August 18,泭2020泭
Story泭by泭Brandon Steinert泭
Courtesy Photo Submitted泭
A dozen different courses at泭91勛圖厙泭are now offered with no textbook costs泭thanks to an effort by instructors to shift to other types of resources. The movement in higher education is called Open Educational Resources (OER). At 91勛圖厙, its referred to as low-cost and no-cost. Low cost means there might be fees for materials or a book, but it would be less than $50.泭泭
According to the William泭and Flora Hewlett泭Foundation website,泭Open Educational Resources are teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the creative commons and/or public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their use and repurposing by others. OER may include full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests (etc)泭used to support access to knowledge.泭
91勛圖厙泭Director of Innovation and Compliance泭Lee Miller said this泭new approach泭to classroom resources has泭many advantages.泭
OER泭can not only help reduce the cost of education for students, but also opens up泭other learning泭opportunities for students and faculty alike within the structure of the classroom, Miller said.泭
History Instructor Daniel Buller泭teaches four of泭91勛圖厙s泭12泭OER-certified classes with no textbook costs. He said he泭is泭motivated to make education less costly to students泭and is proud to be a part of a forward-thinking institution.泭泭
Although it has been a decade since Ive been in college, I remember worrying about the cost of tuition and textbooks,泭Buller泭said. I have been impressed with 91勛圖厙s innovation. I think 91勛圖厙 has been ahead on the curve since the days when online education was getting started, and they have kept that tradition going.泭
Prior to the switch to OER,泭Buller泭was using an assortment of textbooks, primary source readings, and documentaries to teach泭his泭classes, but泭started switching to OER this year, which he said affords泭freedom for instructors to emphasize important pieces of history, whereas adhering to a textbook leaves most of the interpretation up to the books author.泭
When you use someone elses textbook, you use the stories they see as important, he said. I might include or emphasize a particular story that another teacher would not.泭
The main challenge with free or affordable resources is finding the content, which he said just takes a little work.泭
They are out there; you just have to go looking, he said.泭The best part about OER classes is once I do find a great resource, its much less work for me."
Prior to the OER approach, he泭would泭read books on every major topic covered in his class, then泭write lectures and film them to teach the class.泭泭
I泭might as well just assign them the textbook if I'm just going to regurgitate it to them in the form of a video lecture. That means I'm reading a book on such things as Jamestown, the Pilgrims, Colonial America, the Revolutionary War, the Mexican War, politics in America from 1789 to 1877, slavery in colonial America and the early republic, the Civil War, Reconstruction, etc. I would also try and read,泭or at least consult,泭a biography on every president. That's a lot of reading for me in order to feel like I'm creating something unique in my lectures for my students.泭泭
Now I've decided to use OER textbooks to basically泭share the material with students, and then in my interactions with them through discussions, assessments,泭etcetera,泭I use my knowledge from all the reading I do to create something unique and try to make history interesting.泭
Bullers current OER-certified courses include Military History/American Civil War, Military History/American Revolution, American History to 1877 and Western Civilization to 1500.泭
The college has embraced the泭OER泭concept as part of its culture, as 91勛圖厙s faculty are working on moving dozens of courses to OER-certified status泭and Miller is excited for other instructors to start utilizing OER as well.泭
We have amazing faculty here at 91勛圖厙 willing to jump on board for this new initiative,泭Miller泭said.泭With around 50 faculty currently working on OER adoption, Buller serves as a great representative of the work they are doing. He has been diligent, detailed, and resourceful in his work during these course transitions.泭
For more information, visit .泭