Pragmatism vs. Idealism The identity crisis of OER advocacy

Rajiv Jhangiani, Ph.D.Open Studies Teaching Fellow & Psychology Instructor, Kwantlen Polytechnic University

Senior Open Education Advocacy & Research Fellow, BCcampusFaculty Workshop Facilitator, Open Textbook Network

(Unless otherwise noted)

OER Adoption Estimates(US Higher Ed)

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Cengage

Babson

ICBA

OnCampus Research

% of Faculty

% of Courses

Free vs. Freedom

Revise Remix

Retain Redistribute

Reuse

Free + Permissions

Free (+ Permissions)

66.5% Not purchase the required textbook

47.6% Take fewer courses

45.5% Not register for a specific course

37.6% Earn a poor grade

26.1% Drop a course

19.8% Fail a course

Florida Virtual Campus. (2016). 2016 student textbook and course materials survey. Tallahassee, FL: Author.

Allen, I. E. & Seaman, J. (2014). Opening the curriculum: Open educational resources in U.S. higher education.

If cost savings were the only goal, then OERs are not the only answer. Materials could be made free, or subsidized, which are not openly licensed.

The intention behind the OER approach is that it has other benefits also, in that educators adapt their material, and it is also an efficient way to achieve the goal of cost savings, because others will adapt the material with the intention of improving its quality, relevance or currency.

Evolution vs. Revolution

If open educational practices are a game changer, why are

OER advocates playing by the rules of the commercial

textbook industry?

Textbook Costs and Opportunity Lost: What price-driven decisions are costing students

Improving Access, Affordability, and Achievement with Digital DeliveryShifting to digital delivery of course materials can help students avoid these opportunity costs by

providing digital, day-one access to required course materials to every student at a more affordable price. Learn more at PearsonEd.com/digital-delivery.

1 Feldstein, A., Martin, M., Hudson, A., Warren, K., Hilton III, J., & Wiley, D. (2012). Open textbooks and increased student access and outcomes.European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning.

2 Fischer, Lane, et al. A multi-institutional study of the impact of open textbook adoption on the learning outcomes of post-secondary students. Journal of Computing in Higher Education27.3 (2015): 159-172.

3 Hilton III, J. L., & Laman, C. (2012). One colleges use of an open psychology textbook.Open Learning: The Journal of Open, Distance and e-Learning, 27(3), 265272.

4 Paulsen, M. B., & St John, E. P. (2002). Social class and college costs: Examining the financial nexusbetween college choice and persistence.The Journal of Higher Education, 73(2), 189236.

5 Pawlyshyn, N., Braddlee, D., Casper, L., & Miller, H. (2013).Adopting OER: A case study of cross-institutional collaboration and innovation.

6 Florida Virtual Campus. (2012). 2012 Florida Student Textbook Survey. Tallahassee, FL.

Research has shown a positive correlation between access to course materials and completion rates and grades.15 And yet, one survey of more than 22,000 college students found, as many as

As the survey uncovered, the decisions students make in light of the price of textbooks may cost them opportunity in the long run.6

of students opt out of buying required course materials for the first day of class.64%

report dropping a course

27%of students 1

report taking fewer courses per semester

49%of students

report not registering for a course

45%of students

1234

report failing a course

17%of students

Copyright 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliate(s). All rights reserved. INSTR13101-KT-03/16

Fundamentally, I dont want to be part of a movement that is focused on replacing static, over-priced textbooks with static, free textbooks

Resources vs. Practices

When faculty ask themselves what else can I do because of these permissions?, weve come within striking distance of realizing the full power of open.

Eriksons theory of

psychosocial development

Trust vs. Mistrust

InfancyAutonomy vs. Shame

Early ChildhoodInitiative vs. Guilt

Play AgeIndustry vs. Inferiority

School Age

Identity vs. Role Confusion

AdolescenceIntimacy vs. Isolation

Young AdulthoodGenerativity vs. Stagnation

AdulthoodIntegrity vs. Despair

Late Adulthood

Pragmatism vs. Idealism

A toolkit for different conditions

OER activeOER as facilitatorOER consumers

The next phase(s)

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world

rajiv@kpu.ca@thatpsychprof

slideshare.net/thatpsychprof