creating an oer unit: lessons and successes over the first 2.5 years

Open Oregon State

Dianna Fisher, Director

Land Grant

1862 Federal act to focus on the teaching of practical agriculture, science, military science and engineering for the greater population -- in contrast to the historic practice of higher education focusing on an abstract liberal arts curriculum for the upper class

Land-grant universities have a democratic mandate for openness, accessibility, and service to people

Land-Grant mission requires us to participate in OER initiatives

Courses• Childhood Food

Insecurity• Basics of Grant Writing• Grad School Prep• Spanish for Health• Caregiver’s Guide to

Prevent Falls• Mastery of Aging Well• Recycling

• Watershed Education• Living Cemeteries• Basic Botany• Sudden Oak Death

Prevention• Industrial Hemp• Nursery Pathogen

Training• Forestry (various topics)

Courses

• Two MOOCs– one was a “one time training”• State needed to quickly train all ESL teachers on some

new standards

– Second runs twice a year• Permaculture

Modules

• Over 40 modules – Spanish– Chinese

Textbooks

Opportunities• Doesn’t meet your needs?• Can we help you reformat it?

• Doesn’t cover what you need?• Can we help you gather what does

• Don’t think the quality is good?• Can we support you while you write?

Success & Failure

Success• Some modules• Courses• Textbooks• MOOC (special

circumstance)• Faculty –led• Full service• Partnerships

Failure• Most Modules• Faculty working

unsupported• Preaching• Expecting faculty to know

what OER is

• Administration• Faculty• Students

• Acknowledge that there are issues to address

• Ask for their help addressing them

Student led events

Faculty Led Events

• Successful models– Forums– Faculty Lunch & Learn

• Faculty talking to Faculty– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfbRDeAuww4– https://media.oregonstate.edu/media/t/0_t601xnoy

• Improvement in Grades

Administration

• Talked to Deans, Vice Provosts and others at administrative meeting– Provost’s Council– Department Meetings– Faculty Senate

Results

• Pub-ready materials• One faculty member took a sabbatical• Many new submissions of course materials

from full textbooks to lecture content• Seminar Series• Podcasts• Newsletter