Affordable Course Materials and Open Educational Resources (OER): Professional Development and Education

This guide is designed to assist faculty in the exploration, identification, evaluation, selection, and adoption of Affordable Course Materials and Open Educational Resources

Intro to OER - Canvas Course

OER Training Course
This course, created by Daniel Wooddell, Instructional Technologist at Xavier University, shows how to find different types of resources, guides to understanding OER/AL/IA, and more. It is a Canvas course and is part of Canvas Commons. Instructors can place the entire course in their Canvas shell or specific modules.
Introduction to Open Education Resources: A 20-minute Course https://canvas.instructure.com/courses/815700 This course content is offered under a CC Attribution Share AlikeLinks to an external site. license.

CCCOER (Community College Consortium of Open Educational Resources)

The Community College Consortium for Open Educational Resources (CCCOER)
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. We are celebrating our 10th Anniversary in 2017-18 with retrospectives from the amazing visionaries, leaders, and members who have contributed to building our community.

Higher Education Journals

Campus Technology
Campus Technology is one of higher education's top information sources — delivering valuable information via a daily site, monthly digital magazine, newsletters, webinars and online tools. It's the go-to resource for campus professionals — providing in-depth coverage on the technologies and implementations influencing colleges and universities across the nation. You'll discover valuable hands-on articles, best practices, industry trends, expert advice and insightful articles to help administrators, campus executives, technologists and educators plan, develop and successfully launch effective IT initiatives.
more...less...
The section on E-Learning is very useful in relation to OER and Affordable Learning Resources.
Chronicle of Higher Education
Click on the Publisher's site link
Inside Higher Education
Inside Higher Ed is the leading digital media company serving the higher education space. Born digital in the 21st Century at the height of the Internet revolution, our publication has become the trusted, go-to source of online news, thought leadership, and opinion over the last decade.

Our mission is to serve the entire higher education ecosystem - individuals, institutions, corporations, and nonprofits - with the best editorial and marketing solutions in our space. As a truly mission-driven organization, we are proud to have earned the trust and loyalty of our readers by speaking as a fiercely independent voice on the pressing issues of the day.

BCcampus

Open Education Leading Open Education in British Columbia
At BCcampus, we don’t just talk about Open – we are innovators and implementers, actively improving access to education to make the lives of students and instructors easier throughout the province and around the world.

Through BCcampus, British Columbia was the first province in Canada to implement an open education initiative, and we’ve been paving the way for the rest of the nation to take a collaborative approach to the creation of open educational resources (OER).

Open Ed Week 2019

Faculty Dialogues

It's almost Open Education Week<https://www.openeducationweek.org/?mc_cid=1fe49b2dd0&mc_eid=%5bUNIQID%5d>, a celebration of the global Open Education Movement. Its goal is to raise awareness about the movement and its impact on teaching and learning worldwide.

To celebrate Open Education Week, CCCOER will hold five 45-minute webinars, one per day, where faculty in a specific discipline will discuss the intricacies of teaching OER in that subject and answer audience questions.

March 2019

Mon - Fri; March 4-8 ; noon PT / 3pm ET

Registration required. Register<https://zoom.us/meeting/register/d3bb4e692fc993a87c24e00bf0acd2b8?mc_cid=1fe49b2dd0&mc_eid=%5bUNIQID%5d>

Join us to hear faculty discuss:

* How they were first introduced to OER, and what made them decide to use it.

* What the process of adopting OER was like and what challenges they encountered.

* How OER has changed the way they teach.

* Any assessments they have done regarding student success rates, and how their students have responded to OER.

* If they are going to continue using OER, and if so, any changes they are considering implementing to improve the course.

Schedule:

* Monday, March 4: Sociology

* Tuesday, March 5: Administration of Justice

* Wednesday, March 6: English

* Thursday, March 7: Philosophy

* Friday, March 8: Math

To see a complete list of speakers and to register, visit our website:

https://www.cccoer.org/webinar/march-4-8-open-education-week-faculty-dialogues/<https://www.cccoer.org/webinar/march-4-8-open-education-week-faculty-dialogues/?mc_cid=1fe49b2dd0&mc_eid=%5bUNIQID%5d>

Click link for events, projects and resources, and more:

Surveys and Statistics

Textbook Affordability Survey Report 2019
This report looks at the current state of the textbook affordability issue from the perspective of 238 academic librarians, who have been playing a leading role in acquiring ebooks and other digital materials for academic libraries, in addition to traditional print materials. While faculty—individual instructors—decide what academic materials are required and available for their academic courses, they often do so in conjunction or collaboration with librarians. The issue of textbook affordability is not an idle one; if students are unable to afford textbooks and other required materials, they are likely to underperform or fail to graduate, which can have a negative effect both on the students’ ability to succeed and the academic institution

