9% of university students were homeless in the last year. In comparison, 12% of community college students were homeless in this year’s survey, and 14% in last year’s survey. The data show that basic needs insecurities disproportionately affect marginalized students and are associated with long work hours and higher risk of unemployment. However, the level of academic effort – in and outside the classroom—is the same regardless of whether or not students are dealing with food and housing insecurity. It is therefore critically important to match their commitments with supports to ensure degree completion.” Report Goldrick-Rab, S., Richardson, J., Schneider, J., Hernandez, A., & Cady, C. Still Hungry and Homeless in College. Wisconsin HOPE Lab. (2018) FAQ for Still Hungry and Homeless in College https://hope4college.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Wisconsin-HOPE-Lab-Still-Hungry-and-Homeless.pdf See NPR article for further discussion: https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/04/03/599197919/hunger-and-homelessness-are-widespread-among-college-students-study-finds
- This data from the State Higher Ed Executive Officers Association compares the proportion of cost students contributed in 1990 to today. Funding at state level is decreasing as tuition is increasing. In many states, these lines have crossed. We haven’t crossed in Texas (yet), but the gap is narrowing. Source http://www.sheeo.org
- 44 million Americans have student loan debt totaling over $1.4 trillion Percentage of Borrowers with $20K in Student Debt Doubled Over Last Decade Source: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-finds-percentage-borrowers-20k-student-debt-doubled-over-last-decade/
- 2019 study by American Public Media findings: 34% of U.S. adults think government funding for public colleges and universities has stayed the same over the past decade 27% think it has increased. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports that “state funding for public two- and four-year colleges in the 2017 school year (that is, the school year ending in 2017) was nearly $9 billion below its 2008 level, after adjusting for inflation.” Sources https://hechingerreport.org/americans-think-state-funding-for-higher-ed-has-held-steady-or-risen-survey-finds/ https://www.apmresearchlab.org/stories/2019/02/25/colleges-funding-university-loans-students-free-tuition-government-aid-research-survey https://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/a-lost-decade-in-higher-education-funding
- Most of this is not within the realm of what we can control. There are things we can control. We can make decisions about course materials that end the trend of students skipping the purchase, Or the trend of holding out until they are failing, at which point it’s probably too late to help Or the trend of choosing classes based on what a roommate is taking so you can share a book Or the trend of taking few classes, avoiding a course, or in some cases an entire program because the materials are too damn expensive. FL Student Textbook Survey by Florida Virtual Campus. Cost is an impediment to student success and retention according to the Florida Virtual Campus Survey conducted in 2012 and again in 2016 at every public secondary institution in the state of Florida. Total study population 20K students. Across the four year gap, results are more or less consistent. https://florida.theorangegrove.org/og/items/3a65c507-2510-42d7-814c-ffdefd394b6c/1/
- BOSTON, July 26, 2018 — College students consider buying course materials to be their top source of financial stress after tuition, and the lack of access and affordability of materials has a negative impact on their learning and performance, according to a new survey of 1,651 current and former college students. The survey was conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of Cengage. The largest US-based education and technology company serving the higher education market, Cengage provides course materials including textbooks, ebooks, homework and study guides to 11 million students. The survey, Today’s Learner: Student Views 2018, also shows that students routinely sacrifice basic needs, such as food and spending time with their family, to afford their course materials. Other key findings include: Textbook Purchases Increase Student Stress: Eighty-five percent of current and former students say that their textbook and course material expenses are financially stressful, more so than meals and food (63 percent), healthcare (69 percent), housing (73 percent) and barely less stressful than tuition (88 percent). Students Sacrifice Food for Textbooks: Nearly half of current and former college students (43 percent) say they’ve saved money by skipping meals to afford course materials. Minority Students Are Disproportionally Impacted: Minority students are more likely to report taking fewer classes to save on textbook costs; African American students are also 35 percent more likely to save money for books by skipping a trip home. Coping with the Financial Burden: Almost seven in 10 students report having to get a job during the school year to pay for college textbooks; 43 percent have taken out a loan; and 31 percent have taken fewer classes to save on textbooks costs. Digital Access Drives Success: Digital is seen as a potential way to help with course materials, with 81 percent of students saying easily accessible digital course materials would have a positive impact on their grades. When it comes to digital access, cost and affordability remain key: 72 percent of students say cost-effectiveness is very important when considering digital course materials. Source https://news.cengage.com/corporate/new-survey-college-students-consider-buying-course-materials-a-top-source-of-financial-stress/
- Again, I see my students in these national statistics. They told me the course material situation causes them stress, forces them into difficult choices between food and books (or gifts for your girlfriend), and causes them to move more slowly through their programs. It creates academic risk. How are we going to embrace what students are telling us? “The survey’s results should be a wake-up call for everybody involved in higher education. This is especially true for the publishing industry, including our own company, as we historically contributed to the problem of college affordability. The data is clear: high textbook costs pose barriers to students’ ability to succeed in college. Too many learners today are making painful tradeoffs between course materials and bare necessities like housing and meals. Our industry must embrace what students are telling us.” Michael Hansen, CEO, Cengage *Emphasis added Source https://news.cengage.com/corporate/new-survey-college-students-consider-buying-course-materials-a-top-source-of-financial-stress/
- How are we going to transform education? Image Credit: “Effect_of_Butterfly” by Anastasiya_Markovich is CC BY-SA 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anastasiya_Markovich_Effect_of_Butterfly.jpg
- It can help us go from this {photo of barrier} Image by analogicus on Pixabay
- to this {photo of open arms} Image by avi_acl on Pixabay
- Open educational resources (OER) are free educational materials shared to allow for reuse and revision. Common misconception: open = free (period) Open = free + permissions is CC BY Michelle Reed https://www.flickr.com/photos/oelib/37051477601/
- Open license allows for content customization, localization, and open pedagogy.
