OER Impact at Community College: eLearning 2014

OER Impact at Community
Colleges
Rob Farrow, Ph.D.
The Open University
Una Daly
CCCOER

• 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 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

Collaboration Model
Collaboration Model

CCCOER Mission & Goals
• Promote adoption of OER to enhance teaching and learning
• Document impact of OER on teaching and learning
• Promote integration of OER into curricula
• Share best practices for OER through professional development opportunities.
Funded by the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation

General stuff about OERRH & CCCOER, collaboration
240+ Colleges in 16 states & provinces

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 impact map
Jan-Apr 2014
Analysis &
Dissemination

Survey Research in Community Colleges
• 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!

OER Impact Map
http://chaos.open.ac.uk

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, VA (13)
• South Florida Community College, FL (4)
This is supplemented with qualitative data gathered from college visits
in Virginia, Maryland, Washington, and California.

Masters Degree
61%
PhD or Professional
Doctorate
35%
Bachelors Degree
4%
Highest Educational Qualification

72%
11%
10%
6% 1%
Years of Teaching Experience
More than 10
7-10
4-6
1-3
Less than 1

Work-
based
training
Part-time
blended
(face to
face and
distance/on
line)
teaching
Part-time
face-to-
face
teaching
Full-time
distance/on
line
teaching
Full-time
blended
(face to
face and
distance/on
line)
teaching
Part-time
distance/on
line
teaching
Full-time
face to face
teaching
Series1 20 23 26 31 39 46 49
15%
17%
19%
23%
29%
34%
36%
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
No.ofresposes
Types of Teaching Activity

52%
24%
18%
11% 9%
7%
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
I have adapted
open educational
resources to fit my
needs
I have created
open educational
resources for
study or teaching
I have added a
resource to a
repository
I have created
resources myself
and published
them on a Creative
Commons (CC)
licence
I have added
comments to a
repository
regarding the
quality of a
resource
I have added
comments to a
repository
suggesting ways of
using a resource
Patterns of OER Use
Of those that create
OER (24%) less than
half publish them on an
open (CC) licence

• Most respondents were
experienced teachers with
postgraduate degrees
• A majority teach full-time and are
involved in online instruction
• Around half have adapted/used
OER but only around half of these
create or upload OER

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%
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
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
1% 2% 4% 5%
9% 11% 13%
17%
20%
26% 26%
32% 35%
43%
71%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%

Factors relevant to choosing OER
7%
9%
21%
29%
33%
36%
42%
42%
43%
43%
48%
48%
48%
49%
51%
58%
69%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
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

Impact on teaching practice from OER use
6%
13%
14%
14%
16%
18%
19%
21%
22%
23%
3%
5%
1%
3%
4%
2%
2%
2%
2%
2%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
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
strongly agree– agree– neither agree nor disagree– disagree– strongly disagree–

OER: perceptions of impact on learners
8.5%
8.6%
8.7%
11.5%
11.8%
12.3%
14.3%
15.2%
15.2%
15.4%
15.5%
17.1%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
... increases learners' interest in the subjects taught
... builds learners' confidence
... allows me to better accommodate diverse learners' needs
... increases learner collaboration and/or peer-support
... increases learners’ enthusiasm for future study
... increases learners' participation in class discussions
... increases learners' satisfaction with the learning experience
... leads to improved student grades
... increases learners' engagement with lesson content
... develops learner independence and self-reliance
... leads to learner interest in a wider range of subjects
... increases learners' experimentation with ways of learning
Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree

Has your institution saved money
through OER?
yes
44%
no
19%
don't know
37%
“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?
yes
62%
no
13%
don't know
25%
“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.”

strongly agree
12%
agree
26%
neither agree nor
disagree
50%
disagree
8%
strongly disagree
4%
“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”.

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 student attrition:
comments

11%
18% 21%
35% 36% 36%
47%
57% 60%
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Materials
are
available in
different
languages
Availability
of culturally-
relevant
materials
Materials
can be used
for
improving
non-native
language
skills
Materials
can be
adapted to
suit student
needs
Greater
range of
learning
methods
Use of
resources
for
improving
study skills
Materials
can be used
flexibly
Materials
can be
accessed at
any time
Reduced
cost of
study
materials
OER as promoter of student retention: factors

How important is open licensing (e.g. CC)?
crucial
20%
very important
34%
somewhat important
19%
neither important nor
unimportant
22%
not at all important
5%
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 of Results
• Most of the respondents have used some sort of OER, though only around a
quarter create OER
• Only around half of OER creators have used open licensing
• There is a core of OER advocates who understand and actively promote
• Most report positive effects on their teaching practice as a result of OER use,
particularly around peer collaboration and improved subject knowledge
• Positive effects were also identified for learners, especially around increased
self-reliance, subject interest and experimentation
• There were similar numbers who thought OER wasn’t making much of a
difference and a core of ‘anti-OER’ responses

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

Next Steps
• Further analysis of this cohort, including isolation of the OER advocates and
OER detractors to identify behavioural and attitudinal patterns
• Mapping the survey data
• Cross-referencing with other OERRH surveys, e.g. Saylor ‘informal learners’
survey (n=3014) to build picture of different stakeholders/sectors
• Integration of institutional metrics and qualitative data gathered in field work
• Open dissemination of raw data; openly licensed research instruments

Thanks for listening!
oerresearchhub.org
chaos.open.ac.uk
oerconsortium.org

in service of The Open University

OER Impact at Community College: eLearning 2014

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