Podcasts on OER

Teaching In Higher Ed: Faculty Development for Professors To Facilitate Learning for Students
Thank you for checking out the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast. This is the space where we explore the art and science of being more effective at facilitating learning. We also share ways to increase our personal productivity, so we can have more peace in our lives and be even more present for our students.
Rajiv Jhangiani shares about critical open pedagogy on episode 226 of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast.
instructional resources to serve our pedological goals.
—Rajiv Jhangiani
The magic of open pedagogy is when you open it to not just faculty members but also students.
—Rajiv Jhangiani
Critical conversations are the ones happening at the margins.
—Rajiv Jhangiani
It’s difficult when we leave it to the marginalized to always have to advocate for themselves.
—Rajiv Jhangiani

Open Education PodCasts

Lost in the Stacks - Podcast OER
OER: The Happening

OER Twitter

Open Culture OC
Open Culture
@openculture
We make the web a more intelligent place. A Thought-Provoking Blog. Free Courses. Free Audio Books & eBooks. And more.

Conferences

OpenCon Ohio 2023 (formerly OpenCon Cleveland)

OpenCon Ohio (previously OpenCon Cleveland) 2023 Conference

OpenCon Ohio 2023 was held on Friday, May 19th, 2023 with asynchronous activities earlier in the week. Links to recordings and an archive of the Conference can be found below. Thanks for everyone who participated in this event!

https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/oa/opencon2023/ Click Link for More Information

OER Course Redesign Grants

OhioLINK Fall 2023 OER Course Redesign Mini-Grants

Over and over, we have heard that two of the main barriers to converting to an Open Educational Resource (OER) are the lack of time and lack of funding necessary to explore open alternatives. To that end, OhioLINK Affordable Learning is continuing with our OER Course Redesign Mini-Grants.

What: OhioLINK Affordable Learning has dedicated funding to help faculty learn more about using openly-licensed or other affordable course content for their high-enrollment courses. With this funding, we are offering OER Course Redesign Mini-Grants.

Professional Development Opportunities

Affordable Learning Ohio Summit - August 1 - 2, 2018

OhioLINK, ALAO (Academic Library Association of Ohio) Scholarly Communications Interest Group, and the University of Akron's Affordable Learning Initiative are co-sponsoring an Affordable Learning Ohio Summit to be hosted at the University of Akron on August 1^st and 2^nd.

REGISTER NOW

This event is designed to help foster information sharing amongst institutions in the State of Ohio that are currently engaged with an affordable learning initiative. The free (for main summit registrants) and optional half-day pre-summit on August 1st is for individuals (librarians, instructional designers, administrators) to learn about open educational resources, open textbooks, and copyright. The main summit ($65 registration fee) on August 2^nd will include sessions on Building Partnerships on Your Campus, Funding and Grant Opportunities, Enduring Engagement with Your Initiative, and Open Authorship.

The 20th Annual Open Education Conference

2023 PROGRAM Preview

This is a public preview of this year’s program. Attendees will have access to the full program during the conference through the platform Oxford Abstracts. Registered attendees: sign in to Oxford Abstracts or create an account using your registered email address to begin adding sessions to your schedule.

Inclusive Access Immersion for OhioLINK member institutions: A webinar series

In the interest of offering educational content to our members ahead of the Textbook Affordability and Inclusive Access Immersion event on September 28 (click through to register if you haven’t already), we are offering a series of webinars the last week in July.

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn more about the different elements of inclusive access adoption and implementation, and ask any questions that you may have! These webinars will be hosted by the presenters. Additionally, they will all be recorded if you cannot make it in person. We expect this list to continue to expand; stay tuned for updates.

