Open Educational Resources Adoption Research Articles

A Latin American Critical Conceptual Model on the Adoption of Open Educational Resources

A Latin American Critical Conceptual Model on the Adoption of Open Educational Resources

Faculty Perceptions of an OER Stipend Program

This study recounts the experimental implementation of a stipend program to incentivize and reward instructor use of open educational resources (OERs). The authors leveraged a statewide initiative to develop an award system based on specific criteria, and 24 instructors qualified. The authors surveyed awardees to explore their perceptions of using OERs and the utility of incentivizing that practice. All survey participants reported that the use of OERs had a highly or moderately positive impact on student learning and engagement. The majority of participants indicated curricular needs and textbook costs as the primary motivations for originally creating or adopting OERs; only one-third qualified the stipend program as either highly or moderately incentivizing. Participants also reported how they used their stipends, the challenges to OER adoption, and their recommendations for how to incentivize the practice. The authors discuss the implications for OER stipend programs generally, and they propose future research directions.

Faculty Survey on OER: Perceptions, Behaviors, and Implications for Library Practice

INTRODUCTION The Mary Couts Burnett Library at Texas Christian University (TCU) seeks to learn more about university faculty members’ perceptions and behaviors related to open educational resources (OER), and to identify one or more initiatives to increase adoption of OER at the university. METHODS The researchers sent a survey to all university faculty using Qualtrics™, and 104 persons responded. The survey used a combination of multiple-choice and free-text questions, and covered OER adoption and creation by faculty members, their perceptions of OER, and recommendations related to possible initiatives to increase OER interest. RESULTS Among respondents, almost half used OER either currently or in the past, while a fifth created their own OER. When comparing OER to traditional textbooks in terms of being scholarly, the majority indicated that OER and traditional textbooks were about the same level, but a quarter of faculty indicated that traditional textbooks were more scholarly. When asked about initiatives the library could pursue to increase faculty OER creation, the leading responses included financial support of faculty using OER, along with training opportunities. DISCUSSION The researchers were pleased to see that many faculty have used OER either currently or in the past, and that many had positive views surrounding OER. The researchers now have data that support the establishment of OER initiatives. CONCLUSION The survey informs the TCU Library and academic libraries in general. Two initiatives that libraries should consider are establishing an OER training program for faculty and developing a grant program to support faculty members who are adopting or creating OER. Libraries should collaborate with other units on campus such as the center for teaching excellence or the faculty senate.

The School Librarian's Role in the Adoption of Open Textbooks

Trends in adopting open educational resources (OER) in K-12 schools have opened numerous opportunities for schools to utilize their school librarians in new roles. The purpose of this study is to examine if schools are using their school librarians during the transition to OER use and if so, in what capacity. If not, why? In this study we used Rogers' (2003) diffusion of innovation theory, which describes the importance of change agents in the successful adoption of an innovation. We used thematic analysis and descriptive statistics to examine the research questions. Participants include a sample of representatives from school districts, which have signed on to be a #GoOpen school. Our results show that less than half of the schools use their school librarians in the OER creation and adoption process, but many participants acknowledgeschool librarians possessed a specialized skill set which could be beneficial in future OER creation projects.

Towards utilising emerging technologies to address the challenges of using Open Educational Resources: a vision of the future

The rapid advancements in online education have pointed to a new open learning approach using Open Educational Resources (OER). In this approach, educators and learners can freely access or redistribute educational resources that have been released online in the public domain under an open licence. Whereas this approach looks appealing in reducing learning costs, as well as in enhancing learning quality and facilitating knowledge sharing, several challenges might hinder the adoption of OER, such as locating and selecting the most appropriate resources among the thousands that are published and that are available online, and trusting them. This paper elaborates on those challenges and suggests an emerging technologies-based perspective for addressing the efficient inclusion of OER. To this end, this paper discusses how the integration of emerging yet essential technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and blockchain, with big learning data and educational data mining algorithms could have a profound impact on enhancing OER-based learning and teaching. The dynamics of incorporating these technologies to solve several OER challenges are demonstrated through numerous examples, and the potential limitations are also discussed. The paper concludes with visions of the future, possible research challenges and directions.

Inequitable Impacts of Textbook Costs at a Small, Private College: Results from a Textbook Survey at Gettysburg College

Recognizing that higher education settings vary considerably, librarians at Gettysburg College sought to better understand textbook spending behaviors and the effects of costs on our students. We adapted the Florida Virtual Campus 2016 Student Textbook and Course Materials Survey to suit the context of our small, private, liberal arts college. Most students spent $300 in Fall 2019. Financial aid awards did not cover the cost of required books and course materials for most students receiving aid. Negative effects were more pronounced for first-generation students and Pell Grant recipients, who were more likely to not purchase required books, to not register for a course due to cost, and to struggle academically. Some reported negative effects beyond their academic lives, as well. We recommend adoption of Open Educational Resources as an equity-minded practice that addresses this academic success barrier.