- One example I love to use is the Rebus Community. Rebus is a nonprofit that provides a platform to help would-be open textbook authors find collaborators or to help collaborators find projects. These can become large, multi-institutional collaborations and new partnerships. Rebus Community: https://www.rebus.community/
- Rebus Community Dave Dillon's open textbook, Blueprint for Success in College and Career, won the 2019 Textbook Excellence Award from the Textbook & Academic Authors Association. This award recognizes excellence in current textbooks and learning materials. First open textbook to win this award. What the judges said: "Blueprint for Success in College and Career deserves to win the textbook Excellence Award for making succeeding in college possible for a wide audience. It is a straightforward, useful, and accessible textbook that makes it easier to navigate college and develop skills for succeeding beyond the classroom." https://press.rebus.community/blueprint2/ Some folks question the quality of OER because they are “free” resources Open is a license, not a quality indicator.
- Dave Dillon on publishing the OER. https://about.rebus.community/2018/06/blueprint-for-success-open-textbooks-now-available-for-adoption/
- Dave remixed openly licensed content on his topic with his original work. Two of his sources were developed with Open Oregon Educational Resources grants: A Different Road To College: A Guide For Transitioning To College For Non-traditional Students by Alise Lamoreaux and How to Learn Like a Pro! by Phyllis Nissila. Alise and Phyllis are both affiliated with Lane Community College. Blueprint for Success in College and Career is a remix of four previously existing OER (Open Educational Resources): A Different Road To College: A Guide For Transitioning To College For Non-traditional Students by Alise Lamoreaux, How to Learn Like a Pro! by Phyllis Nissila, Foundations of Academic Success: Words of Wisdom, edited by Thomas Priester, College Success, provided by Lumen Learning, and one previously copyrighted textbook with content that is now openly licensed: Blueprint for Success in College: Indispensable Study Skills and Time Management Strategies by Dave Dillon. A free OER, (Open Educational Resource), Blueprint for Success in College and Career is a students’ guide for classroom and career success. This text, designed to show how to be successful in college and in career preparation focuses on study skills, time management, career exploration, health, and financial literacy. https://about.rebus.community/2018/06/blueprint-for-success-open-textbooks-now-available-for-adoption/
- Dave remixed openly licensed content on his topic with his original work. Two of his sources were developed with Open Oregon Educational Resources grants: A Different Road To College: A Guide For Transitioning To College For Non-traditional Students by Alise Lamoreaux and How to Learn Like a Pro! by Phyllis Nissila. Alise and Phyllis are both affiliated with Lane Community College.
- Audiobook now in the works – team being built and organized via Rebus Community. https://projects.rebus.community/project/f8Czpu74dN6QnmnJz3zs7v/audiobook-of-blueprint-for-success-in-college-and-career
- All of these derivative works are possible because of open licensing. We’re not getting into the weeds today with licensing, but I will say Creative Commons licensing mechanism has made identifying, understanding, and applying a license as easy as intellectual property law could possibly be. Once you see them, you’ll start seeing them everywhere. Creative Commons licenses https://creativecommons.org/licenses/
- The other thing these examples have in common is that they were all published with Pressbooks, an open-source online publishing platform. We use Pressbooks for authoring, publishing, and disseminating OER. Chose it due to accessibility features, cloning, and rapidly growing use at other institutions (more content to clone).