MONDAY, JULY 30

1 p.m. - Unizin

Discuss the Unizin delivery platform (Unizin Engage) as well as the method for communicating adoptions (Unizin Order Tool). From there discussion will move towards Unizin's vision for Inclusive Access, pedagogy, accessibility, and advantages of partnering with a nonprofit for digital content delivery.
Registration link:
- To join the Meeting: https://bluejeans.com/309565024
- To join via Room System:

Video Conferencing System: bjn.vc -or-199.48.152.152

Meeting ID : 309565024

To join via phone :

1) Dial: +1.888.240.2560 (US Toll Free)

2) Enter Conference ID : 309565024

TUESDAY, JULY 31

11 a.m. - RedShelf

Getting Inclusive Access Started on Campus: As digital programs like inclusive access continue to solidify their presence in the higher education space, the ability to scale programs with efficiency becomes increasingly essential. The foundations of these digital programs are rooted in essential campus team collaboration, publisher partnerships and key integrations that allow the programs to grow with ease. This session will elaborate on this concept reviewing the roles critical to set-up this program and the benefits of utilizing an end-to-end platform to power the program. Presented by Shannon Godfrey, Director of Sales & Sara Ellenberger, Inclusive Access Account Executive.
Registration link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5066813855758100227

2 p.m. - McGraw Hill Education

OhioLINK Inclusive Access Office Hours with MHE: McGraw Hill Education is here to answer your questions on inclusive access. We will offer a brief overview of IA in the state of Ohio, answer frequently asked questions, provide statistical support for adopting IA on your campus and share how MHE can help you get started.
Registration link: https://mheducation.webex.com/mheducation/onstage/g.php?MTID=ef379bb7f5e9e52c6007d1b96e2dde24c

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1

2 p.m. - Verba | VitalSource

Start and Scale Inclusive Access with Verba | VitalSource: Join Verba | VitalSource for a webinar on best practices to launch and scale Inclusive Access. During the session, we will cover key benefits of Inclusive Access for all stakeholders on campus, provide best practices for starting and scaling your Inclusive Access program, and demonstrate the student, instructor, and Inclusive Access program administrator experience. Presented by Kathleen Hayes, Director of Institutional Partnerships.
Registration link: https://events.vitalsource.com/start-and-scale-inclusive-access-with-verba-vitalsource

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2

10 a.m. – Cengage

MORE DETAILS TO COME

2 p.m. - Pearson

Launching Inclusive Access - Getting Started: A discussion on implementing an Inclusive Access program, what it takes to get started and how Pearson can help. Join Phillip Anaya from Alamo Colleges and Brian McGarry from Pearson to hear about who needs to be involved to ensure a smooth transition to delivering your course materials digitally. They will discuss how to get started, best practices for implementing at a course/department level and navigating institutional approvals, bookstore responsibilities, etc.
Registration link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/793548720092454915

Webinars on OER

Indiana University’s eText 101: Are your students paying too much for textbooks?
Since 2012, IU has been working on the eText Initiative that allows students and faculty members to access a wide variety of digital learning materials anytime, anywhere and from any device.

Indiana University is publishing a guide to how they developed this Inclusive Access Initiative.
OpenOregon Educational Resources
Open Oregon Educational Resources promotes textbook affordability for community college and university students, and facilitates widespread adoption of open, low-cost, high-quality materials.

What Open Oregon Educational Resources does:

Showcase successes
Track student savings
Offer grants and faculty incentives
Provide trainings and conferences
Conduct cost and impact research
Publish and share open materials
Promote sustainable efforts
Statewide coordination, including inter-institutional logistics.
OERs: Benefiting Students Educationally and Financially
A recording of this webinar is available at: https://bcove.video/2DCb9Ev
Please visit this link for Lane's presentation: https://www.softchalkcloud.com/lesson/serve/6sgSG5ANiJuvVU/html
Please visit this link for an example of one of Lane's OERs: https://www.softchalkcloud.com/lesson/serve/LpCYIEgczileU2/html

Affordable Learning Webinar

OhioLINK is presenting an Affordable Learning webinar on January 30, 2019 from 2pm – 3pm. Please register here if you are interested in attending the webinar: Effectively Encouraging Use of OER on Your Campus

Nicole Finkbeiner utilizes her experience working with colleges and universities across the country to outline the key components of a successful OER initiative. She’ll cover key metrics, real-world examples of successful strategies, and suggestions on how to adapt an OER initiative to your specific budget and campus culture. Nicole Finkbeiner is the Director of Institutional Relations for Rice University’s free textbook initiative, OpenStax, where she founded and runs the nationally-recognized Institutional Partner Program. She also coaches colleges and universities to effectively encourage faculty adoptions of Open Educational Resources (OER) to promote student success and faculty academic freedom. A graduate of Kellogg Community College, Western Michigan University, and Michigan State University, she worked in college relations for community colleges prior to joining OpenStax. When not promoting OER, Nicole fills her time working on civil rights issues, traveling, reading, staying healthy, and dragging her friends and family to random cultural events.