The Evolution of the Open Textbook Initiative

ABSTRACT In 2018, RMIT University Library was awarded $5,000 fellowship from Libraries of the Australasian Network (LATN) to investigate opportunities in open educational resources (OER). The reasons behind the application were to advocate and increase the use of OER, increase knowledge and expertise in open licencing, and leverage support, advice and appropriate infrastructure from LATN members. The associated benefits to LATN would include the establishment of an OER community of practice and the development of shared tools and resources to facilitate the uptake of open educational resources at home institutions. This is the story of how the Open Textbook Initiative evolved and how a deliberate campaign to increase awareness and adoption of OER was created. Activities included delivering OER awareness sessions, aligning OER textbooks with selected subject areas, delivering an open textbook forum, with local and international speakers, and creating a savings bank for self-reported OER adoptions. The OER textbook hero program was developed to highlight the teaching challenges faced by academic staff and explore their responses. As a result of this activity, there has been greater visibility of OER and the discussion has evolved from textbook affordability to open educational practices.

Pedagogical beliefs, teaching practices and use of open educational resources in the Republic of Ghana

ABSTRACT Open Educational Resources (OER) aim to open up the access to education for everyone, further enhancing learning quality and facilitating knowledge sharing. Since their official adoption in 2012, OER have gained much attention with various studies being conducted to investigate how educators and students perceive these resources. However, less investigation was paid to OER adoption in developing African countries. Therefore, to promote social justice and facilitate OER adoption in these countries, this study investigates the pedagogical beliefs, teaching practices and use of OER in the Republic of Ghana. The mixed method (questionnaire and semi-structured interviews) was adopted to gain an in-depth understanding into the perceptions that Ghanaian educators have based on their experience with OER and how their interpretations or meanings they have derived from their experience affect the use of OER. The reported findings highlighted that while Ghanaian educators have positive pedagogical beliefs about OER and are using them in their teaching practices, several challenges are reported that might hinder OER adoption in Ghana. For instance, educators raised concerns about intellectual property and difficulty of finding OER. Based on these findings, this study provided recommendations for different stakeholders, to facilitate OER adoption in Ghana, and in similar African countries.

Let Students Choose: Examining the Impact of Open Educational Resources on Performance in General Chemistry

General chemistry is a gateway course for most STEM majors, so student success is a priority for chemistry faculty. Providing quality information resources for students, including textbooks, is one way that instructors can support student learning. However, these resources can be prohibitively expensive for some students, causing them to opt out of purchasing a textbook or incur stress from the costs of time and money to obtain a textbook. Open educational resources (OERs) are no-cost materials, available in the public domain, that students and instructors can use to reduce the financial burden of college coursework. However, as chemistry instructors consider adopting OERs, they may be concerned about the time cost to reframe their courses around different materials, the risk of negatively impacting student learning, and whether the benefits to students outweigh those costs and risks. Although the financial benefits to students have been established, and the evidence suggests minimal risk of poor academic outcomes, the cost to instructors continues to be prohibitively high. In this study, the instructor used a commercial text as the official resource for the course and offered students a choice to use either the commercial textbook or an OER textbook. This soft adoption of OERs dramatically reduced the time cost associated with using the OER for the instructor, while providing financial benefits to students who chose the OER. To address the risk that using an OER might negatively impact student performance, we investigated the impact of student textbook choice on student performance in general chemistry, controlling for relevant academic and affective variables. We found that students using OER performed as well as students using the commercial textbook. With minimal effort, chemistry instructors can provide a no-cost alternative for students, with confidence that it will not detrimentally affect their learning.

Supporting Students: OER and Textbook Affordability Initiatives at a Mid-Sized University

ABSTRACT In 2018, the Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE) kicked off a statewide program to increase awareness and adoption of Open Educational Resources (OER) at colleges and universities. Spurred by the efforts of ACHE, the University of North Alabama committed to OER and textbook affordability programs and included OER adoption as a key aspiration in their 2019–2024 strategic plan, Roaring with Excellence. With support from the president and provost of the university, Collier Library adopted strategic purchasing initiatives, including database purchases to support specific courses as well as purchasing reserve copies of textbooks for high-enrollment, required classes. In addition, the scholarly communications librarian became a founding member of the OER working group on campus. This group’s mission is to direct efforts for increasing faculty awareness and adoption of OER. This presentation will discuss the structure of each of these programs from initial idea to implementation. Included will be discussions of assessment of faculty and student awareness, development of an OER stipend program, starting a textbook purchasing program, promotion of efforts, funding, and future goals.

