UHD / Office of the Provost / Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence / Resource: OER Materials

Resource: OER Materials

Learning Continuity Alignment:

LC 6: Provide Flexible Resources

Replace physical resources with flexible and accessible digital resources where possible.

QM6.3:

A variety of technology is used in the course.

Overview

These OER projects within Canvas have a shared objective of reshaping the educational environment by replacing physical resources with flexible and accessible digital alternatives. They emphasize student engagement, equitable access to knowledge, and empowering educators to harness the full potential of open educational resources. These initiatives collectively promote a more inclusive, dynamic, and cost-effective learning experience for all.

Included examples include:

"You Be a Historian” project proposes to create and use low to no cost digital materials including video lectures, podcasts, and other digital resources for history courses. Students in introductory college History courses often rely on expensive textbooks and supplementary readings. The creation of a dedicated Canvas course using OER materials that offer a dynamic, multimedia approach to studying history. By doing so, we provide students with the tools to become historians themselves, fostering critical thinking, analytical skills, and a deeper understanding of historical context.
Integrating Open Educational Resources (OERs) and library collections into Canvas. Students often face barriers in accessing learning materials due to high costs or limited availability of physical resources. Through Canvas, students will have seamless access to a diverse array of OERs and library resources, curated and supported by dedicated librarians. This initiative empowers students to take ownership of their learning by providing free, high-quality materials and expert guidance on copyright and access.
Utilizing Canvas tools and Commons by equipping educators with the necessary tools and knowledge to effortlessly incorporate open educational resources into their curricula. A comprehensive instructional guide offers step-by-step best-practice techniques for leveraging the Canvas tools for this purpose. This approach not only enhances accessibility to knowledge but also creates a dynamic learning environment that promotes learning continuity and empowers students to embrace a personalized and engaging learning experience.
Designing a course that includes a variety of available technology including instructor-created videos, Library resources, other online materials and multiple ways to access no cost textbooks.

Videos

Danielle Hodgins | Drama Faculty, Lecturer
Faculty Demonstration

Gene B. Preuss, Ph.D. | Associate Professor of History
Faculty Demonstration

Danielle Hodgins | Drama Faculty, Lecturer
Faculty Demonstration

Mesias Pedroza, Ph.D. | Lecturer
Faculty Demonstration

Ayden Adler, Ph.D. | Assistant Professor of Arts Administration
Faculty Demonstration

Strategies and Tips

OER is a growing field and there is increasing availability of materials.
Instructor Tip: When making scans of existing materials, take the extra step to ensure they are accessible and searchable by using OCR technology.
Consider different ways to create online materials:

- Materials created by the instructor themselves
- Materials the library has made available in their own collection, or through Interlibrary Loan
- Materials publicly available online that the instructor has curated and made available to students
- Providing multiple ways to access the textbooks required in your courses

Research

On redesigning a history course to have students learn to apply historical thinking to real-world issues such as creating a podcast or other public media, see Lustig, Jason.
“Active Learning and Public Engagement in the History Survey: Teaching with Service Learning, Wikipedia, and Podcasting in Jewish History Courses,” The History Teacher 54, no. 4 (Augusts 2021): 637-707. https://www.societyforhistoryeducation.org/pdfs/A21_Lustig.pdf.

Studies and suggestions on how to design lessons that do not overload students’ cognitive abilities, yet, maximize learning. Mayer, Richard E., and Roxana Moreno. “Nine Ways to Reduce Cognitive Load in Multimedia Learning.” Educational Psychologist 38, no. 1 (2003): 43–52. https://uh.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01UHO_INST/1efcoq6/cdi_informaworld_taylorfrancis_310_1207_S15326985EP3801_6
Using multimedia to supplement textbooks in class can promote better learning. Rackaway, Chapman. “Video Killed the Textbook Star?: Use of Multimedia Supplements to Enhance Student Learning.” Journal Of Political Science Education 8, no. 2 (2012): 189–200. https://uh.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01UHO_INST/1efcoq6/cdi_crossref_primary_10_1080_15512169_2012_667684
How using critical thinking in history courses and digital archives of primary sources can promote digital literacy and counter media misinformation. Vecchiola, Carla. “Digging in the Digital Archives: Engaging Students in an Online American History Survey,” The History Teacher 53, No 1(November 2019): 107 – 134. https://www.societyforhistoryeducation.org/pdfs/N19_Vecchiola.pdf
The research about the value of providing flexible, online resources is varied and plentiful. Redden (2011) reviews and explains the results of a survey, released in 2011 by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization. This survey, of 1,905 undergraduates on 13 campuses, including both large public universities and community colleges, showed that seven in 10 college students said they had not purchased a textbook at least once because they had found the price too high. Many more respondents said they had purchased a book whose price was driven up by common textbook publishing practices, such as frequent new editions or bundling with other products. Additionally, eighty-one percent of all students also reported being negatively affected because a publisher had released a new edition of a certain textbook, eliminating the resale value of their used text, or preventing them from buying a used textbook. Similarly, Nagle, C., & Vitez, K. (2020) conducted a national survey in Fall 2019, asking nearly 4,000 students to share their experiences with course materials, across 83 institutions serving over 500,000 students. They found that two-thirds of students continue to skip buying assigned textbooks, even though almost every respondent worried forgoing these materials would impact their grade. 25 percent of all surveyed students reported needing to work extra hours to afford course materials; 19 percent of all surveyed students had made decisions on which classes to take because of materials cost; and 11 percent of all surveyed students reported skipping meals due to materials costs. In their recommendations, the authors suggested that higher education institutions and systems should continue to build infrastructure—grants, professional development and recognition, and course release—to make it easier for professors to adopt open textbooks and to release their work under an open license. The authors also recommended that faculty should consider adopting an open textbook and think twice before assigning an access code. And that they should take student data privacy into consideration when assigning digital materials or tools. The conclusion: the broken textbook market continues to fail to meet student needs, and leaders at institutions of higher education should take further action to aid students.

Resources

Return to LC6 Strategies/Course Elements

Resource: OER Materials

Resource: OER Materials

Learning Continuity Alignment:

Overview

Videos

OER Materials: Canvas Overview

Integrating THECB Core Objectives with OER Materials

OER Materials: Canvas Redirect Function

OER Materials: Canvas Pages Function

OER Materials: Library Collections

Flexible and Accessible Online Resources