The results of an OER Research Hub survey of college educators based on collaborative work with Community College Consortium for OER (CCCOER). It shows that OER are perceived as having positive effects on teachers and learners.

1. OER Impact at Community
Colleges
Dr. Rob Farrow
The Open University
Una Daly
CCCOER

2. Background

3. OER Research Hub
•
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
oerresearchhub.org

4. Keyword
Performance
Openness
Access
Hypothesis
OER improve student performance/satisfaction
People use OER differently from other online materials
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
Indicators
Support
OER adoption brings financial benefits for students/institutions
Informal learners use a variety of indicators when selecting OER
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

5. Collaboration Model
Collaboration Model

6. Collaboration Model
Collaboration Model

8. 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

9. 240+ Colleges in 16 states & provinces
General stuff about OERRH & CCCOER, collaboration

10. Research Collaboration
Focus on impact of OER adoption on teaching practice, institutional policies and
factors of cost and access
Feb-May 2013
May-Dec 2013
Ongoing
Faculty Survey
Development
Survey Deployment
Interviews and focus
groups with faculty;
policymakers; students
IRB Process
Jan-Apr 2014
Analysis &
Dissemination
Incorporation of
institutional evidence
into impact map

11. 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!

12. OER Impact Map

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

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

15. Survey of College Educators

16. Methodology

17. 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)
This is being supplemented with qualitative data gathered from college
visits in Virginia, Maryland, Washington, and California.

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

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

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

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

22. • 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

23. OER Behaviours

24. Types of OER Used
Multimedia content is
around twice as popular
as other OER (including
textbooks)
Videos
69.8%
Images
64.7%
Lectures
38.8%
Quizzes
38.1%
Open textbooks
37.4%
Elements of a course (e.g. a module/unit)
34.5%
Tutorials
32.4%
E-books
29.5%
Lesson plans
25.9%
Learning tools, instruments and plugins
25.2%
Audio podcasts
23%
Infographics
Interactive games
Whole course
Data sets
Few reported using a
whole course of
OER, suggesting they
cherry pick resources as
needed
18 %
12.2%
10.8%
7.9%
Very few are using
openly available data to
teach

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

26. Factors relevant to choosing OER
The resource being relevant to my particular interests/needs
69%
Created/uploaded by a reputable/trusted institution/person
58%
The resource having an open license allowing adaptation
51%
The resource being easy to download
49%
A detailed description of the resource content
48%
The resource having a Creative Commons license
48%
A description of learning objectives or outcomes being provided
48%
Positive user ratings or comments about the resource
43%
Use of interactive or multimedia content
43%
Having previously used this resource successfully
42%
Personal recommendation
42%
The resource being recently created, uploaded or updated
36%
The length/complexity of the resource
33%
Evidence of interest in that resource (e.g. lots of downloads)
29%
The resource having previously been used with students
21%
The resource featuring a catchy title or attractive image(s)
9%
Being required to use a resource for a project/task
7%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%

27. Factors relevant to choosing OER
The resource being relevant to my particular interests/needs
69%
Created/uploaded by a reputable/trusted institution/person
58%
The resource having an open license allowing adaptation
51%
The resource being easy to download
49%
A detailed description of the resource content
48%
The resource having a Creative Commons license
48%
A description of learning objectives or outcomes being provided
48%
Positive user ratings or comments about the resource
43%
Use of interactive or multimedia content
43%
Having previously used this resource successfully
42%
Personal recommendation
42%
The resource being recently created, uploaded or updated
36%
The length/complexity of the resource
33%
Evidence of interest in that resource (e.g. lots of downloads)
29%
The resource having previously been used with students
21%
The resource featuring a catchy title or attractive image(s)
9%
Being required to use a resource for a project/task
7%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%

28. Impact on teachers/students

29. Impact on teaching practice from OER use
I make more use of culturally diverse resources
23%
2%
I collaborate more with colleagues
22%
2%
I use a broader range of teaching and learning methods
21%
2%
I have a more up-to-date knowledge of my subject area
19%
2%
I more frequently compare my own teaching with others
18%
2%
I have improved ICT skills
16%
4%
I now use OER study to develop my teaching
14%
3%
I have broadened my coverage of the curriculum
14%
1%
I reflect more on the way that I teach
13%
5%
I make use of a wider range of multimedia
6%
0%
strongly agree–
agree–
3%
20%
neither agree nor disagree–
40%
disagree–
60%
80%
strongly disagree–
100%

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

31. Financial Savings

32. Has your institution saved money
through OER?
“They don't like losing the
revenue stream from the
bookstore”
“Students return for
additional classes”
don't know
37%
yes
44%
“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.”
no
19%
“I know that some
instructors are only using
OER which provides
substantial savings for our
students.”

33. Have your students saved money
through OER?
“I still use publishers'
textbooks in my classes. I
use OER as supplements to
the textbook.”
“Saving money is a big
incentive for students and
institutions.”
don't know
25%
“My students tell me and
enrollment in my classes has
continually increased over
those of my peers.”
no
13%
“I know that some
instructors are only using
OER which provides
substantial savings for our
students.”
yes
62%
“I developed an online
textbook for the personal
health class that I teach. This
saves each of my students
approximately $100.”

34. Student Retention

35. “OER use helps at-risk students to continue
their studies”
• More than 1/3 believed
that OER use promotes
student retention
strongly disagree
4%
disagree
8%
strongly agree
12%
• Around half feel it has no
effect
• The remainder (12%)
disagreed or strongly
disagreed with one noting
that “other things are more
important”.
agree
26%
neither agree nor
disagree
50%
“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.”

36. OER and retention of at-risk
students: comments against
“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.”
Attitudes
“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.”

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

38. Importance of Open Licensing

39. How important is open licensing (e.g. CC)?
not at all important
5%
neither important nor
unimportant
22%
crucial
20%
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.
somewhat important
19%
very important
34%

40. Summary

41. 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
•
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

42. 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

43. Next Steps

44. 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
•
Adding your data to OER Impact Map?

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

46. in service of The Open University