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My Evolving Perspective on Open Educational Resources (OER) by Dr. Ryan Darling, UNC Assistant Professor

02/28/2020
profile-icon Jen Mayer
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As an instructor, I have adopted a variety of textbooks and supplemental materials to teach courses in Psychology, Neuroscience, Anatomy, and Physiology for undergraduate students, graduate students and medical students.  For a long time, my perspective was solely on adopting materials that were most aligned with my course objectives and that best assisted me with instruction.  However, being at UNC over that past few years has brought the cost of course materials into the forefront of my mind, as I have more freedom when choosing my course materials and I’ve learned that many UNC students have difficulty finding the funds for course materials.  I’ve met very friendly, helpful, and genuinely concerned publishing company representatives that care about cost, but the student-centered approach is lost in the understandable motivation of profit within the corporate structure of publishing companies. 

Publishing companies are doing a great job at staying relevant by creating textbooks in a variety of formats, providing supplemental instructor materials and test banks, and by integrating web-based active learning activities such as adaptive learning modules.  This is very enticing for instructors, as this can significantly improve the quality of course materials with less effort.  In addition, some publishing companies further entice by providing ‘bulk’ discounts and by packaging OER with significantly reduced price.  Although this sounds like a great option for students, they’re essentially charging for OER and the ‘bulk’ discounts only apply if you use their products, which may exacerbate the monopoly certain publishing companies already have on the industry. 

The solution, perhaps OER, but there are many obstacles for OER to be able to compete with publishing companies.  First, OER need to be well organized, properly vetted, and easily accessed, perhaps through a centralized system. One of the benefits of adopting materials from publishing companies is that they are most likely written by experts and have been scrutinized through peer review, meaning instructors can be more confident that the materials are accurate and easily incorporated into their courses. Second, since textbooks are often written, edited, and reviewed by academics, there needs to be a concerted effort to recognize this contribution to their field and to higher education, not just for the creation of OER, but also for adopting and modifying OER.  Tenure and Promotion is the obvious place to consider, but from my experience, there is not enough weight placed on the amount of work it takes to adopt OER, let alone create OER. 

So, if you’re a Dean, Chair, Director, or Faculty, I encourage you to keep looking for ways to incentivize the creation and adoption of OER, and if you’re an Instructor, I encourage you to give it a try.  You can start small by incorporating OER into a portion of your course, then you can add more and make modifications during subsequent semesters.  Also, consider applying for UNC’s OER development grants awarded to UNC by the Colorado Department of Higher Education.

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Faculty Spotlight: Mariana Lazarova, Associate Professor, Physics & Astronomy, College of Natural and Health Sciences
03/03/2025
profile-icon Nancy Henke
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Mariana LazarovaMariana Lazarova was awarded an LAC exploration grant in 2023 to research the potential of converting AST 109 to low-cost materials, and then received OER grants in 2023-24 to convert AST 101 to OER, and another in 2024-25 to renew and refresh AST 109.

 

What courses did you convert to OER?

I converted to OER two of the large introductory, LAC [Liberal Arts Curriculum] astronomy courses: AST 109: The Cosmos and AST 101: Stars and Galaxies. AST 109 – currently delivered online, asynchronously - is a class very popular with UNC students across all fields of study, from freshmen to seniors. It offers a broad overview of all of astronomy, from the night sky to cosmology. AST 101 is an in-person introductory course with evening observational labs, more narrowly focused on the evolution of stars and galaxies in the universe.

What open resources did you use in your converted course?

The main change for both courses has been in replacing the commercial textbook with the open access one from OpenStax.org Astronomy 2e  by Fraknoi, Morrison and Wolf.

What motivated you to convert your courses?

In short, I wanted to provide immediate and free access to a good textbook. The constantly increasing cost of the textbook I used to require for the courses was placing an undue burden on our students. Plus, students on financial aid always received their textbook funds weeks into the semester, and delayed textbook access adversely affects learning. AST 101 has a large enrollment of 60-70 students every semester. AST 109 is even larger, serving up to 200 students, and given I teach one section of it every Fall, Spring and Summer semesters, I am able to reach up to 1600 undergraduate students over 4 years – a quarter of the UNC undergrads.

