The Open Course Library: Disrupting the $200 Textbook

The Open Course Library:

Disrupting the $200 Textbook• Thomas W. Malone, JD, MBA, Malone & Associates PS and past Trustee,

Seattle Community Colleges, WA

• Tom Braziunas, Ph. D., eLearning Associate Dean, North Seattle Community College, Seattle Community Colleges, WA

• Boyoung Chae, Ph. D., Program Administrator of Open Education and eLearning Research, Washington State Board of Community & Technical Colleges, WA

• Stephanie Delaney, JD, Ph. D., Associate Dean for Distance & eLearning, Seattle Central Community College, Seattle Community Colleges, WA

• Carey Schroyer, D.C., District Faculty Coordinator (and Tenured Biology Faculty, South Seattle Community College), Seattle Community Colleges, WA

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The Open Course Library: Disrupting the $200 Textbook

What this presentation is about…

• The problem• The “OCL” project• Open-resource challenges • Strategies to reduce costs• Student reactions / results• The road ahead

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The Problem:The high cost of textbooks has reduced Washington citizens’ access to higher education. •According to the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, 200,000 qualified students fail to enroll in college each year due to cost •Full-time students spend approximately $1,000 on textbooks every year ($4.6M/yr for the 46,000+ enrollments in English Composition ENGL& 101 alone in Washington State Community and Technical Colleges)

•2005 GAO report: College textbook prices have risen at twice the rate of annual inflation over the last two decades 3

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The Open Course Library: Disrupting the $200 TextbookOCL Project :

An initiative to develop affordable digital course materials for Washington State’s community & technical colleges

WHO: •SBCTC eLearning and Open Education•Supported by a multi-year $750,000 grant from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation •Supported by $750,000 from the Washington State Legislature

WHAT: • Built as 82 high-enrollment, gatekeeper college courses • Designed and reviewed by CTC faculty members and

instructional support teams• Total materials cost to student must be under $30 per course• Free global public use through Creative Commons Licensing

WHEN:• First 42 courses released in October 2011• Second 40 courses will be released March 2013

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Action plan for lowering costs:

• Faculty & instructional teams create OER courses

• Courses are peer-reviewed using Quality Matters

• Courses are openly licensed via Creative Commons

• Faculty colleagues accept utility of these OERs

• Content is adopted widely in whole or in part

• Content revised by adopters as fits their teaching

• Faculty provide constructive feedback so OERs see continuous quality improvement & updating 5

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Action plan for increasing student success

•Students have ready access to course materials before & during their courses (no delays in receiving textbooks)

•Students experience better grades, completion rates and satisfaction with their learning through courses built by teams consisting of faculty, instructional designers, e-learning specialists, librarians & cultural diversity experts

•Students benefit from currency of content (commercial textbooks become outdated quickly)

•Students develop information literacy skills through use of the Internet to access, research & evaluate many sources of data

•Students improve their technical literacy through skills learned in using educational technologies

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The Challenges(Mis)perceptions by potential adopters:

•“Not invented here” means “does not fit” with teaching style or program content

•Administrators want to dictate homogeneity and/or replace faculty with technology

•“Open” educational resources are below college levels & of questionable quality

•Adoption is “all” or “nothing” with content being replaced by a “generic classroom in a box”

• “Another passing fad” – this perspective (expressed at a faculty focus group) is likely to be heard less & less 7

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The ChallengesLegitimate concerns of seasoned online faculty:

•“Already invented here” – why change something that is already working for students and instructor?

•“Where’s the beef?” – where are the data proving that student success rates will increase?

•“Textbooks synthesize & organize” – Students learn better when course materials and activities are clearly designed and aligned

•“It’s a great first draft” – but time-consuming revision is required before each specific adoption & much of OCL still depends on proprietary materials

•“Common” courses are not so “common” – OCL spotlighted heterogeneity in content & outcomes within the system & even within districts 8

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Data on dollars – baseline savings:

“Show them the money!” – How much will our students save?

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Successes “in the commercial world”:

District-wide Barnes & Noble bookstores Savings at the register over the last two academic years $1,304,728

•Student savings by renting textbooks $376,397 (unit rentals nearly tripled)

•Student savings by purchasing digital options $ 80,579•Student savings by purchasing used textbooks $847,752 Data from Lori Schmit, Regional Manager, Barnes & Noble

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Hopeful Strategies for Faculty:

Educate faculty adopters on “whole” and “piecemeal” options•Create venues for developers and adopters to share experiences, insights &tips with colleagues

• “Leading from the Classroom” is an example of a successful trustee initiative

• Conduct campus-by-campus focus groups to bring developers together to debrief

• Build OER presentations into “Sharing Days” and “Faculty Institutes”

•Join national consortia such as the CCCOER -- “Community College Consortium for Open Educational Resources” (http://oerconsortium.org)•Create templates to assist the collaboration of faculty and librarians to adopt/adapt appropriate OERs (http://sccopenaccess.pbworks.com/) •Produce up-to-date checklists on peer-reviewed sources of OERs for adopters•Integrate OER into all relevant trainings so that it becomes something natural for faculty to consider.

