The benefits and challenges of OERJENNIFER MCFARLANDSKAGIT VALLEY COLLEGE CURIOUS ADJUNCT MATH/SCIENCE INSTRUCTOR

The benefits

A whole world of materials right at our fingertips and at the fingertips of anyone that has internet access.

Materials available to students without the exorbitant cost. Great support through OER and Creative commons. Using these materials supports the “modern”, “tech-savvy” student A great challenge for a more “mature” teacher that has great

enthusiasm for staying current and being “on the technology bus”.

The challenges

Where do you begin? There is SO much material, it’s difficult to isolate materials and not feel that you are missing something good!

Pedagogy, how to collect materials and present them for meaningful, long term learning.

We assume that students have reliable internet sources (sadly, I’ve found this NOT to be true for some of our students).

With the diversity of students at the community college, some older students may have a large learning curve using these materials.

The inertia of status quo, how do we get the large institutions to embrace OER. Ie, how do the textbooks companies feel about this (in my experience they are often a driving factor in curriculum).

What’s next?

Take the plunge! As with any new teaching tool, start small and build! I can’t wait to try pieces of the ideas presented in this class in my

future class.