Could you describe the process you went through to convert your courses to OER?

Initially, my goal was to convert AST 109 to a low-cost course, not to an OER. I planned to change the commercial textbook to the open access OpenStax one and to replace the commercial online homework resource MasteringAstronomy with a lower cost one from WebAssign. But during my efforts to negotiate a cost below $20 per student per semester with the publisher, I was told that the pricing on their website is outdated, and students would have to pay twice as much. While they were willing to provide the site access at a reduced cost for a year, the price was going to increase afterwards. I am tired of seeing predatory publishers constantly and unjustifiably increase prices – and I wanted to shield my students from that. So I spend much of the summer building my own homework sets on Canvas and in the Fall offering what AST 109 as an OER course, with a free textbook and Canvas homework.

Did you encounter any challenges during the conversion process, and if so, how did you overcome them?

Changing the textbook was seamless. OpenStax provide easy LMS integration with Canvas. My challenge now is to continue to improve the homework sets. The initial one was ok, but the previous homework resource included video tutorial and interactive problems, which are impossible to build in Canvas. Canvas has limitation in how students can demonstrate their knowledge, which has been a bit frustrating.

Have you received any feedback from students about using OER in your course? If so, what has been their response?

On the first day of class in AST 101, in its first offering as an OER, there was a very noticeable sigh of relief when students learned that we will be using OER materials, and that they will not have to pay for a textbook. Previously, with the paid textbook, many students would not access to the textbook and homework for weeks into the semester, which prevented them from completing the graded discissions and put them behind. Now that barrier is not there since the textbook is available to them on day 1.

I compared student test scores between my previous and the new OER offerings of AST 109 and AST 101 and discovered that learning improved by an average of 9% and 8 % in those classes, respectively.

Can you share any advice or tips for other faculty members who are considering converting their courses to OER?

I was reluctant to even try to convert a course to OER. The low-stakes, small exploration OER grant helped me get started thinking of possibilities, without obligations to pursue the change – which was key for me. I believe I might have even inspired some colleagues in the Department to convert their astronomy courses, as I was becoming quite excited about the change and the benefit it would have for students. I discovered there are many resources available which made the work easier than I expected.

Physics and Astronomy, Open Initiatives & Resources, Open & Affordable Educational Materials, College of Natural and Health Sciences
A First-Generation International Student's Journey in the World of OER by Franklina Addae, UNC Applied Statistics and Research Methods Graduate Student
10/30/2024
profile-icon Nancy Henke
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Stepping into my new role as a Graduate Assistant focused on Open Educational Resources (OER) has been a profound and eye-opening experience. As a first-generation undergraduate and graduate student from Ghana, a developing country, where access to educational resources is often limited, working with the OER team at UNC has shown me the transformative power of open education. Not only does it challenge the traditional models of learning, but it also offers the potential to change lives by making education more equitable and accessible.

Being a first-generation student from a developing country comes with its own set of challenges. Education has always been seen as a luxury in my community, rather than a right. Textbooks, research materials, and even basic access to information are often out of reach for many students like myself. As I pursued my undergraduate and now graduate degrees, I have always been aware of the financial burden that textbooks and learning resources can place on students. It is not uncommon for students back home to rely on outdated textbooks, shared among classmates, or to go without the materials they need to truly succeed in their studies. This has fueled my passion for exploring alternative approaches to education—ones that do not exclude students based on financial capabilities.

I was fortunate to join the OER team as a Graduate Assistant, a role that perfectly aligns with my passion for education and advocacy. Before joining this team, I had no idea how far-reaching the concept of OER could be. In my home country, the idea of freely accessible, high-quality educational resources is still in its infancy. The cost of textbooks and academic materials is a significant hurdle for many students. For this reason, being part of an OER initiative in a more developed context has truly opened my eyes to the potential impact OER can have, not only in the U.S. but globally.

The primary focus of OER is to provide students with the resources they need to succeed without financial strain. In countries like mine, where families struggle to cover basic living expenses, the cost of textbooks can often be overwhelming. OER help bridge this gap by ensuring that no student is denied access to quality educational resources due to cost. These resources are designed not only to reduce costs but to improve educational outcomes by making up-to-date materials more readily available. The ability to access educational resources without the need for expensive textbooks means that students can focus more on learning and less on how they will afford the next book.

