On National Teacher Day, meet the 2024-25 Kenan Fellows
Pragmatism vs. Idealism and the Identity Crisis of OER Advocacy
1. Pragmatism vs. Idealism The
identity crisis of OER advocacy
Rajiv Jhangiani, Ph.D.
Open Studies Teaching Fellow & Psychology Instructor, Kwantlen Polytechnic University
Senior Open Education Advocacy & Research Fellow, BCcampus
Faculty Workshop Facilitator, Open Textbook Network
(Unless otherwise noted)
2.
3. OER Adoption Estimates
(US Higher Ed)
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Cengage
Babson
ICBA
OnCampus Research
% of Faculty
% of Courses
10. 66.5% Not purchase the required textbook
47.6% Take fewer courses
45.5% Not register for a specific course
37.6% Earn a poor grade
26.1% Drop a course
19.8% Fail a course
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€Florida Virtual Campus. (2016). 2016 student textbook and course materials survey. Tallahassee, FL: Author.
11. Allen, I. E. & Seaman, J. (2014). Opening the curriculum: Open educational resources in U.S. higher education.
12.
13. “If cost savings were the only goal, then OERs are
not the only answer. Materials could be made free,
or subsidized, which are not openly licensed.
The intention behind the OER approach is that it
has other benefits also, in that educators adapt
their material, and it is also an efficient way to
achieve the goal of cost savings, because others
will adapt the material with the intention of
improving its quality, relevance or currency.
16. If open educational practices are a
game changer, why are OER
advocates playing by the rules of
the commercial textbook industry?
17. Textbook Costs and
Opportunity Lost:
What price-driven decisions are costing students
Research has shown a positive correlation between access to course
materials and completion rates and grades.1–5
And yet, one survey of
more than 22,000 college students found, as many as
As the survey uncovered, the decisions students make in light of the
price of textbooks may cost them opportunity in the long run.6
of students opt out of buying required
course materials for the first day of class.64%
report
dropping
a course
27%
of students 1
report taking
fewer courses
per semester
49%
of students
report not
registering
for a course
45%
of students
1
2
3
4
report failing
a course
17%
of students
18.
19. “Fundamentally, I don’t want to be
part of a movement that is focused
on replacing static, over-priced
textbooks with static, free textbooks
23. “When faculty ask themselves ‘what
else can I do because of these
permissions?’, we’ve come within
striking distance of realizing the
full power of open.
25. Trust vs. Mistrust
Infancy
Autonomy vs. Shame
Early Childhood
Initiative vs. Guilt
Play Age
Industry vs. Inferiority
School Age
Identity vs. Role Confusion
Adolescence
Intimacy vs. Isolation
Young Adulthood
Generativity vs. Stagnation
Adulthood
Integrity vs. Despair
Late Adulthood