scholarly journals A/B Testing on Open Textbooks: A Feasibility Study for Continuously Improving Open Educational Resources

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Royce Kimmons
Keyword(s):  
Feasibility Study ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Open Textbooks

scholarly journals The use of a publishing platform to facilitate the adaptation and development of Open Textbooks: A Pilot Report

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Nixon ◽  
Katya Henry
Keyword(s):  
Academic Staff ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Student Feedback ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Perceived Benefit ◽  
Course Material ◽  
Open Textbooks ◽  
Specific Unit

After a successful proof of concept to expand the university’s commitment to Open Educational Resources (OER), a pilot program was launched to facilitate the adaptation and development of Open Textbooks by academic staff for students as well as broader audiences. The pilot involved the use of the publishing platform Pressbooks as a mechanism to raise awareness of Open Educational Resources, and to provide a university-supported tool with which to develop Open Textbooks. Commencing in Semester 2, 2020, participants in the pilot received vendor training from Pressbooks, as well as support from learning and teaching and library staff. Pilot participants used the Pressbooks platform in a number of ways. Academics created textbooks as course material in a single unit, academics adapted open textbooks for Australian contexts over a number of units, and academics created open textbooks based on their research and not for a specific unit of study. Of the 13 pilot participants, five open textbooks were created, with one still in development. Responses to the pilot were mixed. Student feedback on the use of Pressbooks indicates that they enjoyed the structured and easy-to-read course material. Other students expressed frustration with the higher workload expectations of consuming material online prior to participating in synchronous classes. Students appreciated the zero cost of engaging with an open textbook. Academic feedback was also mixed, with some appreciating the flexibility and engagement that they can achieve in Pressbooks. Others were discouraged by the amount of time spent on creating material for little perceived benefit. The majority of academic staff who developed a textbook using Pressbooks would like to continue to use the platform.

scholarly journals The adoption of open educational resources by one community college math department

2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
John Levi Hilton III ◽  
Donna Gaudet ◽  
Phil Clark ◽  
Jared Robinson ◽  
David Wiley
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Community College ◽  
Open Access ◽  
Educational Outcomes ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Fall Semester ◽  
Educational Benefits ◽  
Open Access Resources ◽  
Open Textbooks

<p>The high cost of textbooks is of concern not only to college students but also to society as a whole. Open textbooks promise the same educational benefits as traditional textbooks; however, their efficacy remains largely untested. We report on one community college’s adoption of a collection of open resources across five different mathematics classes. During the 2012 fall semester, 2,043 students in five different courses used these open access resources. We present a comparison between the previous two years in terms of the number of students who withdrew from the courses and the number that completed the courses with a C grade or better. Our analysis suggests that while there was likely no change in these educational outcomes, students who have access to open access materials collectively saved a significant amount of money. Students and faculty were surveyed as to their perceptions of these materials and the results were generally favorable.</p>

scholarly journals Student Perceptions of College Faculty Who Use OER

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabrielle Vojtech ◽  
Judy Grissett
Keyword(s):  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Public University ◽  
College Faculty ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Psychology Courses ◽  
Undergraduate Psychology ◽  
Open Textbooks

<p class="3">Research indicates that students find open educational resources (OER) favorable, but there is no research regarding students’ perceptions of faculty who use open textbooks. In the present study we examined this topic experimentally with two undergraduate psychology courses at a small public university. Participants read two passages—one about an instructor using an open textbook and another using a traditional copyrighted textbook—and rated each instructor on a range of characteristics through closed- and open-ended questions. Participants rated faculty using an open textbook higher on kindness, encouragement, and creativity than faculty using a traditional copyrighted textbook, and were more likely to want to take a class with faculty using an open textbook. Participants frequently mentioned textbook cost in their justifications.</p>

scholarly journals Becoming an Open Author! A Reference for Writing and Self-Publishing an Open Textbook

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Beamer
Keyword(s):  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Copyright Holder ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
Support Resource ◽  
Open Textbooks ◽  
Research Resources

Becoming an Open Author Guide is a support resource is designed to help you become an open author. Open Textbooks and Open educational resources (OER) are defined as teaching, learning, and research resources that, through permissions granted by the copyright holder, allow others to use, distribute, keep, or make changes to them. We consider this publication as a type of OER that trains faculty, staff, and students how to build, customize, and use open textbooks.

