Open Education Resources: Fostering Change in Educational Practices
Abstract
Open Education Resources: Fostering Change in Educational Practices
Between 2006 and 2016, college textbook prices increased 87% (Bureau of Labor Statistics TED: The Economics Daily, 2016), and research has shown that students often go without the materials they need to be successful in their courses (Open Educational Resources: Supporting Student Success in the Classroom With Quality Free & Usable Content Webinar, April 3, 2018). According to Butcher (2011), Open Education Resources (OER) refer to any educational resource including “curriculum maps, course materials, textbooks, streaming videos, multimedia applications, podcasts, and any other materials that have been designed for use in teaching and learning that are openly available” (Butcher, 2011, p. 5). In addition, students and faculty who desire to use these resources may do so without having to pay royalties or license fees. Blumgren (2018, p. 55) points out that “OER awareness requires a deeper understanding of the changes to teaching and learning borne by open educational practices.”
The purpose of this study is to explore how the use of OER can increase affordability of undergraduate and graduate education, increase access to higher education, increase student retention, and increase student success. The theoretical framework for the study is Archer’s social realist theory which posits that over time, structure, culture, and agency occur and can move one from “confronting constraints to elaborating a course of action” (Cronin, 2017. P. 17). The study will also review Wiley’s (2014) 5 Rs: the right to retain, reuse, revise, remix, and redistribute openly licensed content.
Key Words: open education resources, textbook prices, social realist theory
Keywords
open education resources, OER, textbook prices, social realist theory
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Lawton, Dianne F., "Open Education Resources: Fostering Change in Educational Practices" (2018). Georgia Educational Research Association Conference. 33.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gera/2018/2018/33
Open Education Resources: Fostering Change in Educational Practices
Open Education Resources: Fostering Change in Educational Practices
Between 2006 and 2016, college textbook prices increased 87% (Bureau of Labor Statistics TED: The Economics Daily, 2016), and research has shown that students often go without the materials they need to be successful in their courses (Open Educational Resources: Supporting Student Success in the Classroom With Quality Free & Usable Content Webinar, April 3, 2018). According to Butcher (2011), Open Education Resources (OER) refer to any educational resource including “curriculum maps, course materials, textbooks, streaming videos, multimedia applications, podcasts, and any other materials that have been designed for use in teaching and learning that are openly available” (Butcher, 2011, p. 5). In addition, students and faculty who desire to use these resources may do so without having to pay royalties or license fees. Blumgren (2018, p. 55) points out that “OER awareness requires a deeper understanding of the changes to teaching and learning borne by open educational practices.”
The purpose of this study is to explore how the use of OER can increase affordability of undergraduate and graduate education, increase access to higher education, increase student retention, and increase student success. The theoretical framework for the study is Archer’s social realist theory which posits that over time, structure, culture, and agency occur and can move one from “confronting constraints to elaborating a course of action” (Cronin, 2017. P. 17). The study will also review Wiley’s (2014) 5 Rs: the right to retain, reuse, revise, remix, and redistribute openly licensed content.
Key Words: open education resources, textbook prices, social realist theory
