Rob Farrow, Open UniversityQuill West, Tacoma Community College
April 9, 201411:00 am Pacific, 2:00 pm Eastern
OER Impact ResearchFaculty & Student Voices
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Agenda
• Introductions• CCCOER Overview
• The Liberated Project: Student Voices at
Tacoma College• Community College Research: OER Hub at
Open University• Questions & Answers
APRIL IS NATIONAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE MONTH!! Image: Creative Commons c-by-nc
EpicFireworks
WelcomePlease introduce yourself in chat window
Quill WestOER Project Director
Tacoma Community College
Rob FarrowSenior ResearcherOER Research HubOpen University, UK
Moderator: Una DalyDirector of Community College Outreach
OpenCourseWare Consortium
• Promote adoption of OER to enhance teaching and learning
– Expanding access to education– Supporting professional development– Advancing the community college
mission
CCCOER
Funded by the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation
240+ Colleges in 17 States & Provinces
OER Impact Research Informs
– Curriculum development– Academic Senate– Student advocacy – Grant proposals/reports– College board of trustees– Institutional open policies– State legislation
Liberated: Student Voices
Quill WestOER Project Director
Eliciting Student Voice
tacomacc.edu/open
TCC OER
Project
“The Liberated”
Support Faculty
Assessment of Success
Outreach and Development
OER create greater access to education by
lowering costs and making classes more
interesting.
WELL-INTENTIONED CLAIM.
OER create greater access to education by
lowering costs and making classes more
interesting.
Prove it!
Savings
Satisfaction
Success
Savings: Regular tracking of courses.
Surveys: Students and faculty quarterly.
Achievement Data: Quarterly reviews from IR.
OER is better?
Are they thinking
Have a panel. Survey classes using OER.Teachers give journals.Visit classes – Teach Intellectual Property.Students pick the issue.More qualitative survey.Happy accidents.
OER Impact in Community Colleges
Rob Farrow, PhDSenior ResearcherInstitute Educational Technology
• Research project at The Open University (UK)
• Funded by William & Flora Hewlett Foundation for two years
• Two professors lead four researchers among a team of ten
• Tasked with building the most comprehensive picture of OER impact
• Organised by eleven research hypotheses
• Collaboration model across different educational sectors
• Global reach but with a USA focus
OER Research Hub
oerresearchhub.org
Keyword Research Hypothesis
Performance OER improve student performance/satisfaction
Openness People use OER differently from other online materials
Access OER widen participation in education
Retention OER can help at-risk learners to finish their studies
Reflection OER use leads educators to reflect on their practice
Finance OER adoption brings financial benefits for students/institutions
Indicators Informal learners use a variety of indicators when selecting OER
Support Informal learners develop their own forms of study support
Transition OER support informal learners in moving to formal study
Policy OER use encourages institutions to change their policies
Assessment Informal assessments motivate learners using OER
CCCOER/OERRH Research Collaboration
Focus on impact of OER adoption on teaching practice, institutional policies and factors of cost and access
Feb-May 2013
Faculty Survey Development
IRB Process
May-Dec 2013
Survey Deployment
Ongoing
Interviews and focus groups with faculty; policymakers; students
Incorporation of institutional evidence into OER Impact Map
Jan-Apr 2014
Analysis & Dissemination
Colleges Participating in OERRH Research
Anne Arundel CC (MD) Baltimore City CC (MD)
Cerritos CC (CA) College of the Canyons (CA)
De Anza College (CA) Florida Virtual Campus (FL)
Foothill CC (CA) Houston CC (TX)
Maricopa County CC District (AZ)
Northern Virginia CC (VA)
Roane State CC (TN) South Florida CC (FL)
Tacoma CC (WA) University of Maryland University College (MD)
• Most respondents were experienced teachers (84% at least 7 years) with postgraduate degrees (96%)
• Most teach full-time (65%) and are involved in online instruction (57%)
n=136. For more detail on sampling: http://oerresearchhub.org/2014/02/17/oer-impact-at-community-colleges-elearning2014/
136 usable survey responses were recorded:• De Anza College, CA (5)• Foothill College, CA (33) • Houston Community College, TX (41)• Northern Virginia Community College (30)• Roane State Community College, TN (13)• South Florida Community College, FL (4)
May 2014: survey data is being supplemented with analysis of qualitative data gathered from college visits in Virginia, Maryland, Washington, and California.
