By Sean McPherson

 

I’m an adjunct English instructor. At the time of this writing, I’ve taught English for 26 years now—10 at the high school level and 16 at the college level. I first started to use OER materials many years ago, before colleges started talking about and promoting OER. Boy have things changed.

The American Literature textbook I was using in one of my college courses went through a series of price increases for several semesters in a row. Nothing in the textbook had changed, yet the publisher kept increasing the price. It was absurd. As the price kept going up, my students were finding it more difficult to purchase the textbook. It was frustrating to try to have conversations about a text that many in the class had not read. I didn’t blame my students, though. I saw it as a problem that I needed to figure out.

I thought to myself, “Hey, self. This is Am Lit 1 to 1865. If I remember copyright law correctly, all these works should be available for free on the internet.” So, I ditched the textbook, made a list of links to the free works online, and wrote introductions and lectures to supplement each unit. Since then, I use OER materials in almost all the courses I teach when possible. It’s liberating not to be tied down to someone else’s vision (and pocketbook).

Fast forward to today.

Now that OER has become more popular at colleges, the quantity and quality of OER materials has grown considerably. Each year, I continue to enhance my course materials with OER, but I’ve come to a point where I want to make a huge overhaul so I can maximize the potential of OER, a “reboot,” if you will.

The course I’m currently in the process of rebooting is English Composition 1. I’m interested in incorporating more critical reading and thinking skills to help prepare students for the more complex readings they will encounter in their other classes. This training should also teach students how to break down the logic of other people’s arguments to check the validity and effectiveness of a text’s claims, grounds, and warrants, which should reflexively allow them to evaluate their own arguments and assumptions. I already know that students can think. I want to teach them how to think better. I know they know how to write. I want to teach them how to write better.

I’d say the biggest OER skill I’ve learned currently is how to organize all the resources available. This may seem like a strange takeaway, but I see it as a big win for me. Learning what resources are available is one thing but learning how to organize those resources will allow me to work much quicker and more efficiently—daily. Since I will revisit many of these materials when lesson planning, I can take my lesson idea and execute that idea more efficiently instead of wandering about online wasting time.

I do have an observation, though. Just something I’ve noticed. Colleges have been pushing for instructors to use open resources and open pedagogy, which is great. In my own exploration of OER, I’ve actually improved my teaching because of it. That said, tuition and fees at colleges continue to increase yearly at a dramatic rate making college unobtainable for many individuals. The inclusiveness of OER seems to be offset by the exclusivity of college costs, which seems to continue to serve as a gatekeeper. I’m not arguing for free college or anything (I don’t know the answer), but I don’t see how encouraging OER in colleges is compatible with ignoring rising tuition and fees. They just don’t match up. I feel like teachers and administrators are playing on two different fields. It’s great that the vendors at the ballpark are offering their goods for free while they watch the game, but because the ballpark owner keeps raising the price of admission to offset those costs, it’s an illusion to think that people are getting something for free. I have two kids in college right now, and every time I get their college tuition bills, I feel gut-punched. I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in this feeling.

Nonetheless, I feel that if it is within my power to help students reduce the cost of college in any way, it is my responsibility to try my best. My advice to any instructor who wants to learn more about how they can use OER in their courses is to always take the OER trainings when your school offers them. The people at your college who create these courses blow me away with their OER knowledge, and they’re eager to help. You’re not alone. We’re in this together!

There’s a movement brewing. We’re at a great point in teaching where we can do some really great things to help our students succeed. I’m happy to be a part of it.

 

Featured Image: “Lean Startup workshop – the winner gets it all!” by Daria Nepriakhina licensed by CC0 1.0

“Open Textbooks Open Opportunities” by Sean McPherson is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0