Open educational resources are attractive for both
students and faculty because, in large part, they are free or very inexpensive. However, finding and sorting through all the
available OER for high-quality materials is a daunting proposition for most
faculty members, making recent collaborative efforts between institutions a
solution with considerable potential.
“Helping faculty find appropriate resources is a major
issue,” said Geoff Cain, director of distance education for the College of the
Redwoods, Eureka, CA, in a recent article in Campus Technology.
Cain is a member of the Community College Consortium for Open Educational Resources,
a joint effort to help faculty identify and evaluate appropriate resources.
Another effort, Project Kaleidoscope, brought together
faculty teams from eight institutions across the U.S. to design 10 general
education courses that use OER materials and share common learning assessments.
The Kaleidoscope courses were used for the first time
in the fall of 2011 with promising results. According to a report in Campus Technology, there was a 3.5% improvement in student success
(completion with a C or better) in the courses, while students participating in
the Kaleidoscope classes saw a 97% reduction in textbook costs.
“It’s so frustrating to community college teachers when
their students show up the first week without textbooks because they are
waiting for a paycheck or for financial aid,” said M.L. Bettino, former dean of
academic affairs at Cerritos College and primary investigator for the
Kaleidoscope program. “Now they can get their hands on these materials early
and really be prepared on day one.”