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http://oerconsortium.org/

http://sccopenaccess.pbworks.com/


More Hopeful Strategies for Faculty:

Work with the strongest “critics” to address (and resolve!) key concerns

Educate faculty designers on creating OPEN content •Publicize available online tutorials and guides to using “Creative Commons” to grant copyright permissions to share your work(http://creativecommons.org/licenses)•Provide training in the use of Quality Matters standards to produce effectively designed course content and activities.

Encourage Faculty Course Reviews•Department or eLearning sponsorships of faculty peer reviews.•Use a Quality Matters peer review model for reviewers to follow for reviewing content

• Include standards on “ease of adoption” and space to share practical suggestions for adopting specific OER material 12

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http://creativecommons.org/licenses


Strategies that have not worked:

•If we build it, they will come – Simply having affordable resources built by system colleagues is not enough to get faculty to adopt

•Expectation of rapid adoption – OER work will take time to bear fruit. Doubters and true believers are both constrained by the time limitations of full workloads

•Faculty stipends alone – It is NOT about the money or workload but about student success. Seasoned online faculty turned down $2500 to adopt OCL materials for a variety of pedagogical and logistical reasons (paraphrased below)

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Student Feedback:

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“OCL” reactions/ results Student Comments -- Pro:•I loved that we didn't have a text book. We were able to get different types of readings from different authors. Also, we didn't have to spread money,•I found that articles are so much more in depth about the real world. As opposed to textbooks that can be very general. Good work on the interesting, informative articles plus supplemental reading is nice and visual.•i am happy i got all the materials that we read for this course on the internet because i did not spend money to buy book which is expensive , how ever if there is not alternetive , i do not mind to buy book to study to my cource since it is important.•I love not having text books because books are large and having everything I need at my fingertips is convenient. •I think it is great that we don't have to buy a text book. The only time I really had to print out the readings was when I planned on doing them outside my home. I think it's more eco-friendly. Something we learned a lot about this quarter.

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“OCL” reactions/ results Student Comments -- Con:•I prefer to buy text book. The students came from different community and country and we have different style of reading system. So for me I love to use book.•I seem to retain information better reading from printed text. I like the idea not having to purchase a book. However it is spendy if I want to print them out so if there was an option to pick up the printed package that would be nice also. I just think reading from printed text is better for our motor skills and I believe we retain the information longer and better through written text. This is because we can feel and touch the paper or book the words are solid and in the physical form. Its hard to explain.•Only at King County library systems you can print off 75 pages black and white per week. That is the only way i was able to print for free. If someone did not tell me this helpful information i would of paid an arm and a leg for ink to print at home.•As selected above I really wish I had a text book! I like the idea of not having to purchase the book however to me I think that having what I need at my fingertips is worth the money. I enjoyed the readings this week. It opened my eyes to a lot of things I did not know. 16

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The Open Course Library: Success in Biology 100

• Biology 100 -Survey of Biology• Non Majors Lab Science Class• Currently being piloted at SSCC.

• OCL Course Highlights:• SME Review of Course Materials

Very Positive• 100% of Reviewers supported

textbook choice and course material developed

• OER Textbook: Biology Basics• CK-12: Modified text• Cost to Students: Free• Downloadable in PDF, tablet,

kindle, android, etc.• OER Labs: Instructor Packet

• Cost to Students: Free• Combination of bench labs and

interactive online labs (require internet connection for completion).

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The Open Course Library: Biol 100 Comparing Outcomes

Activity Fall 2011: Non-OCL Content Fall 2012: OCL Content

Textbook Biology For a Changing World – Scientific American•Book: ~$100.00•Etext: ~$50.00

Biology Basics – CK-12 Flexbook edited by C. Schroyer•Book: PDF $0•Etext: $0

Lab Manual Instructor Compiled: $0 Instructor Compiled: $0

Lab Quiz 1 Average 77% 78%

Lab Quiz 2 Average 82% 82%

Test 1 Average 75% 73%

Test 2 Average 72% 71%

Lab Report 1 89% 88%

10th Day Enrollment

84% 96%

Course Completion 85% 83% (based on current grades)

Student Failure Rate

16.5% ~10% (based on current grade)

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Biology 100: Student Comments using OCL Content

• Loved free textbook.• The textbook was easy to

access, available in a variety of forms.• Labs were fun and well

explained.• Lots of really helpful

videos and animations embedded in the textbook.• Chapter 1: Overview of the Scientific Method (hip h

op/rap version)• Chapter 1: The Evolution of Homer Simpson (Cartoo

n Animation)• Chapter 2: Sugar and Biofuels (University Interview)• Chapter 3: Introduction to the Cell (Video Lecture)• Chapter 8: Video Animation Genetic Dissorders - CF,