- OER published by Mavs Open Press available at https://uta.pressbooks.pub/ Pressbooks used for variety of activities: Replace $$$ Textbooks ● Free textbooks for high-enrollment courses ● Remixed, localized versions of existing OER Training, Outreach, Distance Education ● Manuals, guides, handbooks, course ‘teasers’ ● Festschrift, edited conference collections Public Domain Anthologies ● Anthologies of work published pre-1923 (US) ● Government docs or other public material Student & Community Authored Projects ● University-Community Partnerships [GLAMs] ● Student writing, class projects, ePortfolios Slide content adapted from Steel Wagstaff https://drive.google.com/file/d/16kr-Bz_myQMd61YTtO8GOxUPBrzrk6xR/view
- First OER published by Mavs Open Press; highly collaborative led by Dr. Matt Crosslin; multiple download options including PDF, EPUB, and MOBI; book provides an updated look at issues that comprise the online learning experience creation process. It is intended for new and experienced designers alike, whether creating traditional online courses, open learning experiences, or anything in between. OER: https://uta.pressbooks.pub/onlinelearning/
- The Human Anatomy Lab Manual by Dr. Malgosia Wilk-Blaszczak integrated openly licensed images curated by student teaching assistants with locally authored text. OER: https://uta.pressbooks.pub/anatomylab/
- Creation of Tout un Monde by Alicia Soueid was funded by the UTA CARES Grant Program. It was published as a PDF and is available for optional print purchase, but we’ve also moved the content into Pressbooks and are integrating interactive quizzes and self-checks using an H5P Pressbooks plugin. OER: https://rc.library.uta.edu/uta-ir/handle/10106/28404
- No Limits was a customized text published by a commercial publisher for the last decade or so. The university still owned the copyright, so we transitioned the content to Pressbooks and made it available as an OER. OER: https://uta.pressbooks.pub/nolimits/
- Dr. Habib Ahmari of Civil Engineering was a UTA CARES Innovation Grant recipient. He flipped his applied fluid mechanics lab using an OER and developed instructional videos demonstrating ten experiments, a lab manual, and spreadsheets for reporting results. His final report showed: “The statistical analysis showed that the grades of the students who used the OER as reference material were higher than those of the students who had the same instructor the previous semester but were taught using traditional teaching materials. Teaching with OER also reduced the amount of time spent by students on the course, which indirectly reduced the cost of their education. The results of this study signify the effectiveness of the OER in enhancing engineering education.” Report: http://hdl.handle.net/10106/28408 OER: https://uta.pressbooks.pub/appliedfluidmechanics/
- Dr. Sherri Kermanshachi of Civil Engineering was among our first UTA CARES Grant Program recipients. Her risk management text is a collection of openly licensed images of construction sites, which her class analyzes and discusses. Her final report showed: “Among her findings, students with loans had a more positive perception of the OER, and in this particular course, students using this OER did better than students who had used a traditional textbook in her same course the prior semester.” Quoted from a Pressbooks publication featuring Sherri’s project: https://pressbooks.education/news/2018/08/university-of-texas-at-arlington-kicks-off-oer-program-with-eight-books-in-development/ Reports: https://rc.library.uta.edu/uta-ir/handle/10106/27339
- Student feedback about UTA CARES and Mavs Open Press supported course materials/OER: 98% of the students said the quality of their UTA CARES course materials was better than (48%) or the same as (50%) traditional commercial resources; 2% said the quality was worse. 97% of the students said ease of access of their UTA CARES course materials was easier than (52%) or the same as (45%) traditional commercial resources; 3% said access was more difficult. We asked if this kind of resource use would impact future enrollment decisions. 77% said yes & that they're more likely to enroll in a course using open/free materials. 5% said they'd prefer a course with traditional resources. 15% said it depends & 3% said doesn't matter.
- Student feedback about UTA CARES and Mavs Open Press supported course materials/OER: The book provided for the course was very helpful and well written. Because it was very specific for the class, the book was extremely useful.
- Student feedback about UTA CARES and Mavs Open Press supported course materials/OER: The textbook given to us this semester was absolutely amazing. It gave all the information we needed very clearly and made it interesting to learn with the modern examples and cool extra facts about France obtaining to our lesson.
- Student feedback about UTA CARES and Mavs Open Press supported course materials/OER: [My professor] wrote a really engaging and fun french book!
- Student feedback about UTA CARES and Mavs Open Press supported course materials/OER: It is awesome and cost effective for students who have limited income and it is a great program which should be supported and highlighted in the college mainstream.
- Student feedback about UTA CARES and Mavs Open Press supported course materials/OER: I am very delighted that UTA is moving towards free or reduced-cost textbooks that are online. I am a low-income student and these resources help me greatly.
- Student feedback about UTA CARES and Mavs Open Press supported course materials/OER: Low cost materials helped focus more on learning rather than worrying about how to pay for the education coming from different resources that may cost money, which helped the grade overall.
