Open Education 2017

This presentation will center on the creation of an Introduction for three areas; a Visual Arts course, a Foundational or General Ed.class, as well as, a class in the Literacy and Culture Program at Boise State University. The classes satisfy one of an undergraduates' core requirements in the Liberal Arts and is most often taken by incoming freshmen. This population is possibly least financially prepared for the cost of the texts and other fees they encounter upon entering college and those costs are often a significant factor in the inability of a student to continue. The texts required by freshmen are also most likely to be recycled or never referred to again in the student's academic career. Many of the students at Boise State are military, whose costs are partially funded by the government, but whose resources are often late in coming during the school year putting them at particular risk of falling behind. Other student groups for whom the cost of text may be particularly challenging are CAMP students who are first generation children of migrant workers or other migrant/immigrant populations. This was the primary impetus behind the instructor's decision to develop an OER text that could be offered at no cost to the students from the first day of instruction. The search for resources and the unexpected obstacles and opportunities encountered on the development of the text is the subject of this workshop.



Case studies on the development, refinement, and implementation of OER materials; focusing on the experience of faculty members, an Instructional Designer, and/or an Instructional Technologist collaborating to make OER come together for specific classes. Problems and solutions in locating, re-mixing, and considerations in licensing of OER will be presented. Issues in accessibility and creating OER material that meet and exceed requirements for accessibility will also be presented.