While OER is making great strides in developed countries, there are still significant challenges in introducing these resources to less developed nations. Many countries, including my home country Ghana, face infrastructure issues, such as limited internet access and outdated technology. These problems can prevent students from fully benefiting from the wealth of free resources that OER offer. However, the potential for change is tremendous. With increased awareness and support, we can begin to introduce OER in my home country and others like it. As I continue to grow in my role, I am committed to advocating for the integration of OER in developing countries. This will require collaboration between governments, educational institutions, and organizations dedicated to promoting open access to education. By building awareness around OER and creating the infrastructure to support it, we can take meaningful steps towards a more equitable and accessible educational future.

My journey as an OER Graduate Assistant has only just begun, but I already feel a deep sense of purpose in this role. Education has the power to uplift individuals and transform communities, and OER are critical tools in making that happen. As I continue to work with the OER team, I look forward to being part of this global movement for change, one that prioritizes the needs of students and breaks down the barriers that have traditionally stood in the way of educational success. OER have shown me that education does not need to be restricted by financial constraints—it can and should be available to everyone, regardless of where they are in the world. I am excited to bring this knowledge back to my home country, where I hope to be part of the movement to promote OER and ensure that every student has the opportunity to succeed.

Open Educational Resources represent more than just a cost-saving initiative—they represent a fundamental shift in how we view education. OER remove barriers, level the playing field, and ensure that all students have the opportunity to reach their full potential. I look forward to continuing my work with the OER team and contributing to this global vision for a better, more equitable educational landscape.

Education, Higher Education, Open Initiatives & Resources, Open & Affordable Educational Materials
Open Annotation and the Marginal Syllabus by Dr. Matthew Farber, UNC Assistant Professor of Technology, Innovation & Pedagogy
03/31/2020
profile-icon Jen Mayer
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In some of my courses, I have begun to integrate the free web annotation tool Hypothesis. Free to use, students all mark up and highlight the same document. In doing so, students engage more with the text, and each other. This is a paradigm shift from approaches that are typically used in learning management systems such as Canvas; rather than read an article and then reply to a prompt in a discussion board, students can converse and reply right on the document itself.

I first learned about social annotation by following the work of friend and colleague Dr. Jeremiah (Remi) Kalir, assistant professor of Learning Design and Technology at the University of Colorado Denver. Kalir coauthored the new book Annotation with Antero Garcia on the history and current practice of social annotation. In fact, the practice is ancient, dating back to a long history of people scribbling in the margins of books. We see this from family cookbooks to medieval European texts. Fast-forward to today where there are several tools that enable anyone to socially and collaboratively annotate the web.

Hypothesis is Kalir’s tool of choice. It is free, and truly open (open source, open code). What’s more, it is multimodal: aside from highlighting text and leaving digital sticky notes, students and educators can respond with YouTube videos, GIFs, or emojis. There are also ways to fully integrate Hypothesis into Canvas, as well as other tools.

Getting Started

To get started, I recommend having students first annotate your course syllabus. Using the free Hypothesis tool DocDrop, any PDF -- your syllabus, an article you are using for your course -- can be dragged in, thus creating a unique link for your students. You can make the document public or private, sharing a simple password with students.

In addition to annotating documents, any website can be marked up as well. Hypothesis can be added as a Chrome browser extension, enabling anyone, anywhere to annotate a website.

Having students annotate a syllabus is a low-stakes way to scaffold its use later in courses. Once students grow accustomed, consider inviting the author of articles to engage in discussions. This past fall I invited Annotation coauthor Garcia to respond to questions as well as to annotate “Dear Future President of the United States”: Analyzing Youth Civic Writing Within the 2016 Letters to the Next President Project, an article he cowrote that was published in SAGE, and with AERA.

Having authors as guest annotators piqued student interest, and created an engaging and unique conversation, much more than had this been linked on a discussion board. After having students collaboratively annotate, Crowdlaaers, a free analytic tool, or “crowd layers” dashboard where educators and researchers can track activity.

To learn more on having students annotate syllabi, check out Kalir’s blog post, Annotate Your Syllabus 2.0.

 

 

Educational Technology