OER Update

David LippmanPierce College Ft Steilacoom

FACTC Fall Meeting

What are Open Educational Resources (OER)?

Educational resourcesTextbooks, assignments, courses, videos, worksheets, activities, etc.

that are shared freely under an open license.

Why Care about OER?

1. Cost Savings

Textbook Costs

$1200 / year

Online access codes

Time-bombed eBooks

From http://www.aei-ideas.org/2012/12/the-college-textbook-bubble-and-how-the-open-educational-resources-movement-is-going-up-against-the-textbook-cartel/

The Direct Relationship Between Textbook Costs and Student Success

60%+ do not purchase textbooks at some point due to cost

35% take fewer courses due to textbook cost

31% choose not to register for a course due to textbook cost

23% regularly go without textbooks due to cost

14% have dropped a course due to textbook cost

10% have withdrawn from a course due to textbook cost

Source: 2012 student survey by Florida Virtual Campus

“70% of respondents had decided against buying at least one assigned textbook due to cost. While some of these students reported sharing or borrowing instead, 78% still believed they would generally do worse in class without their own copy of the required text.”

http://www.studentpirgs.org/news/ap/high-prices-prevent-college-students-buying-assigned-textbooks

Example: Green River

27 sections of Math 141 each year× 30 students per section× $200 (Amazon retail of Stewart Precalc – cost of printed OER text)

$162,000 saved in one year, in one course

This is a simple way thatwe as faculty can address

access inequity

2. Control

Open ≠ Digital

Open ≠ Free

OPEN

DIGITALFREE

Open is a legal framework for sharing

Open LicensesCreative Commons

OER: The 5R PermissionsSharing and creativity are inherent in OER:

•Make and own copies

Retain•Use

the content in its unaltered form

Reuse

•Adapt, adjust, modify, improve, or alter the content

Revise

•Combine the original or revised content with other OER to create something new

Remix

•Share copies of the original content, revisions or remixes with others

Redistribute

At the Most Basic Level

No broken links

No surprise changes

No forced new editions

Open = freedom to

AddRemoveModify

SupplementIgnore the book

Customize and Localize

Searching through dozens of books for the perfect one

vs

Mixing contents from multiple texts to create a perfect match for your outcomes

The State of OER

Mercy College -AlgebraPercentage passing with C or better

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

80.00%

63.60%68.90%

48.40%

60.18%55.91%

64.50%

Fall 2011No OER

Fall 2012OER

Spring 2011No OER

Spring 2013OER

TotalNo OER

TotalOER

n=2,842 including pilot

“Going OER” can mean

• Textbook swapout• Adapt, adopt, and implement an open course• Mix, match, and adopt• Build from scratch

• For many courses, there is existing OER• For many courses, there are existing OER

courses.

Different Levels of Engagement

• Individual Faculty• Small groups of individual faculty• Departments working together• Institutional change

Z Degree: Tidewater Community College's textbook answer

The college estimates that students who complete their degree through the textbook-free program could save one-third on the cost of college.

OER AA

Things that seem to help

• Systemic change & institutional support• An OER champion• Support for faculty