Examining the impact of Open Course Library contents adoption on teaching practice and student success Boyoung Chae Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges Tom Caswell Western Governors University Credit: Timothy Valentine & Leo Reynolds CC BY-NC-SATimothy ValentineLeoReynoldsCC BY-NC-SA

OCL Project Overview A collection of openly licensed (CC BY) educational materials for 82 high-enrollment college courses Project Goals: 1.Lower textbook costs for students 2.Improve course completion rates 3.Provide new resources for faculty Credit: Timothy Valentine & Leo Reynolds CC BY-NC-SATimothy ValentineLeoReynoldsCC BY-NC-SA

Phase 1: 42 courses – – Phase 2 : 40 courses – Available Spring 2013 Open Course Library

Research Questions The purpose of the study is to investigate the adoption of Open Course Library (OCL) courses within the WA college system. – How and to what extent are open course materials being shared and used? – What are the barriers or keys to the successful adoption of open course materials? – What institutional policies are needed to support the adoption and use of open course materials? – How does the use of open course materials influence student success?

Methodology Qualitative Study – 1 hour focus group with a group of faculty who have experience with OCL course materials – 30 minute follow-up phone interviews with focus group participants

Preliminary findings Focus group with two community colleges Follow-up phone interview with 15 faculty who used OCL course materials

Preliminary findings 1 Faculty who decided to adopt the OCL materials liked: – OCL materials being offered as a whole package – OCL courses offer a low cost textbook – Proper institutional support – OCL course quality was impressive

Preliminary findings 2 Those who decided not to adopt the OCL materials encountered the barriers including: – OCL courses resides in ANGEL – OCL courses did not offer low cost textbook – Did not receive proper institutional support – Did not like the OCL course content Outdated resources Course objectives were not aligned with course content Course did not utilize the proper open resources

Preliminary findings 3 What faculty consider keys to successful adoption – A community of OCL users – A system where they can continuously improve these courses. – More connection with the authors to ask questions or suggest ideas.

Implementation Plan for OCL Adoption 1.Build Online State-wide OER HUB 2.Organize OER Advisory Group 3.Provide OER Hands-On Workshop 4.Work with Colleges to set the atmosphere that is welcoming to use of OER 5.Build a larger OER community

Questions Questions about OCL project or OCL research? Boyoung Chae Manager of Open Course Library Tom Caswell Director of Instructional Design Western Governors University