OER Behaviours of College Educators
I have adapted open educational
resources to fit my needs
I have created open educational
resources for study or teaching
I have added a re-source to a reposi-
tory
I have created resources myself
and published them on a Cre-ative Commons
(CC) licence
I have added comments to a
repository regard-ing the quality of a
resource
I have added comments to a repository sug-
gesting ways of us-ing a resource
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
52%
24%
18%
11% 9%7%
Patterns of OER Use
Of those that create OER (24%) less than half publish them on an open (CC) licence
Data sets
Whole course
Interactive games
Infographics
Audio podcasts
Learning tools, instruments and plugins
Lesson plans
E-books
Tutorials
Elements of a course (e.g. a module/unit)
Open textbooks
Quizzes
Lectures
Images
Videos
7.9%
10.8%
12.2%
18 %
23%
25.2%
25.9%
29.5%
32.4%
34.5%
37.4%
38.1%
38.8%
64.7%
69.8%
Types of OER Used
Multimedia content is around twice as popular as other OER (including textbooks)
Few reported using a whole course of OER, suggesting they cherry pick resources as needed
Very few are using openly available data to teach
OER Repositories Used
Joru
mCur
riki
CK-12
OpenL
earn
Saylor
Fou
ndat
ion
Conne
xions
Wiki
book
s
MIT
Ope
n Cou
rsew
are
MOOC
Mer
lot
Creat
ive C
omm
ons
Khan
Acade
my
iTun
es/iT
unes
U
TED talks
YouTub
e/You
TubeE
du/Y
ouTub
eSch
ool
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
1% 2% 4% 5%9%
11% 13%17%
20%
26% 26%
32%35%
43%
71%YouTube is more than twice as popular as most OER respositories
Factors relevant to choosing OER
Being required to use a resource for a project/task
The resource featuring a catchy title or attractive image(s)
The resource having previously been used with students
Evidence of interest in that resource (e.g. lots of downloads)
The length/complexity of the resource
The resource being recently created, uploaded or updated
Personal recommendation
Having previously used this resource successfully
Use of interactive or multimedia content
Positive user ratings or comments about the resource
A description of learning objectives or outcomes being provided
The resource having a Creative Commons license
A detailed description of the resource content
The resource being easy to download
The resource having an open license allowing adaptation
Created/uploaded by a reputable/trusted institution/person
The resource being relevant to my particular interests/needs
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
7%
9%
21%
29%
33%
36%
42%
42%
43%
43%
48%
48%
48%
49%
51%
58%
69%
OER impact on teachers/students
Impact on teaching practice from OER use
I make use of a wider range of multimedia
I reflect more on the way that I teach
I have broadened my coverage of the curriculum
I now use OER study to develop my teaching
I have improved ICT skills
I more frequently compare my own teaching with others
I have a more up-to-date knowledge of my subject area
I use a broader range of teaching and learning methods
I collaborate more with colleagues
I make more use of culturally diverse resources
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
6%
13%
14%
14%
16%
18%
19%
21%
22%
23%
3%
5%
1%
3%
4%
2%
2%
2%
2%
2%
strongly agree– agree– neither agree nor disagree–disagree– strongly disagree–
OER: perceptions of impact on learners
... increases interest in the subjects taught
... builds confidence
... allows me to better accommodate learners' needs
... increases collaboration and/or peer-support
... increases enthusiasm for future study
... increases participation in class discussions
... increases satisfaction with the learning experience
... leads to improved student grades
... increases engagement with lesson content
... develops independence and self-reliance
... leads to interest in a wider range of subjects
... Increases experimentation with ways of learning
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
8%
9%
9%
12%
12%
12%
14%
15%
15%
15%
16%
17%
Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
Perception of Financial Savings
Has your institution saved money through OER?
yes44%
no20%
don't know37%
“OER resources are old-school, low-tech modules that are not peer-reviewed or nationally normed. There are some interesting tentative attempts at creativity but much of OER is cr*p.”
“Students return for additional classes”
“They don't like losing the revenue stream from the bookstore”
“I know that some instructors are only using OER which provides substantial savings for our students.”
Have your students saved money through OER?
yes62%
no13%
don't know25%
“Saving money is a big incentive for students and institutions.”
“I still use publishers' textbooks in my classes. I use OER as supplements to the textbook.”
“My students tell me and enrollment in my classes has continually increased over those of my peers.”
“I developed an online textbook for the personal health class that I teach. This saves each of my students approximately $100.”
“I know that some instructors are only using OER which provides substantial savings for our students.”
