Document Type

Presentation

Location

Room 207 - Conaton Learning Commons

Start Date

22-5-2017 3:40 PM

End Date

22-5-2017 4:30 PM

Description

  • Heather Crozier, Electronic Resources Librarian, Heterick Memorial Library, Ohio Northern University

Student debt is a compelling issue and many institutions are investigating solutions to ease the financial burdens of their students. Increasing the use of open educational resources benefits students by reducing course costs. Adopting OER in the classroom allows faculty more freedom in choosing instructional tools. Faculty also benefit from open access publishing by increasing their exposure. However, on the campus of a small, private institution, attendance at workshops to spread awareness and increase the use of these materials was minimal. Faculty had the perception that free resources could not be the same quality as traditional resources. In order to dispel this myth, the Electronic Resources Librarian and Educational Technology Manager collaborated to create custom one hour sessions for individual departments, leveraging library/faculty liaison relationships and the expertise of the office of educational technology. In the session, faculty learn more about open access publishing options, the value of open educational resources, the quality of many open educational resources, and where to find these resources. The session uses the course management system to both disseminate the information shared in the session and create a forum for departments to share resources with each other. Through the CMS, faculty gain access to vetted resources. All attendants have editing privileges within the site after the workshop, allowing them to curate course-specific lists for sharing and future reference. Pilot sessions have been well received and wider implementation is planned for the next academic year.

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May 22nd, 3:40 PM May 22nd, 4:30 PM

Interdepartmental Collaboration to Promote OER to Faculty

Room 207 - Conaton Learning Commons

  • Heather Crozier, Electronic Resources Librarian, Heterick Memorial Library, Ohio Northern University

Student debt is a compelling issue and many institutions are investigating solutions to ease the financial burdens of their students. Increasing the use of open educational resources benefits students by reducing course costs. Adopting OER in the classroom allows faculty more freedom in choosing instructional tools. Faculty also benefit from open access publishing by increasing their exposure. However, on the campus of a small, private institution, attendance at workshops to spread awareness and increase the use of these materials was minimal. Faculty had the perception that free resources could not be the same quality as traditional resources. In order to dispel this myth, the Electronic Resources Librarian and Educational Technology Manager collaborated to create custom one hour sessions for individual departments, leveraging library/faculty liaison relationships and the expertise of the office of educational technology. In the session, faculty learn more about open access publishing options, the value of open educational resources, the quality of many open educational resources, and where to find these resources. The session uses the course management system to both disseminate the information shared in the session and create a forum for departments to share resources with each other. Through the CMS, faculty gain access to vetted resources. All attendants have editing privileges within the site after the workshop, allowing them to curate course-specific lists for sharing and future reference. Pilot sessions have been well received and wider implementation is planned for the next academic year.