Week 1

Answers to worksheet on page 7:

1. Specific Context of the Teaching/Learning Situation
The workshop, Exploring OER Repositories, will be conducted in a 2-hour session in a computer lab equipped with computers and software applications similar to those used by the learners at their work stations. Learners will have the option to use their own laptops instead of lab computers if they choose to do so. We anticipate a small audience, 5 or fewer, of adult learners will attend the session. The physical elements that might affect this class include the possibility that people may leave and arrive during different times of the session. Also, we anticipate that the learners will all be looking for different materials/subjects, which could pose challenges.

2. General Context of the Learning Situation
This workshop is offered through our Teaching and Learning Center as professional development for faculty. Administration on our campus is interested in supporting efforts to decrease the cost of instructional materials borne by students. While many faculty members are in favor of reducing the cost of materials for students, they remain skeptical about the quality levels of OER and/or the time investment required for incorporating OER into their courses. The learning expectations for this workshop for administration is that there will be an increase, however small, in the use of OER on our campus through an increase in knowledge and relevant applications of the resources presented in this workshop. Faculty must perceive a high level of utility for the information presented and be able to immediately apply the learning to enhance their courses with OER.

3. Nature of the Subject Is this subject primarily theoretical, practical, or a combination?
There are indeed controversies occurring regarding OER, and we are as interested as anyone to explore and discover if the promise of OER can deliver. Promotion of OER focuses mostly on the benefit to students in textbook cost savings. However, the idea of faculty collaboration and continuous building upon and improvement of content seems like the more exciting, but less touted golden promise. For this workshop, we will take an approach of  practical, informational “how-to” steps of locating OER and steer clear of the pros and cons debate.

4. Characteristics of the Learners
These learners are instructors at our institution and possess graduate-level education, master’s and doctorate degrees little or no previous experience or knowledge using OER repositories and a range from basic to advanced knowledge or interest in open educational resources. We anticipate that some participants may have a misunderstanding about what OER truly means, such as confusing OER with no-cost. During this session, learners can also expect to increase their knowledge and skill in locating interactive learning materials (ILM) to incorporate into course content and activities. Preferred learning styles will vary, and we will try to offer some varied activities to accommodate differences in learning styles.

5. Characteristics of the Teacher
We are fairly new to this topic of OER repository exploration, so we will be learning a lot as we prepare for and conduct this training. We both have some background with OER licensing, attribution, and searching, but minimal experience with effectively searching and locating ILMs and other resources in OER repositories. We both hold graduate degrees, are professional staff providing support for faculty and/or staff, and have excellent customer service skills. We each have some experience either in teaching or training capacities, but have some trepidation for presenting this topic given our lack of familiarity and comfort with the topic. We are also a bit concerned about how to make this session interactive and engaging, when the majority of the session will be focused on looking at resources.

Answers to worksheet on pages 11-12:
A year (or more) after this course is over, we want and hope that the session participants will be successfully locating and implementing materials from OER repositories and enthusiastically sharing  their knowledge with colleagues in ways that foster a culture of open education on our campus.

Foundational Knowledge
We would like session participants to feel comfortable with the key repositories for their discipline, gain searching skills that can be applied for various platforms, understand the strengths and weaknesses of various repositories, and be familiar with CC and proper licensing and attribution.

Application Goals
We would like students to apply all three types of thinking:

Critical – evaluating whether the resources they found are quality.

Practical – advancing their search skills.

Creative – conceptualizing how they would use these OER materials in a future course. Also, thinking about how they would use a new type of material in their teaching (this would particularly apply to ILMs).

Integration Goals
The main goal is to provide relevant information so that session participants can locate and incorporate relevant resources into the courses they teach.

Human Dimensions Goals
Drawing from what other professionals/academics have developed (and potentially building upon it) can make these professors realize that they are part of a global learning community and that they have valuable things to contribute. We would like them to recognize a potential for collaboration and explore the role they can play in contributing to shared content.

Caring Goals
Excitement

Opportunities to collaborate

Providing their students with resources to enhance their learning

"Learning-How-to-Learn" Goals
We would like participants to leave the session with a willingness to explore a different education model besides publisher materials and traditional approaches. We aim for session participants to be familiar with other resources and how to integrate them into a course.