scholarly journals Open Textbooks in an Introductory Sociology Course in Canada: Student Views and Completion Rates

Open Praxis ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather M. Ross ◽  
Christina Hendricks ◽  
Victoria Mowat
Keyword(s):  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Learning Resources ◽  
Completion Rates ◽  
Engaged Learning ◽  
Introductory Sociology ◽  
Student Views ◽  
Open Textbooks

Open educational resources (OER), including open textbooks, are free, adaptable learning resources. The integration of these materials in place of commercial textbooks allows for considerable financial savings for students and creates opportunities for more active and engaged learning. The growing interest in the use of OER at a Western Canadian university led to the chance to survey students for their feedback on using OER instead of traditional commercial textbooks. This paper focuses on the views of students in an introductory sociology course for which an instructor adopted an open textbook and otherwise left the course unchanged from when it was taught with a traditional textbook. In addition, completion rates for the offerings with the open textbook are compared to previous offerings with a commercial textbook.

scholarly journals Examining the reuse of open textbooks

2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 45 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Levi Hilton III ◽  
Neil Lutz ◽  
David Wiley
Keyword(s):  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
World Knowledge ◽  
Open Textbooks

<p>An important element of open educational resources (OER) is the permission to use the materials in new ways, including revising and remixing them. Prior research has shown that the revision and remix rates for OER are relatively low. In this study we examined the extent to which the openly licensed Flat World Knowledge textbooks were being revised and remixed. We found that the levels of revision and remix were similar to those of other OER collections. We discuss the possible significance and implication of these findings.</p><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="if(typeof(jsCall)=='function'){jsCall();}else{setTimeout('jsCall()',500);}" type="hidden" />

scholarly journals OPENCHEME: OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES FOR MATERIAL AND ENERGY BALANCES

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Verrett
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Online Resources ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
Student Opinions ◽  
Problems And Solutions ◽  
Open Textbooks ◽  
Energy Balances

A survey of student opinions around open educational resources, with a focus on open textbooks, was undertaken in a second year material and energy balances course. Roughly one third of the class of 200 students participated in a voluntary online survey. One sixth of students reported having no easy access to a textbook. Students believed that free online resources and a low-cost online textbook would significantly improve their learning. Students were generally in favour, although not as strongly, of contributing to these free online resources. When asked which resources would be most valuable to improve their learning, students most often called for sample problems and solutions as well as videos of problem solutions or concept explanations. A search was then undertaken to find open educational resources that could be used to meet student requests. This search was successful in finding a variety of appropriate resources that could be adopted and built upon to meet student requests as well as finding a gap in terms of sample problems and solutions for students to practice applying their knowledge.

scholarly journals Mainstreaming Open Textbooks: Educator Perspectives on the Impact of OpenStax College open textbooks

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Pitt
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Research ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Open Research ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Educator Perspectives ◽  
Open Textbooks ◽  
The Impact

<p>This paper presents the results of collaborative research between OpenStax College, who have published 16 open textbooks to date, and the OER Research Hub, a Hewlett funded open research project examining the impact of open educational resources (OER) on learning and teaching.  The paper focuses primarily on the results of two surveys that were conducted with educators during 2013 and 2014/2015. These surveys focused on use and perceptions of OER and OpenStax College materials, financial savings and perceptions of impact on both educators and students.  This paper reports on the research findings related to the impact of OER on educator practice and make a series of specific recommendations based on these findings. </p>

ACCESS TO EDUCATION WITH ONLINE LEARNING AND OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES: CAN THEY CLOSE THE GAP?

2008 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Geith ◽  
Karen Vignare
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Global Education ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Access To Education ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Right To Education ◽  
Education Gap ◽  
The Right ◽  
Compare And Contrast

One of the key concepts in the right to education is access: access to the means to fully develop as human beings as well as access to the means to gain skills, knowledge and credentials. This is an important perspective through which to examine the solutions to access enabled by Open Educational Resources (OER) and online learning. The authors compare and contrast OER and online learning and their potential for addressing human rights “to” and “in” education. The authors examine OER and online learning growth and financial sustainability and discuss potential scenarios to address the global education gap.

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