Faculty Perceptions and Usage of OER at Oregon Community Colleges

ABSTRACT Open Educational Resources (OER) are vital in transforming the student learning experience, whether it is through a social justice lens that seeks to remedy inequities by reducing student cost burden and supporting access to materials or, increasingly, the pedagogical changes faculty are making that enhance student learning. Community college students are more subject to potential debt load and a proportionally higher textbook cost burden based on student aid offered to them. Therefore understanding what motivates community faculty to adopt OER and what barriers exist is vital in expanding OER opportunities for these students. This study examined Oregon community college faculty’s experience with the OER process including a survey which sought information about faculty motivation, usage, implementation, barriers to implementation, both student and faculty perception, and administrative support. This study found that the majority of faculty modified the OER during the adoption process and changed their instructional practices after adoption. It found that sustained support structures for faculty were needed for OER adoption, including training on pedagogical best practices and technology associated with the OER and time for reflection on how to integrate these into their courses when adopting the OER. It also found that release time or funding for OER adoption, modification, or customization was needed, including ancillary materials. Overall, faculty believed that their efforts resulted in positive benefits for students, including student savings, increased access to higher education, and increased engagement while allowing faculty to have greater control over their own courses.

International perspectives on using OER for online learning.

This article examines the work by Hilton (Educ Technol Res Dev 64: 573–590. 10.1007/s11423-016-9434-9, 2016) entitled, “Open educational resources and college textbook choices: A review of research on efficacy and perceptions” from international perspectives. Hilton (Educ Technol Res Dev 64: 573–590. 10.1007/s11423-016-9434-9, 2016) synthesized findings of 16 studies that investigated the academic outcomes of open educational resources (OER) and perceptions of college students and instructors. The academic outcomes were comparable to using traditional textbooks, and perceptions were positive. His work highlights effectiveness of OER in online courses resulting from their technological affordances. The COVID-19 pandemic pushed many institutions around the globe to abruptly shift their instructions digital and make learning more flexible and affordable for those who face medical, financial, and daily life challenges. Hilton’s findings (Educ Technol Res Dev 64: 573–590. 10.1007/s11423-016-9434-9, 2016) provide collective evidence to support the adoption of OER and shed light on how it can be used and what future work is needed internationally. This article examines the international value, implications, and limitations of his work and suggests future directions.

The evolution of sustainability models for Open Educational Resources: insights from the literature and experts

ABSTRACT The adoption of Open Educational Resources (OER) can, on the one hand, increase access and quality in higher education, but on the other hand it is raising concerns among universities and researchers about its economic sustainability. This is mainly because, unlike traditional online learning, in OER-based approaches learners do not have to pay to access learning resources, however the institution incurs costs for the production, maintenance and dissemination of OER. In this context, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has urgently called for more research on OER sustainability models in its 2019 OER recommendation. To contribute to a better understanding of this issue, this paper used the triangulation method to investigate the potential OER sustainability models that are currently implemented by universities, along with their challenges and possible developments. Through a comprehensive literature review and a 2-round Delphi method with thirty OER experts, ten OER sustainability models have been identified and analysed, where public and internal funding are the most established ones. The findings of this study could support organisations in developing their own OER sustainability strategy, facilitating OER adoption worldwide and therefore contributing to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Open Educational Resources in German Higher Education – An International Perspective

The term Open Educational Resources (OER) is buzzword in education systems around the world and their potential has even been highlighted with the pandemic crisis as an aid in education systems. However, it is still far from reaching the promises that were envisaged for them. This is especially true for Germany, where challenges have been identified in terms of OER infrastructure and adoption at a macro, meso and micro level. In this study, factors such as OER infrastructure, policy, quality and change are considered in German higher education from an international perspective (Australia, Canada, China, Japan, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Turkey and the United States). As part of a broader research project, this comparative case study between higher education (HE) systems internationally provides insights into OER that could be useful for other HE systems, institutions and faculty members moving towards OER in these times.

Human-Centered Design as an Approach to Create Open Educational Resources

Open educational resources (OER) play an important role in teaching and learning, especially in lifelong learning. Educational resources should be created in a way that addresses lifelong learners’ needs. Human-centered design (HCD) is a design perspective and an iterative process that involves users in all phases of the process. Thus, an HCD approach can provide relevant advantages when creating OER for lifelong learning. This work presents the Design Toolkit as a case study of digital open educational contents for design education that has been created following an HCD process. The orientation of the Design Toolkit is to provide users OER in a tool format rather than in a traditional manner. The main goal of this research is to contribute to the understanding of how HCD impacts OER creation. The research focuses on teachers, assessing the Design Toolkit content organization and analyzing teacher adoption and usage of the resources. The HCD approach fosters teachers’ satisfaction, promotes OER adoption and provides new design requirements for a future iteration of the HCD process. The results show that designing OER involving users through an HCD approach sets the focus adequately on their needs and limitations. Teachers feel satisfied with the Design Toolkit, fostering the adoption of OER in different educational contexts. Finally, users’ involvement in the whole HCD process points out design and educational requirements for future work.

