1. OER – NOT All or Nothing

2. Impressions from OER Summit
Lack of access to affordable books has impacted success of some students.
To some extent student choices play a role.
Student choices are significantly impacted by their background
There are a wide variety of resources that support OER
Coordination between resources is limited
It is sometimes hard to navigate the flotsam
So There is more available than I was aware of but it is still harder to get to it
Students (the student governments of several institutions) want to pursue OER

3. My personal history with OER
Keenly aware of the textbook new edition – used book cycle and its affect on textbook prices
Monitored books available in Chemistry for almost a decade
Used an Analytical Chemistry OER textbook
Currently using an Ebook with associated homework
Availability of online homework
More modern real world examples
Suggest that if students want hard copy, they consider purchasing old edition
Recently begin
Pulling figures for in-class presentation from OER resources
Using individuals sections/chapters from OER resources to supplement textbook

4. Textbook Presentation Materials Dilemma
General Chemistry textbook editions are renewed every three years
Department generally completely switches author/textbook each cycle
One instance in which we didn’t, there were problematic revisions we did not detect.
Presentation resources provided by publishers is intended for use with textbook.
Continued use at best stretches fair-use guidelines and is probably a copyright violation.
Options
Redo presentations every textbook change
Flagrantly violate copyright restrictions
Create your own materials

5. Textbook Presentation Materials Dilemma ***OER Solution***
With appropriate citation, presentations will always be copyright compliant
Can draw a variety of resources
May not always correlate directly with textbook
Customization is usually allowed
A path to a course based on OER resources

6. Using OER resources to supplement textbook
What to do when the textbook does not cover materials well or at all
Teach material in textbook
Teach material in your own way (and hope students don’t get confused by book)
Prepare handouts to replace the textbook
Use excerpts from an OER resource as alternative text
Can get full quality materials (figures, artwork, tables, etc.)
Being a published source – more credibility?
Flexibility to choose between resources

7. Options if you want an ALL OER course
Flexibility, flexibility, flexibility . . .
Build up a course a little at a time while using commercial text
Start with a single OER text and modify it as needed
You will never be forced to change edition
Modifications can be
Your custom work
From other OER materials
You customization is yours until you decide to change it

8. Reality Check Finding good OER materials can be a challenge
Many groups are working to eliminate that
OpenStax is a good starting place
Ancillary materials (such as online homework) are often a limitation

9. Closing comments
OER resources offer more than just cost savings: they offer flexibility and freedom from copyright limitations and unnecessary textbook edition revisions. The use of OER effectively does not require a complete course change. OER materials can be use to supplement available course materials.