Faculty Reflections

Share, what difference, if any, using open educational resources has made to your teaching.

"Students are able to access course content from the beginning of the semester. In the past, some students purchased their textbook late due to delayed funds. Although I provided a few photocopies of important text material, some students were at a disadvantage since they didn't have the text. Now, there is equal opportunity learning because all students, regardless of their funds, are able to access the OER sources." - Fall 15 Champion Instructor

"I feel more in control of the material. When I used a traditional textbook, I had to teach whatever was in the chapters. I suppose I could have skipped parts of each chapter, but usually I would not since I felt obligated to use as much of the textbook as possible, so the students would feel like they were getting their money's worth. With OER, I can adapt materials (as permitted by the license) so that I am including only the material I want to include. I have really enjoyed this part the most. 2) It's much easier to adapt the course material to meet the needs of my students. If I see a number of students are struggling with some concept, I can modify material or add material or even delete material. Several times over this semester, I modified my course content to make it clearer based on feedback from students. While it is also possible to modify content when using a traditional textbook, for me it meant I needed to find some non-textbook resource to fill in where the textbook was not sufficient. 3) In the past, I was not able to use the textbook until at least the 2nd week of the semester since many students did not have the text until then. Now, we jump right into the course material and everyone has access. " - Fall 15 OER Champion Instructor

If you were to share your “lessons learned” with an instructor new to OER, what would they be?

"OER is a lot of work up front. Finding resources can be a time-consuming challenge. But, it's fun, too, to see what materials are available. I really enjoyed collecting resources and modifying them to fit my course. Also, I never found the "perfect" textbook to replace my traditional textbook. After searching for awhile, I ended up mashing up several sources and creating course content that really fits the needs of the class. I think the "mash up" approach is certainly worth considering when investigating OER." - Fall 15 Champion Instructor

"Don't wait until the materials are perfect before using them. Deploy and then iterate. " - Spring 16 Champion Instructor

Share comments students have made to you about using of OER.

"Students appreciate having access to the OER materials from any computer, and since they are so adept at using their phones, some have even accessed materials (in tiny print) on their phones. They appreciate not having to purchase a book or to carry one around, either. As learners, many like videos as a mode of instruction."- Fall 15 Champion Instructor

"They love it! Of course there's the cost savings, but they also like the relevancy of the texts. Once we found a typo. By the next week it was gone! Students were very impressed with that." - Spring 16 Champion Instructor