Presented by DeLaina Tonks, Director, Mountain Heights Academy

1. Championing the Cause:
Bridging State Policy and Practice in K-12 OER
Discussion led by DeLaina Tonks, Director,
Mountain Heights Academy
Sara Frank Bristow | Salient Research | @salientresearch
#OpedEd14 | Washington DC |20 November 2014

2. Hi! I’m Sara. Sadly, I can’t join you today – I broke my foot and
the doctor said I cannot travel. I’ve prepared some slides
outlining my research. Thanks for coming! Please join me in
thanking DeLaina Tonks for leading this discussion in my absence.

3. Who are K-12 OER champions?
What have they done?
What else can they do?
How?

4. Background
OER Research Hub Hypothesis:
“Participation in OER pilots and programs leads to policy
change at institutional level”
http://oerresearchhub.org/
• Sara’s research: Open Fellowship, October 2013, The Open University (UK)
• #OERHub supported by Hewlett Foundation
• Interviews: Utah (David Wiley, DeLaina Tonks), Washington state (Karl Nelson,
Barbara Soots), others (Cable Green, TJ Bliss, more).

5. This Study
OER Research Hub Hypothesis (Revised):
“Participation in OER pilots and programs leads to policy
change at state/policy level”
• Does state policy drive change? (Is this necessary? When?)
• What are the “ingredients” for successful statewide programs?
• Are the elements of success transferable/documented?
• Is there cross-pollination among states?

6. No large-scale program is succeeding without an
“OER champion” – or champions
Focus on: Utah and Washington

7. The Case of Utah: A Champion At Work
December 3, 2009 blog post:
Last year I began having conversations with Utah public school educators
about sharing their educational materials as open educational resources… A
call to the State Superintendent’s office and some research by their staff
confirmed that there was no explicit statement about who owned the teachers’
work… So, last summer I testified at a meeting of the Interim Education
Committee and had a longer conversation with our State Superintendent and
one of his staff asking for a new Administrative Rule, explicitly stating that
teachers can in fact share their work under open licenses. State Superintendent
Larry Shumway then grabbed a hold of the idea and worked on making it
happen.
– Iterating toward openness blog, David Wiley,
http://opencontent.org/blog/archives/1156

8. OER in Utah: Timeline
2009
• Administrative Rule R277-111: “Sharing of Curriculum Materials by Public
School Educators” removes barriers to OER
• Mountain Heights Academy (Open High School of Utah) opens and
performs well, using standards-aligned OER
2010 - 2012
• Utah Open Textbook Project pilots in schools, then across entire district
2014
• Open Textbooks available statewide through Utah Education Network:
partnership with the Utah State Office of Education and Higher Ed Utah
• Journal articles (then and now) reinforce positive outcomes
• Utah on steering committee for new K-12 OER Collaborative

9. Utah: Summary
• Open textbook pilots and Open High School create a local evidence base:
“If it works for them…”
• Ask teachers what they want/need
• External funding, partnerships outside state and K-12 (e.g. in higher ed)
• Transparency in documentation reinforce process, provide citations – “make
it real”
• Champions beget champions: PhD students, state policymakers, school
directors, recent graduates take up the mantle
OER champions drive communication among schools, higher ed
partners, lawmakers, Utah Office of Education, other stakeholders

10. The Case of Washington: Robust OER Legislation
Washington House Bill 2337, “Regarding Open Educational Resources
in K-12 Education” (2012):
The legislature finds the state’s recent adoption of common core K-12
standards provides an opportunity to develop high-quality, openly licensed K-
12 courseware that is aligned with these standards. By developing this library
of openly licensed courseware and making it available to school districts free of
charge, the state and school districts will be able to provide students with
curricula and texts while substantially reducing the expenses that districts
would otherwise incur in purchasing these materials. In addition, this library of
openly licensed courseware will provide districts and students with a broader
selection of materials, and materials that are more up-to-date.
– HB 2337-2011-12, http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?year=2011&bill=2337

11. OER in Washington: Timeline
2010
• OER advocacy drives launch of Open Course Library for community and
technical colleges. Lawmaker equipped with elevator pitch, talking points,
and one-sentence takeaways (http://opencourselibrary.org/)
2012
• Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) OER work builds on
that of earlier legislative session
• K-12 legislation enables districts to explore OER (no change to state-level
instructional materials policy)
2013
• Paid OSPI position leads OER efforts; small district grants awarded for
adaptation, implementation
• OSPI web site documents legislative mandate, shares OER review
processes and materials (http://digitallearning.k12.wa.us/oer/) (cont.)

12. OER in Washington: Timeline (cont.)
2013
• Existing (10-year-old) instructional materials review process sets stage for
first annual open, OER-specific review
• Focus is on Quality and Common Core State Standards (CCSS) alignment
2014
• Refining model process for districts considering the adoption of OER
aligned to CCSS
• OSPI’s OER Materials Review Instruments widely cited among other
states (http://digitallearning.k12.wa.us/oer/review/instruments.php)
• Washington on steering committee for K-12 OER Collaborative

13. Washington: Summary
• Building on work of other OER champions
• The college-level Open Course Library, and then OSPI’s Reviewed K-12 OER
Library, offer an evidence base: “If it works for them…”
• Transparency in documentation creates a template and tools for all
• Reviewed materials draw from, and are available to, all (Utah’s open
textbooks among these)
OER champions carry out a legislative mandate, model processes for
others, and focus on including OER in existing state review processes

14. Research Analysis: The Work of Champions
• Focus on common drivers: universal issues of cost, quality, access,
standards alignment
• Implement policy change and good practice in parallel
• Remove barriers to OER uptake: in policies, e.g. materials review
• Get friendly: introduce advocates, policymakers, K-12 and higher
ed partners, funders, district leaders, subject experts
• Lead by example: establish schools-based evidence rooted in
existing practice (everyone is looking for this!)
• Document their work for the benefit of others – and themselves

15. Topics for Discussion
• Are potential K-12 OER champions aware of existing advocacy
opportunities, or must they create their own?
• Do OER champions know they are champions? Should this be a
more formal (e.g. designated) role in large-scale efforts?
• What does successful OER collaboration between K-12 and higher
education partners look like?
• What lessons can/cannot, be learned from colleges/higher ed?
• What factors led to the formation of K-12 OER Collaborative? Will
the same drivers take it forward?
• Do the same mechanisms address the needs of those a) Creating
OER, and b) Using/adapting existing OER, in K-12?
• Other ideas?

16. Who are K-12 OER champions?
What have they done?
What else can they do?
How?

17. Thank you for coming!
Discussion by DeLaina Tonks, Director,
Mountain Heights Academy
dtonks@mountainheightsacademy.org
Contact Sara at sara@salientresearch.net,
or tweet @salientresearch
Sara Frank Bristow | Salient Research | @salientresearch