Join us for this webinar to hear how colleges are transitioning from individual faculty OER course adoptions to entire departments and OER degree pathways. OER leaders at colleges who have reached critical mass in their implementation will share best practices for sustaining faculty engagement, student involvement, project funding, and institutional commitment to OER adoption for the enhancement of teaching and learning.

Our featured speakers are both longtime community college leaders in the OER movement at regional and district levels. They will engage each other in discussions on the themes mentioned above and invite questions from webinar attendees.

Open Education Week is an ideal time to hear from our community members who are leading open education initiatives on their campuses and across their states to reduce costs for students and empower faculty to enhance learning in their classrooms. We will hear from two OER librarians and a faculty member who are successfully growing awareness and adoption of open educational resources. They will share the successes and challenges of coordinating statewide efforts and influencing their colleagues to adopt OER in their courses.

This video discusses the various ways in which academic libraries and their librarians are supporting the Open Education Movement.

This is an introductory-level course designed for global post-secondary educators interested in learning more about open education, open educational resources (OER), and open educational practices (OEP). The purpose of the course is to increase awareness and use of OER as part of global teaching and learning, and to connect education communities with each other. Participation within the course discussion forums requires enrolment through the OpenLearn system and may enrich your learning experience through interactions. There will also be social media and blogging opportunities to connect through Twitter and other spaces that you choose.

OER programs provide an opportunity for students to earn a certificate or associates degree without incurring the cost of textbooks for their courses. This can dramatically reduce the cost of attendance and has been estimated at 25% or more savings*. Most OER programs are developed to serve the neediest students who may otherwise have to defer college or take fewer courses due to prohibitive cost. Reaching the students who could most benefit most from enrolling in OER courses can prove to be a challenge in of itself. We will hear from speakers who have developed successful strategies at their colleges to create awareness and encourage underrepresented students to enroll in OER degree programs targeted at their academic success.

Your action plan is an internal planning document for how you will convince key internal and external constituents to support for the work that you are doing. It is intended as a living document that you can revisit as you review the results of your advocacy activities and refine your advocacy strategy. Think of it as a skeleton you can work to fill in.

Throughout this OER Community Course space, we have talked about the benefits that OER bring to students, faculty, and institutions as a whole. Research shows us that the most direct positive impacts are reduced costs of a college education, improved student success rates, and increased student retention.

As you work to integrate OER into your practice, keep in mind the ways you can share the OER you create, as well as your own personal stories which can help promote the adoption, adaption, customization, creation, and sharing of OER by others.