Workshop Idea 1: Small OER as an Intro to OER

Back to the Future, Exploring OER as a Course Supplement

Description

Almost all faculty have already used open educational resources (OER), although they may not have used that phrase to describe the resource. Before the Internet, faculty would put books, journals, or magazines on reserve in the library. Film strips would be brought into classes and threaded through projectors. Math and science students would head into the world to observe, measure, calculate, experiment. Art and literature and history students would visit museums, writers' homesteads, or historical sites. All these options may have been open and educational, and so OER options have always existed to supplement required textbooks and course materials. 

What’s changed as the Internet and Web accessible educational technologies have matured is that OER can now, for many courses, move from a supplemental to a central role in the course. The contemporary OER movement offers wonderful alternatives to traditional central course texts and resources.

But for many, OER remains complicated, the choices perhaps overwhelming, the time to learn and trust OER quality hard to find. 

In baseball some teams play small ball. They don’t hit a lot of homers or rely on heavy hitters. The focus instead on walks, singles, occasional steals, sacrifice flies, bunts and other strategies to get players around the bases to score runs. Small ball relies on the basics of the game. So too with small OER. By harkening to what faculty know -- how to find a good open educational resource to supplement a lesson or steer an activity.

This workshop will help faculty apply basic teaching strategies for using supplements and outside resources to contemporary OER repositories and options. 

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Goals

1. Faculty see how skills they already have in choosing and adapting content outside of mainstream textbooks prepare them for OER exploration and experimentation.

2. Faculty through discussion and sharing expand their ideas for what OER they might explore and try to use.

3. Faculty identify for the workshop one classroom resource or activity that they might supplement or replace with OER.

4. Faculty target and explore an OER site or resource and identify something they might use to address the need described in Goal 3.

5. Faculty begin to draft an assignment or activity using the content found in Goal 4.

Outcomes

Faculty will leave with a solid idea of what they can work into at least one course before the end of the semester.

They will know fellow faculty attempting similar experiments.

They will know they can call both me and other faculty from the workshop to bounce ideas. 

They know they can return to the Moodle space (if one is possible) to report on successes and challenges.

Materials

Faculty experience

The BHCC Library Guide to OER: http://libguides.bhcc.mass.edu/openaccess

Optional: Faculty bring a lesson plan, unit, textbook, assignment that has benefited or could benefit from either a supplemental or replacement resource.

Workshop Technology

If available, computer networked classroom with projector 

If available, Moodle coursespace for OER workshops

Pen and paper/ whiteboard / projector and instructor computer in a pinch

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Agenda — 50 minute base version, assuming a context of fitting this in during class periods

5 - 10 minutes: Welcome and short writing before discussion prompt: Recall a time when as faculty or student you used a free resource that was free. Examples might be book on reserve in library, book from library, Web resource, museum visit, field trip, class created resource, film or other media brought into class at no charge to students, attending lecture or concert on campus. Describe how the resource was integrated into a course/assignment to meet a learning goal. 

10 - 15 minutes: discussion of experience. As we discuss, faculty keep notes on what they hear that might be useful in thinking of a contemporary OER use. If digitally connected, notes can be communal ala Google Doc or chat room or discussion board as technology permits.

10 minutes: faculty draft personal notes and plans, as we explore OER portal via BHCC library. 

20 minutes: faculty search for a source, trying to find at least one potential candidate for something they can look more. 

5 minute wrap.

Notes on expanded versions

For a T-Th period

More time to review sources can be built in, and 10 - 15 minutes to rough draft a lesson plan can be added.

Professional Development Days

Developing two hour or longer  versions of this for professional development, with breaks can be arranged.

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A student version would focus on helping students find and choose OER resources for self-supplementation. Many students likely already use resources such as Kahn Academy or the Purdue OWL or free bibliography software and the like. Their workshop would focus on going deeper into OER or using what they already explore more fully.