OER impact on student retention
strongly agree12%
agree26%
neither agree nor disagree
50%
disagree7%
strongly disagree4%
“OER use helps at-risk students to continue their studies”
“Driving down the cost coupled with the ability to modify and adapt the material to meet the needs of my learners are two major factors in why I like using OER materials.”
• More than 1/3 believed that OER use promotes student retention
• Around half feel it has no effect
• The remainder (12%) disagreed or strongly disagreed with one noting that “other things are more important”.
Materials are available in different languages
Availability of culturally-relevant ma-
terials
Materials can be used for improv-ing non-na-
tive lan-guage skills
Materials can be
adapted to suit student
needs
Greater range of learning methods
Use of re-sources for improving
study skills
Materials can be used
flexibly
Materials can be
accessed at any time
Reduced cost of
study mate-rials
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
11%18% 21%
35% 36% 36%
47%
57%60%
OER as promoter of student retention: factors
Attitudes
“Some at-risk students benefit from OER because of the obvious release of financial obligation. Others are challenged by the technology and OER actually makes their success rates drop.”
“My concern is that at-risk students don't seem to do well in online environments because it doesn't always provide them the structure they need.”
“Many at risk students don't have the means to access high speed internet or have limited technological availability. To assume they do is simply wrong. Additionally, they have more complicated extrinsic factors impacting their lives, which may require more intensive contact from the instructor to keep them involved in the course. OER is not going to be a make or break issue of retention. It is not a panacea for at-risk students.”
“The biggest factors in physics for student attrition are time-constraints and insufficient previous preparation, neither of which is affected by the class resources.”
OER and retention of at-risk students: comments against
Importance of Open Licensing
How important is open licensing (e.g. CC)?
crucial20%
very important35%somewhat
important19%
neither impor-tant nor
unimportant22%
not at all important5%
More than half feel that open licensing is important, but fewer actually practice it.
This could indicate either 1) that educators are not confident about licensing their work or 2) they feel it is an avoidable addition to their workload.
Summary
Summary of Results
• Most of the respondents have used some sort of OER, though only around a quarter create OER
• Most report positive effects on their teaching practice as a result of OER use, particularly around peer collaboration and improved subject knowledge
• A smaller proportion (but still in excess of 40%) feel that OER use directly leads to improved reflection on pedagogical practice
• Positive effects were also identified for learners, especially around increased self-reliance, subject interest and experimentation
Summary of Results
• There were mixed views about whether OER was saving institutions money, but approximately 2/3 felt that students had saved money
• Around 1/3 believe that OER is improving student attrition while around 1/2 believe it is not having an effect
• Only around half of OER creators have used open licensing
• There is a core of advocates who understand and actively promote OER; they adopt open educational practices and believe it leads to benefits
• There were similar numbers who thought OER wasn’t making much of a difference and a core of what might be termed ‘anti-OER’ responses. Sometimes this seems to result from misunderstanding OER
• Many community colleges require IRB approval for faculty surveys
• IRBs may meet infrequently particularly during academic breaks
• IRBs limit approvals to prevent duplication and survey fatigue
• The process can take longer than expected - good planning is essential!
Reflection: Survey Research in Community Colleges
Next Steps
Next Steps
• Further analysis of this cohort, including isolation of the OER advocates and OER detractors to identify behavioural and attitudinal patterns
• Cross-referencing with other OERRH surveys, e.g. Saylor ‘informal learners’ survey (n=3014) to build a more complete picture of different stakeholders
• Integration of institutional metrics (where possible) and qualitative data gathered in field work
• Open dissemination of raw data; openly licensed research instruments
• Adding your data to OER Impact Map (http://oermap.org)
OER Impact Mapoermap.org
Global Impact Summary
Impact Summary (USA)
Map of OER Projects
Evidence Map (College, USA)
OER Policy Map (USA)
Live Evidence Summary
Filtering data according to sector, hypothesis & polarity
Effective evidence-based decision-
making and advocacy
We want to put you on the map!
So let us know about OER activity and impact in your local college
Thanks for [email protected]
in service of The Open University
Next CCCOER WebinarWed, May 14
Intellectual Property: Open Licensing, Trademarks, & Patents
Thank you for attending!
Please type QUESTIONS in the chat window or click on the talk button.
Contact InformationUna Daly [email protected]
Rob.Farrow [email protected]
Quill West [email protected]
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Student Voices Shortened Video:http://link.videoplatform.limelight.com/media/?mediaId=e5097f9adf364e37906cec38bde09828&width=720&height=457&playerForm=d9c11ff565014fcb8d568dff82701523