OER-Based General Education Project
at NOVA
OER Courses Offered (Phase 1):
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English – ENG 111, 112,125
College Math – MTH 151
Science – PHY 201, 202
History – HIS 121, 122
Humanities/Fine Arts – ART 101, 102
Social/Behavioral Sciences – HIS 262
Student Development – SDV 100
We selected high-impact courses for a broad population
These courses can be taken by any NOVA student individually,
or as a General Education Certificate program.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/43602175@N06/4070018828
Wm. Preston Davis, Ed.D.
Northern Virginia Community College
What are OER?
“OER are teaching, learning and research
resources that reside in the public domain
or have been released under an intellectual
property license that permits their free use
or re-purposing by others.”
– The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation
Wm. Preston Davis, Ed.D.
Northern Virginia Community College
Why use OER?
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Access – Open Educational Resources allows for all
students to have equal access to all course materials
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Affordability – Open Educational Resources are free
or very low cost, significantly reducing educational
expenses
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Student Success – Open Educational Resources are
high quality educational materials available in a variety
of engaging formats for all learners
Wm. Preston Davis, Ed.D.
Northern Virginia Community College
Why Should Instructors Use Free
Resources?
• Allows the instructor more academic
freedom.
• Provides a richer experience for the student.
• Engages students with the variety of
resources.
• Gives students immediate access to the
course materials.
OER Project Resources
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Faculty are provided VCCS grant funded stipends
to redesign a course using OER instead of
traditional textbooks.
ELI resources (Librarians, Instructional Designers)
are provided to assist in course design and
development, and OER curation.
All course material developed for this project will
be shared throughout the VCCS and licensed
through Creative Commons after the pilot.
Wm. Preston Davis, Ed.D.
Northern Virginia Community College
Resources used in SDV100
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Online text: Saylor.org - College Resources by Bruce
Beiderwell, Linda F. Tse, Tom Lochhaas and Nicholas B.
deKanter
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Websites: StudentLingo.com,YouTube.com, Ted.com,
Films on Demand, NOVA website for college resources
and career exploration, studygs.net
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Assessment websites: SmarterMeasure,Virginia
Education Wizard, VARK-learn.com, Humametrics.com,
wikidot.com, mindtools.com, Everfi.com
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In-house webinars: Exploring Career Options and
Getting Ready for Your Next Semester
Example of Multiple Resources Utilized for
Learning Styles Topic:
Redesigning SDV100 College Success Skills
• Summer 2013 - SDV100 College Success Skills was
redesigned to utilize online resources that are free to
students.
• Fall 2013 - The new course was piloted in seven sections by
five instructors.
• The remaining instructors were trained for the spring
2014 transition.
• Spring 2014 - All online SDV100 courses are taught in the
new format (12 instructors/22 sections).
• The campus-based hybrid course is currently piloting two
OER sections.
*All SDV100, both online and campus-based hybrid will be
OER by fall 2015.
Cost Savings for SDV100
Students
Textbook: $37.50 Used/$50.00 New
Fall 2013:
7 pilot sections = 245 students
Saved $9,187 - $12,250
• Spring 2014:
22 sections = 770 students
Saved $28,875 - $38,500
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Feedback from Students
38% of the students in the fall 2013 pilot sections responded to
the OER student survey:
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90% liked not having to purchase a textbook.
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93% felt the College Success e-book was informative and
addressed the topics in this course well.
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100% felt the videos were informative and addressed the
topics in this course well.
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97% thought the assignments and activities in this course
related to the assigned readings and videos.
Quotes from Students
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“I think I learned the most when we read about note taking styles and
that it will help me for years to come. I found the chapters covering
dealing with stress, anxiety and learning styles to be the most interesting
though. Those have always appealed to me and it was neat to see other
opinions and ideas from the students in the blog posts.”
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“I liked the typology and learning style assignment because I was able to
find out more about myself. I now understand what kind of learner I am
and how I learn best as well as what characterizes my personality. It also
helped me in finding a career that best fits me.”
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“The final project was the most interesting assignment.This assignment
let us review everything we have learned and also gave us the chance to
see it all come together.”
Thank You!
Kim Burkle
Counselor/Instructor
kburkle@nvcc.edu
Extended Learning Institute
Northern Virginia Community College