- Student feedback about UTA CARES and Mavs Open Press supported course materials/OER: The reduced cost is very good for students who are financially strained and offers them an equal opportunity.
- Student feedback about UTA CARES and Mavs Open Press supported course materials/OER: I had potential to do better in this class due to the resources relating closer to the course subject we are learning.
- Student feedback about UTA CARES and Mavs Open Press supported course materials/OER: It was better since I felt that the professor was able to tailor the content of the resources exactly to the what she wanted us to know and what she would test on.
- Student feedback about UTA CARES and Mavs Open Press supported course materials/OER: Easier to access and follow. Less stress when acquiring and using.
- Student feedback about UTA CARES and Mavs Open Press supported course materials/OER: It was easier because there was no log in or sign in process. The link took me directly my book.
- Student feedback about UTA CARES and Mavs Open Press supported course materials/OER: It was a simple link to follow to find the PDF of the book. No unnecessary log in's or other complications.
- Student feedback about UTA CARES and Mavs Open Press supported course materials/OER: I accessed the material by literally clicking a link posted by my professor. No multiple clicks, no ads, and user-friendly interface.
- Student feedback about UTA CARES and Mavs Open Press supported course materials/OER: I could open up the book/website anywhere I wanted. The format was easy to read and just overall better.
- Student feedback about UTA CARES and Mavs Open Press supported course materials/OER: It's convenient to be able to access the copy of our lab manual online just in case you forget it at home. Also its good to be able to print multiple copies of the assignments to study.
- Student feedback about UTA CARES and Mavs Open Press supported course materials/OER: The ability to see it on my phone when out and about was super useful.
- Student feedback about UTA CARES and Mavs Open Press supported course materials/OER: They could be downloaded and it was accessible without wifi which is helpful.
- Student feedback about UTA CARES and Mavs Open Press supported course materials/OER: It was readily available online and could be downloaded if you were gonna go somewhere without internet access.
- Student feedback about UTA CARES and Mavs Open Press supported course materials/OER: It was instantly available as opposed to having to travel to bookstore and pay or wait for my financial aid to come in and buy the books.
- Student feedback about UTA CARES and Mavs Open Press supported course materials/OER: I liked that I did not have to order online and that I could pickup at the book store.
- Student feedback about UTA CARES and Mavs Open Press supported course materials/OER: I bought the printed version of the manual but I liked that I also had access to it online so I could reprint pages to practice labeling and drawing structures.
- Student feedback about UTA CARES and Mavs Open Press supported course materials/OER: It was basically perfection.
- Student feedback about UTA CARES and Mavs Open Press supported course materials/OER: Please do this for every class.
- Student feedback about UTA CARES and Mavs Open Press supported course materials/OER: Please continue to use these resources. The reduced price and ease of use are so important.
- Student feedback about UTA CARES and Mavs Open Press supported course materials/OER: This is a fantastic program that should be more wide-spread throughout the university and departments.
- Student feedback about UTA CARES and Mavs Open Press supported course materials/OER: You go, y’all.
- Student feedback about UTA CARES and Mavs Open Press supported course materials/OER falls into the following three categories: Appreciation for format options (increases student agency) Appreciation for customization of content (increases efficiency) Appreciation for cost savings (increases affordability + student success) Significant encouragement for continuing and expanding the program
- Open educational practices allow students to participate as textbook contributors and OER adapters. Examples of open pedagogy (involving students in co-creation) include Robin DeRosa’s anthology for earlier American literature (later revised by Rebus Community) and David Wiley’s Project Management for Instructional Designers. Read more at http://libguides.uta.edu/openped/examples or visit the Open Pedagogy Notebook at http://openpedagogy.org/
- UTA example of open pedagogy Education Governance in Texas is an OER currently under construction by a graduate course in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. Students can submit their homework assignments in the class to be included in the course’s OER (not yet published). Participation is not required. (Contributing to open resources should always be an option rather than a requirement.)
- Open enables empowerment, ownership, and agency. One of the lessons I hope you take with you today is OER isn’t one thing, though we do frequently talk about OER as if it’s singular. An open resource in and of itself isn’t especially innovative. There’s nothing particularly innovative about swapping a commercial textbook for an open textbook, for example, though that one step into open can have a huge impact on students by eliminating the cost barriers that frequently impede student success. My focus has been doing what needs to be done so our educators have the knowledge, skills, and confidence to transform their students’ learning experiences. I’ve tried to give you a little glimpse of that transformation, but there’s so much more potential. I hope you found something here to inspire you, to help you question your own defaults, and to realize how much more room there is to explore and experiment.
- Image by avi_acl on Pixabay