This document discusses the use of Open Educational Resources (OER) to enhance teaching effectiveness and active learning in higher education. It incorporates feedback from students on their experiences with OER and provides recommendations for educators on how to implement these resources effectively in their courses. Key strategies include setting clear objectives, providing accessible options, and involving students in content generation and sharing.

1. Open Educational
Resources
Tips for Introducing Active Learning Activities
Using OER and Sharing Your Own Content
Teaching Effectiveness Institute - January 10, 2014
Spring 2014 Teaching Effectiveness Institute
Beyond the Textbook:
Using Open Educational Resources
January 10, 2014

2. Teaching Effectiveness Institute - January 10, 2014
How are students
already using OER?
Photo credit: ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2013, https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERS1302/ERS1302.pdf

3. Implementation
sites
Countries
represented
Teaching Effectiveness Institute - January 10, 2014
Population
description
States
represented
2013 Educause Study of
Undergraduate Students

4. 71% of students
For every 10 students…
Source: ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2013,
https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERS1302/ERS1302.pdf
Teaching Effectiveness Institute - January 10, 2014
have used OERs in past year

5. Student Quote
Teaching Effectiveness Institute - January 10, 2014
“Sometimes taking notes
and listening to a lecture
[by] the same person can
be like bashing yourself
over the head with a
textbook if it doesn’t make
sense. But it’s nice to listen
to other styles of teaching
like Khan Academy. It gives
a valuable perspective.”
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/departmentofed/9610353582

6. “Students recommend that their instructors
use freely available course content, we
found that most identified, at least
vaguely, ways that they imagined bringing
free course content into their studies: as
learning aids, as supplemental information
sources, and as providers of different
perspectives on topics.”
Source: ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2013,
https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERS1302/ERS1302.pdf
Teaching Effectiveness Institute - January 10, 2014
Study Recommendations

7. Teaching Effectiveness Institute - January 10, 2014
Students Seeking Out OER
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hackny/8049783061

8. Teaching Effectiveness Institute - January 10, 2014
Khan Academy
khanacademy.org

9. Teaching Effectiveness Institute - January 10, 2014
Stats Available on Progress

10. Teaching Effectiveness Institute - January 10, 2014
MIT Open Courseware
ocw.mit.edu

11. Teaching Effectiveness Institute - January 10, 2014
MOOCs (example: EdX)
edx.org

12. Teaching Effectiveness Institute - January 10, 2014
Open Textbooks
collegeopentextbooks.org

13. Teaching Effectiveness Institute - January 10, 2014
Tips for Introducing Active
Learning Activities in Your
Course

14. • What is it students should be able to do
by the end of your course?
• What performance gaps or patterns do
you recognize among your students?
• What activities or resources will better
help them develop necessary
skills, knowledge, or attitudes?
Teaching Effectiveness Institute - January 10, 2014
Keep Your Course
Objectives in Mind

15. Identify activities and resources you currently use to create
key learning moments
Teaching Effectiveness Institute - January 10, 2014
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/55955607@N02/8374316458
What’s Working?

16. Look for activities or resources that might further enhance
the learning experience
Teaching Effectiveness Institute - January 10, 2014
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hackny/8049787629
Keep Your Eyes Open

17. Provide clear guidelines and expectations for students on
assigned resources and activities
Teaching Effectiveness Institute - January 10, 2014
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hackny/8049800812
Be Explicit

18. Help students realize why resources and activities assigned
aren’t “busy work”
Teaching Effectiveness Institute - January 10, 2014
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hackny/10164574656
Show Relevance of Resources
to Learning Outcomes

19. Whenever possible select resources and activities that all
students can access
Teaching Effectiveness Institute - January 10, 2014
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/departmentofed/9607439071
Keep Accessibility in Mind

20. If multiple resources or activities are available, let students
choose from among several options
Teaching Effectiveness Institute - January 10, 2014
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hackny/10163884836
Provide Options and
Alternatives When Possible

21. Consider incorporating activities where student-generated
content can be a resource for future classes
Teaching Effectiveness Institute - January 10, 2014
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hackny/8049767663
Let Students Contribute

22. Teaching Effectiveness Institute - January 10, 2014
Sharing Your Content
with a Wider Community

23. Choose the level of access you’d like to grant other users and
how envision your resources will be shared
Teaching Effectiveness Institute - January 10, 2014
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hackny/8049767663
How Widely You Want to Share?

24. Teaching Effectiveness Institute - January 10, 2014
Share within NIU
The Blackboard Content Collection can be used to share
resources with other NIU faculty

25. Coming soon will be the ability to share easily with faculty
from other institutions who also use Blackboard
Teaching Effectiveness Institute - January 10, 2014
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hackny/8049767663
Blackboard xpLor

26. Upload your resource to a publicly-available online site and
apply the desired creative commons license
Teaching Effectiveness Institute - January 10, 2014
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hackny/8049767663
Post Your Resources Online

27. Consider submitting a resource you’ve created with one of
the many creative commons repositories
Teaching Effectiveness Institute - January 10, 2014
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hackny/8049767663
External Repositories

28. Teaching Effectiveness Institute - January 10, 2014
Q&A
What additional questions do you have or comments would
you like to share? Tweet presenter @jrhode