Teaching in a Digital Age
While society has become increasingly dependent on devices to consume information, higher ed has experienced a shift in tools for instruction as well. Students can use their devices for a more immersive learning experience the same way teachers can use new technologies to connect to pupils in physical classrooms and abroad.

Join us for the upcoming webcast, Teaching in a Digital Age, as Inside Higher Ed's editors Scott Jaschik and Doug Lederman explore some of the strategies professors and colleges are employing. Make sure to register before Wednesday, May 22th at 2:00 PM ET so you can submit your questions to the editors.

Save your spot >>
Can't attend the webcast? You should still register - all registrants will receive a recording of the webcast and a copy of the presentation.

Open Education Blogs

Open Pedagogy Notebook
There are many ways to begin a discussion of “Open Pedagogy.” Although providing a framing definition might be the obvious place to start, we want to resist that for just a moment to ask a set of related questions: What are your hopes for education, particularly for higher education? What vision do you work toward when you design your daily professional practices in and out of the classroom? How do you see the roles of the learner and the teacher? What challenges do your students face in their learning environments, and how does your pedagogy address them?

InfoGraphics / Articles/Surveys

Open Educational Resources - Why they have yet to reach
More college students are taking advantage of open educational resources – textbooks
and course materials that are free and can be altered and repurposed. Yet faculty adop-
tion of OER, as it is known, is slow with significant barriers. For open-access materials to
truly transform learning and teaching and help reduce educational costs for students, a
greater effort may be needed to convince professors of its benefits
4 Ways E-Textbooks lead to Student Success
Improving Access, Affordability, and Achievement A considerations guide for the institutional leader
Improving Access, Affordability, and Achievement
A considerations guide for the institutional leader
We’ve compiled the lessons of early adopters into an essential guide of institutional, technical, faculty, and student considerations that you’ll need to address if you’re planning a shift to digital delivery of course materials.

OER’s Road Ahead is Paved with Publisher Platforms | From the Bell Tower
Academic librarians are pleased with the progress they’ve made in leading their campuses to recognize the value of Open Educational Resources (OER). Now publishers are responding to OER with new learning platforms. It may be time for a new strategy
Textbook Alternatives Take Hold at Community Colleges
Institutional funding for a high-profile affordable textbook initiative in one of the nation’s largest community college districts is on track to run out as scheduled this spring -- but the program exceeded the district’s expectations by a wide margin, and efforts will continue in a new form.
2017 National Higher Education Report Opening the Textbook: Open Education Resources in U.S. Higher Education, 2017
Responses from over 2,700 U.S. faculty paint both a "Good news" and a "Bad news" picture for the role of open educational resources (OER) in U.S. higher education. The levels of awareness of OER, the licensing tied to it, and overall adoption of OER materials, remains low. Only 10% of faculty reported that they were “Very aware” of open educational resources, with 20% saying that they were “Aware.” Faculty continue to report significant barriers to OER adoption. The most serious issues continue to be the effort needed to find and evaluate suitable material.
OER Review Project (from the Open Education Group)
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. If you know of an empirical research study on the impacts of OER adoption that is not included in this review, please leave a comment below. An in-depth article focusing on empirical research relating to perceptions and efficacy at the college level was published by the journal Educational Technology Research and Development in February of 2016. Please access the open-access version of this article or a summary video. You can also access overview slides that summarize this research.
Making E-Textbooks More Interactive
2018 Impact Awards
Columbus State Community College created a multimedia e-book for English composition students that reduces textbook costs and reimagines the ways learners engage with course material.
The Coming Wave of Affordable Textbooks By Joseph EspositoNov 19, 2018
This year at the Charleston conference I had the pleasure to moderate a panel on the library’s role in providing affordable textbooks to students. The panel consisted of Mark Cummings, editor and publisher of Choice/ACRL, Gwen Evans, Executive Director of OhioLINK, and Mark McBride, library senior strategist at SUNY. This panel came about serendipitously, as all three are clients of mine who expressed an interest in the textbook market and how it could be transformed in some meaningful way.
SPARC OER Awareness and Adoption on the Rise
A new report from the Babson Survey Research Group provides fresh evidence that open educational resources (OER) have made significant gains in awareness and adoption over the last year. The report is based on Babson’s fourth annual survey of U.S. faculty, which tracks an important set of benchmarks for faculty behavior and perceptions regarding OER and traditional course materials.
16 Open Learning Resources that Go Beyond the Textbook
The concept of "open learning" encompasses far more than what's found in a textbook. These sources provide other kinds of resources that will boost your students' learning.