Diana Becker was awarded an OER grant in the 2023-24 academic year. In this profile, she discusses why and how she is using OER in her NURS 374 Clinical: Adult Health course. I converted NURS 374, which is a course where nursing students learn at the beginning of the semester how to care for adult patients in the hospital setting. They then put these principles into practice during a 10-week rotation working alongside nurses in the hospital.
I used two sources primarily: Nursing Advanced Skills by Open RN and Nursing Skills, 2e by Chippewa Valley Technical College.
When I attended college a number of years ago, I remember the cost associated with textbooks. I also remember that some of those books were not used for more than a chapter or two. I began to look at alternatives to traditional textbooks after a colleague discussed it at a faculty meeting.
Prior to conversion, I had a pretty good idea of what I was looking for. Additionally, I had already done some research into what resources I may want to use. Since the resources I was looking for primarily pertained to skill attainment, it was easy to find the style of book that I wanted. I also knew that I didn’t just want to change to an online book. I wanted to create a resource that presented material that students needed to know, rather than having to find the pages or sections I wanted the students to read. Once I found the resources I wanted, I read through each section and created separate documents: must read, good review, and checklists. During the fall semester, I created a resource using the desired material for what the students must read. Moving forward, I hope to also create a resource with the review materials and checklists.
The main challenge I have faced is working with colleagues about the advantages to OER materials. We are still working through this! Otherwise, I was fortunate to easily find materials I wanted to use.
I sent out a 7-question survey to students. I didn’t receive a lot of feedback, but those who did respond found the materials accessible and easy to read. However, many of them didn’t read all of the materials. But, those who didn’t read all materials did self-report that they often don’t read materials for courses.
If you are considering using OER, do it. If you just keep thinking about it, you will never do it. I think it is well worth the faculty time because it truly enables you to create a resource that is specific to your course, without all of the extra information or materials that may be in a traditional textbook.
0 Comments.