Atlantic Cape Community College Libraries: Open Educational Resources (OER): Home

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The Five Rs of OER

"5Rs image" by David Wiley, Lumen Learning is licensed under CC BY 4.0

Open Access by Walt Crawford Academic libraries routinely struggle to afford access to expensive journals, and patrons may not be able to obtain every scholarly paper they need. Is Open Access (OA) the answer? In this ALA Editions Special Report, Crawford helps readers understand what OA is (and isn't), as he concisely * Analyzes the factors that have brought us to the current state of breakdown, including the skyrocketing costs of science, technology, engineering, and medicine (STEM) journals; consolidation of publishers and diminishing price competition; and shrinking library budgets * Summarizes the benefits and drawbacks of different OA models, such as "Green," "Gold," Gratis," "Libre," and various hybrid forms * Discusses ways to retain peer-review, and methods for managing OA in the library, including making OA scholarly publishing available to the general publicAddressing the subject from the library perspective while taking a realistic view of corporate interests, Crawford presents a coherent review of what Open Access is today and what it may become.
Call Number: Ebsco eBook Academic Collection
ISBN: 9780838911068
Publication Date: 2011-03-08

7 Things You Should Know About Open Educational Resources From EduCause.
The Review Project This review provides a summary of all known empirical research on the impacts of OER adoption (including our own). The version below will be periodically updated with new articles as we become aware of them.
Covering the Cost: Why We Can No Longer Afford to Ignore High Textbook Prices A 2016 report by Student PIRGS.
A Survey of OER Implementations in 13 Higher Education Institutions Institutions in many jurisdictions are in the process of implementing Open Educational Resources (OER). This short paper is based on a report commissioned by Contact North/Contact Nord as part of their Pockets of Innovation series to better understand the impact of OER implementations at diverse institutions. The investigation looks into 13 different OER implementations at the postsecondary level: three community colleges and one university. Four are in the United States; three universities and one Indigenous college in Canada; and five international universities--in Africa, the Middle East, South America, and Southeast Asia. The format of the investigation followed a standard five-point inquiry model: (1) Opportunity; (2) Innovation; (3) Benefits; (4) Challenges; and (5) Potential.
From Proprietary Textbook to Custom OER Solution: Using Learner Feedback to Guide Design and Development This study presents the initial needs analysis and formative evaluation of the beta version of an open educational resource (OER) textbook solution. The OER textbook, created by the authors, replaces a proprietary, paper-based textbook and is delivered to students digitally, within a learning management system. Needs analysis findings show that students are concerned about cost and convenience, and are likely to seek course content online before reading material in a traditional course textbook. Many do not purchase assigned textbooks at all. Students also want mobile access to course readings, and for those readings to be brief and targeted, covering just the necessary content for completing coursework. Students provided positive feedback on the OER textbook, indicating that it helped them meet course learning objectives. The online integration of reading and other content materials within the LMS encouraged use. Students reported higher rates of access and appreciation that the course textbook was free. These findings suggest that instructors should consider the cost, format, length, and relevance of assigned readings in courses, whether they are ready to adopt, adapt or create open digital textbooks or continue to use proprietary, paper-based ones.
Supporting LGBTQ-Inclusive Teaching: How Open Digital Materials Can Help "Supporting LGBTQ-Inclusive Teaching," the first report of its kind to examine the possibilities inherent in LGBTQ-inclusive materials for training classroom teachers, explores the biggest challenges to creating, implementing, and scaling up this kind of PreK-12 teacher professional learning. It is also the first to consider the opportunities in harnessing digital materials, particularly open educational resources (OER), as tools for helping to overcome those challenges and enabling queer inclusion. Situated within the broader context of culturally responsive teaching (CRT), this report aims to help set a research and practice agenda for education leaders that envisions ways to combine lessons learned from both the LGBTQ advocacy and open education fields.

Creative Commons provides the following definition of Open Educational Resources:

Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching, learning, and research materials that are either (a) in the public domain or (b) licensed in a manner that provides everyone with free and perpetual permission to engage in the 5R activities

~ Creative Commons

This definition, from the Hewlett Foundation, is widely quoted by many scholars interested in this topic:

At Hewlett, we use the term “open education” to encompass the myriad of learning resources, teaching practices and education policies that use the flexibility of OER to provide learners with high quality educational experiences. Creative Commons defines OER as teaching, learning, and research materials that are either (a) in the public domain or (b) licensed in a manner that provides everyone with free and perpetual permission to engage in the 5R activities– retaining, remixing, revising, reusing and redistributing the resources.

~William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

OER: Opportunities and Challenges

Why OER?
OER and Community Colleges

The primary reason why most instructors and institutions move toward using OER materials is cost. The following chart, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, shows how the cost of textbooks is helping to put higher education beyond the means of many people.

Chart: Consumer Price Index Textbooks, Tuition, All Materials Comparison shows how between 2006 and 2016, the rising cost of textbooks outpaced general inflation by over 30%.

Many OER proponents have identified other advantages:

Material can be tailored to a specific course.
Save time by adapting existing material instead of starting from scratch.
Expand opportunities for cross-disciplinary teaching and learning.
Increase opportunities for collaboration within and across institutions.
Better meet the needs of diverse learners, and include many voices.
Can encourage students to transition from knowledge consumption to knowledge creation.

Community College Consortium for OER
CCCOER is a growing consortium of community and technical colleges committed to expanding access to education and increasing student success through adoption of open educational policy, practices, and resources. Includes webinars, case studies, and a discussion list.