The panel will share data from the instructor, institutional, state, and content provider perspective on reasons that encourage, and discourage, adoption of open educational resources (OER). Though affordability and access to education are primary social concerns, cost-saving OER must be accepted by students and faculty, as well as meet course learning objectives. As true for other educational resources, OER content must contribute to positive learning outcomes and be accessible to all members of the student body. Textbooks remain a major contributor to college costs, with students spending an average of $1,137 for textbooks and supplies (The College Board, 2011). For students at community colleges, the cost of textbooks and supplies represents 72 percent of tuition and fees; 26 percent for students attending a four-year public college, according to estimates by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (2005). OER learning resources is one important innovation that may keep students in school; the number one reason students drop-out of college is that they cannot afford continued attendance (Chronicle of Higher Education; April 20, 2011). Institutions are enhancing their online and hybrid offerings to meet the needs of an increasing diverse student population. New textbook models, based on open content, are fueling the drive for affordable learning material and providing a digital-first platform for faculty innovation and experimentation with new course formats. Open textbooks are part of the Open Educational Resources (OER) movement to freely share knowledge online and re-use educational content. Compared to static traditional textbooks that can cost $200 or more, open textbooks lower costs to students, often with no loss of quality. They also offer choices in formats, including free online, and opportunities for faculty to control content to fit the learning outcomes of their course. Flat World Knowledge has been an active and early participant in this arena. Their open textbooks creation and delivery business model offers one promising way to sustain the OER movement. A second stimulus for the growth of open educational resources is the Next Generation Learning Challenge, initiated by Educause and funded by the Gates and Hewlett Foundations in 2011. OER licensing terms that typically permit mixing, matching, and re-purposing content suggests opportunities to blend Flat World Knowledge content with other OER resources, enhancing curricula and leveraging the strengths of different OER distribution models. Through data-rich examples and insights from Ohio and California, this session will challenge the audience to consider whether the open textbook model can meet instructor requirements, and the needs of their 21st century students. Specifically, this session will: • Define open licensing and what makes a textbook ‘open.' Explain how the Internet has fueled the value gap between textbook publishers and students, educators, authors and institutions. • Provide examples of open textbooks/open educational content providers and the role of both non-profit and for-profit organizations in the OER ecosystem. • Present recent research on open textbook student and instructor feedback, purchase decisions, cost savings, and impact on student learning outcomes at California State University, Northridge. • Identify the benefits, opportunities and challenges of OER for online learning, using examples from California State University, Northridge. • Share the outcomes of the University System of Ohio research on student and faculty assessments of Flat World Knowledge textbooks. • Present pilot data on a) the accessibility of Flat World content in the mobile eLearning environment and b) MathML as an accessible format for STEM-based disciplines. • Using Ohio's Scaffold to the Stars Next Generation Learning Challenge project as an exemplar, demonstrate how modular OER resources can be re-mixed and re-used to support math and applied science curricula. • Share experiences of how instructors use openly-licensed content to collaborate and broaden the materials used in their courses. • Offer evidence that supports adopting vetted OER content to meet student learning and affordability needs. The presentation will last 55 minutes and be followed by a 15-20 minute interactive Q&A with the audience. At the end of this session the audience will have a better understanding of the OER movement and options, the role of OER in hybrid and online learning, faculty and student acceptance of and satisfaction with OER, the impact of OER on learning outcomes, OER's role in accessibility, and remaining issues and challenges in OER adoption. References Chronicle of Higher Education (April 20, 2011). Students cite money as the top reason for dropping out. Available at: http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/students-cite-money-as-top-reason-theyve-mulled-dropping-out/32294?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en College Board (2011). Break Down the Bill: College Expenses to Consider. http://www.collegeboard.com/student/pay/add-it-up/482.html. Retrieved June 3, 2011 Government Accounting Office (2005), College Textbooks: Enhanced Offerings Appear to Drive Recent Price Increases, GAO-05-806