Ownership and Agency in the adoption of Open Educational Resources

The widespread focus on ownership in the field of OER refers to the ownership of copyright, and the way to open sharing and publishing, as an intrinsic and defining characteristic. Based on a Grounded Theory study, along with Biographical Methods and Digital Ethnography, the article proposes moving from the perspective of OER as open content sharing, to a broader conceptualization that encompasses emotional ownership, ownership in of curriculum change, and teachers’ agency in the development of the curriculum as key factors for OER adoption.

Identifying Student Perceptions of Different Instantiations of Open Pedagogy

As the adoption of open educational resources (OER) continues to increase, instructors have started using these resources for more than simply delivering content. Open pedagogy is a term used to describe a range of instructional practices that often incorporate OER into the learning process. This study examined student perceptions of two approaches to open pedagogy—student creation of multiple-choice questions and student creation of the syllabus and corresponding course assignments. The sample included responses from 84 students at two colleges in the United States. Results showed that students who created the syllabus and assignments had a more positive experience and were more likely to enroll in a future course that implements this strategy. Those in the multiple-choice course felt that the approach was less conducive to learning than traditional learning activities. The significant differences in student feedback on two different approaches, both of which could be termed open pedagogy, indicate that more research is needed to examine the efficacy of the wide variety of approaches to open pedagogy. Moreover, the perceived efficacy of one instantiation of open pedagogy does not equal the effectiveness of open pedagogy, broadly defined.

Collaborating with an international partner institution to mitigate the cost of course textbooks

This study describes an initiative to improve textbook access and affordability for students in the University at Buffalo’s international partnership program with the Singapore Institute of Management. This undertaking has provided free electronic access to scores of textbooks, affecting thousands of students, and potentially saving them hundreds of thousands of dollars. It has also given rise to the adoption of open educational resources among program faculty. To gain a greater understanding of the initiative’s strengths, weaknesses, and impact, the author administered a survey of students over the course of two academic terms. The resulting data showed a majority of respondents who reported an increase in course satisfaction, and who indicated that free access to electronic textbooks may have an indirect impact on their future course selections. It also showed a surprisingly high percentage of respondents who reported their perception of a learning benefit associated with free electronic access to course texts.

Disrupted classes, undisrupted learning during COVID-19 outbreak in China: application of open educational practices and resources

With the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in China, the Chinese government decided to ban any type of face-to-face teaching, disrupting classes and resulting in over 270 million students being unable to return to their universities/schools. Therefore, the Ministry of Education (MoE) launched an initiative titled ‘Ensuring learning undisrupted when classes are disrupted’ by reforming the entire educational system and including an online education component. However, this quick reform in this unexpected critical situation of widespread COVID-19 cases harbours several challenges, such as the lack of time and teacher/student isolation. This paper discusses the possibility of using open educational resources (OER) and open educational practices (OEP) as an effective educational solution to overcome these challenges. Particularly, this study presents a generic OEP framework built on existing open-practice definitions. It then presents, based on this framework and based on the challenges reported by several Chinese education specialists during two national online seminars, a set of guidelines for the effective use of OER and OEP for both teaching and learning. Finally, this study presents some recommendations for the better adoption of OER and OEP in the future. The findings of this study can help researchers and educators apply OER and OEP for better learning experiences and outcomes during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Examining the Usefulness of Quality Scores for Generating Learning Object Recommendations in Repositories of Open Educational Resources

Open educational resources (OER) can contribute to democratize education by providing effective learning experiences with lower costs. Nevertheless, the massive amount of resources currently available in OER repositories makes it difficult for teachers and learners to find relevant and high-quality content, which is hindering OER use and adoption. Recommender systems that use data related to the pedagogical quality of the OER can help to overcome this problem. However, studies analyzing the usefulness of these data for generating OER recommendations are very limited and inconclusive. This article examines the usefulness of using pedagogical quality scores for generating OER recommendations in OER repositories by means of a user study that compares the following four different recommendation approaches: a traditional content-based recommendation technique, a quality-based non-personalized recommendation technique, a hybrid approach that combines the two previous techniques, and random recommendations. This user study involved 53 participants and 400 OER whose quality was evaluated by reviewers using the Learning Object Review Instrument (LORI). The main finding of this study is that pedagogical quality scores can enhance traditional content-based OER recommender systems by allowing them to recommend OER with more quality without detriment to relevance.