Rob Farrow, Open UniversityQuill West, Tacoma Community College

April 9, 201411:00 am Pacific, 2:00 pm Eastern

OER Impact ResearchFaculty & Student Voices

Collaborate Window Overview

Audio & Video

Participants

Chat

Tech Support available at:1-760-744-1150 ext. 1537, 1554

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 listening!oerresearchhub.orgoermap.orgrob.farrow@open.ac.uk

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 unatdaly@ocwconsortium.org

Rob.Farrow Rob.Farrow@open.ac.uk

Quill West qwest@tacomacc.edu

Share http://www.flickr.com/photos/opensourceway/4424154829/in/photostream/IMG_4591 http://www.flickr.com/photos/bionicteaching/4700979984/ cc-by-saLa belle tzigane http://www.flickr.com/photos/joyoflife/21063837 cc-by-sa

Asian Library Interior 5 http://www.flickr.com/photos/ubclibrary/453351638/ cc-by-nc-saPetru http://www.flickr.com/photos/joyoflife/23724427/ cc-by-nc-sa Opensourceways http://www.flickr.com/photos/opensourceway/4371000710/ cc-by-sa

Photo credits:

63

Free the textbook: Creative Commons licensed by opensourceway, https://www.flickr.com/photos/opensourceway/

Student Voices Shortened Video:http://link.videoplatform.limelight.com/media/?mediaId=e5097f9adf364e37906cec38bde09828&width=720&height=457&playerForm=d9c11ff565014fcb8d568dff82701523