Tay Sachs, Etc.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZaCy5Z87FA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZaCy5Z87FA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faRlFsYmkeY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faRlFsYmkeY

http://science.kqed.org/quest/video/biofuels-beyond-ethanol/

http://www.youtube.com/user/khanacademy/featured?lr=1&v=Hmwvj9X4GNY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8s4he3wLgkM&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8s4he3wLgkM&feature=related

The Open Course Library: Biology Majors Series 211, 212, 213 – Less Success with OER Materials

• Biology Series Majors Textbook Challenges using OER: • 3 Quarter Series, Quality of Content, Limited Availability of Complete Majors Level Textbooks

• Team of 5 experienced biology instructors spent ~6 months reviewing available OER resources:• The team WANTED to find OER resources, we looked at everything we could find.• 2 OER textbooks were chosen for each class to satisfy the OCL requirements (however, the team expressed

reservations about the chosen texts).

• 100% of external reviewers (SMEs) from multiple institutions rejected the OER textbooks chosen for all 3 courses:• Reasons given for rejection of the OER textbooks chosen: Information was not current, information

was too simplified, information was not complete.

• Reality Check: Openstax (OER) Publisher response to questions about their Biology Major’s textbook (email 6/11/12):• “Until we work through that process, I don't know if you would find us comparable to Freeman and/or

Campbell....probably not, (truthfully, given our budget, you will never find us equal to those books. They have 2-3x the budget and years of experience refining their art....we will, however, be very good and accurate.)”

• Solution: Required (non-OER) Textbook available in ebook version for $83.99 (Coursesmart). • If a student completes the 3 quarter series, the book is less than $30.00/quarter.• Continue to review new materials, as OER resources continue to be developed, more options will become

available.

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The Road Ahead

• Timeline• Ongoing research• Strategic implementation plan

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Progress

Phase 1

Phase 2

Adoption 22BC

Winter 2012

DEVEOP COURSES

Spring 2012DEVELOP COURSES

Fall 2012PILOT

COURSES

Winter 2013

REVISE COURSES

Spring 2013RELEASE ALL

COURSES

Summer 2010

DEVELOP COURSES

Fall 2010DEVELOP COURSES

Winter 2011PILOT

COURSES

Spring 2011

REVISE COURSES

October 2011

RELEASE 42 COURSEs

Ongoing

Our CTCs--National LeadersWA colleges are taking measures to reduce student textbook costs. Examples:

•Community Colleges of Spokane Foundation funded a three-year project to increase use of open resources.

•Green River Community College math department adopted OCL texts for their students. Approximately 1740 students enrolled in those courses, saving students $139,200.

•During Fall2012 and Winter 2013, Tacoma Community College faculty adopted open educational materials including OCL $100,000

•“Colleges are appointing OER specialists to manage their OER initiatives (Tacoma Community College, Clover Park Technical Colleges, and Community Colleges of Spokane)

•AirWashington content will be shared on OCL.

•System librarians are creating a database of open information literacy materials. 23


Uses of OCL nationally

• Gates-funded Kaleidoscope Projecthttp://www.project-kaleidoscope.org/• Saylor Foundation free online courseshttp://saylor.org• Canvas.net free MOOC http://canvas.net• Scottsdale Community College (math)• Connexions http://cnx.org • Merlot http://www.merlot.org • 85 media mentions worldwide• 50,000 visits to opencourselibrary.org

http://opencourselirary.org

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http://www.project-kaleidoscope.org/

http://saylor.org/

http://canvas.net/

http://cnx.org/

http://www.merlot.org/

http://opencourselirary.org/

Ongoing State-Wide Research

1. Investigating the adoption of Open Course Library (OCL) courses within the WA college system.

• How and to what extent are open course materials being shared and used?

• What are the barriers or keys to the successful adoption of open course materials?

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Preliminary findings from ongoing OCL study

• 53% faculty reported that they had a chance to review Open Course Library contents.

• 23% faculty reported that they used or adopted the contents in their courses.

• The participants enjoyed many aspects of OCL course materials including (1) high quality course content, (2) a variety of well-made resources, and (3) low-cost textbook.

• Among the participants who indicated that they have not used OCL materials, 45% rated the quality of the overall course contents either very good or excellent. 26

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Strategic Implementation Plan for OCL Adoption

“Diffusion is the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system.” from Rogers Model for the adoption and diffusion of innovations

1.Build Online State-wide OER HUB2.Organize OER Advisory Group3.Provide OER Hands-On Workshop4.Build a larger OER community

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Questions Answers

•Our contact information: Tom Malone: [email protected] Tom Braziunas: [email protected] Boyoung Chae: [email protected] Stephanie Delaney: [email protected] Carey Schroyer: [email protected]

URL of this slideshow: http://bit.ly/WlErIY 30TM

mailto:[email protected]





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