Open Educational Resources (OER)

What specific OER are you currently using?

For ASTR 103 & ASTR 104, I am using the OpenStax Astronomy textbook. This started with the ASTR 103 class in the Fall of 2018 and I will make the official switch to OpenStax for ASTR 104 in the summer of 2019. In addition, for many of the labs, I use the Nebraska Astronomy Applet Project simulations which are OER. These allow the students to learn astronomy through simulations using their own computers. I have also used the PhET simulations from the University of Colorado at Boulder which are licensed under the CC-BY license. To supplement the OpenStax textbook, I have created over 100 videos to supplement the class. All of these are available on YouTube under the CC-BY license so that other instructors can use and modify them as they see fit for their classes.

Why did you decide to make the switch to OER?

One thing that was an important reason was the extremely high cost of the textbooks used for the class. Most of the students taking my classes are getting their science credit out of the way and are not intending to study astronomy or science. Now, my astronomy classes have no-cost options for their classes and can, if they like, complete either ASTR 103 or ASTR 104 with no textbook costs. Since the quality of the materials is as good or better than publisher resources, I had no difficulty switching to the OER resources.

Describe other strategies you have used to minimize the cost of materials for students?

I have worked to keep all material costs to a minimum. Being able to find quality, OER materials for my lab simulations for Virtual classes has been a big help. Previously, we used a simulator which was $30 for a one-year license. Many of the OER resources can provide as good as an experience for the students at no cost.

Are you using OER as your primary text or as supplemental materials?

The OER materials that I use are the primary materials that I use for my astronomy classes.

Where do you find quality OER?

I have found these through a number of different places. Some I have created myself and released under a CC-BY license. Others, I have found through the OER Commons where such resources are shared between other faculty and OER users. I have also found others through various internet searches and by word of mouth from fellow faculty already using those resources.

How did you evaluate the OER you selected?

I reviewed the textbook carefully. In building my own lecture slides for it, I had to look through it in detail and in reviewing the test bank created by another faculty member, I had to look through the textbook again. I found it to be comparable in quality to publisher textbooks and, while it has some shortcomings, so does every textbook I have ever used! The OER used for lab exercise are evaluated by my working through the exercises myself to see how applicable they are to the learning outcomes for my class and how I want to teach the material. Some of the simulations work well for this as is, so need some modification to questions and example and others simply do not work for what I want. Like any other materials, it does require my going through them carefully to make sure that they are quality materials I want to use in my classes.

Were there any challenges to using OER, as compared to traditionally published materials?

Probably the biggest challenge is that resources that we traditionally expect from the publisher are not always present. This can include things like testbanks and lecture slides. I find that having to make my own lecture slide, while time consuming, make the class more personal because they come directly from me. If I create the exam questions myself, they better fit with what I expect from the students than a publisher supplied testbank.

What is your students’ feedback on the OER you have used?

I have had no negative feedback from students. A number have appreciated the availability to access the textbook online at no cost.

What differences have you noticed in student learning, grades, or engagement when you used OER?

Overall, I have not really seen a significant difference in the classes. The student grades are roughly the same as with previous classes that did not use OER or did so to a much lesser extent. I do know that I have not received the emails from students about not having the textbook or not being able to purchase it until several weeks into the class. This has allowed all students to be able to start the class on a level playing field since they have access to all resources needed for the class from day 1!

What advice do you have for colleagues who are interested in implementing OER in their teaching?

I would recommend starting out small – you can implement an OER textbook as an additional resource instead of the main textbook at first. I added it as an option before I switched to the textbook formally. The difficulty was that the course and the textbook were not completely aligned in terms of content and students had to jump around the various chapters (I provided a map to connect the content in the OER book to what would be covered in the publisher’s textbook.) However, it did give me a look at the OER textbook and how it could be implemented in my class. I took about 2 years to complete all of the materials that I wanted for my classes, but I feel it was well worth it! The best thing is that you do not have to do it all at once. OER can be implemented a bit at a time and slowly replace publisher resources. There are a great number of OER resources out there that can be used as a supplement even if you are still using a traditional textbook. I have found that using the OER resources gives me more freedom in my classes since I am not tied to resources from a particular publisher and do not feel the need to use publisher resources that the students have paid for.

Any additional comments:

I think that the adoption of OER resources is something that should be considered strongly. There are a number of ways to implement these a bit at a time, so it does not have to be a major change that occurs all at once. There are many high quality OER resources available and they are independent of the publisher so they can still be used even if you are using different publisher textbooks or if you change a textbook. Most of the OER resources are created by fellow faculty members so they are as good as any publisher resources. Plus, as OER resources, they can generally be modified as you see fit to work in your class.