Open Education Resources

Edmon Low was dedicated to library sciences. Upon arriving to Oklahoma A&M in 1940, he was knowledgeable on library systems, helped under-skilled workers, and offered a lot of creativity.

Low was not afraid to try different methods in order to provide a better system for the library. He advocated for an open stacks library, allowing students easy access to books rather than having to place call requests like many undergraduate libraries.

Open access is in the DNA of OSU’s library. Today, the OSU Library aims to provide the best experience for students by offering open access, now it’s in a digital form. Open Education Resources are instructional materials intentionally created to be free to students. These materials are licensed by author/creators to permit and encourage distribution, modification and retention.

Five OSU instructors adopted reviewed OER texts for fall 2018 course use, potentially saving OSU students over $36,000 in one semester. One instructor, Britney Mann, used an OER book for her first year seminar class last year and chose it knowing she could save her students money.

“We never had a book before in that class so that students didn’t have to spend the money,” Mann said. “The book makes it feel like a real class, and there are more opportunities to integrate technology in the classroom.”

This fall, a new group of staff and faculty have the opportunity to learn about OER through the OSU Libraries Open Textbook Incentive Program. The “Hack Your Syllabus” mini-grant will provide financial incentive and support. Participants will learn how to design a course around existing open textbooks, create interactive coursework and modify any syllabi or other materials for the transition to open textbooks. Each of the participants in the program will receive $750.

The open education movement can also help raise the quality of education for all students because instructors are better able to share and build on one another’s pedagogical innovations.

Craig Freeman, department head for the School of Media and Strategic Communications, found the resources helpful in the classroom.

“OER allows students to focus on the materials, rather than the price,” Freeman said. “Instead, I can help students learn through numerous resources and platforms, all while being able to edit the materials based on the class’ needs.”

Open Access saves time and money by allowing students to easily access curriculum anytime from a device for free. This is an advantage to today’s students, as it is common to access coursework from numerous devices.

“Gone are the days students have to carry their homework with them everywhere,” Freeman said. “Now, students can access it from their laptop, desktop, tablet or phone. This is a timesaver for our students.”

Mann also likes the accessibility of the materials.

“Students being able to easily access course materials really helps the learning process,” Mann said. “It’s also helpful for the instructor. Being able to edit content allows me to personalize it making it more relatable to the students.”

Kathy Essmiller, Open Educational Resources Librarian, is excited to share these resources with campus.

“This is a great opportunity for students to save money and for faculty and staff to customize their learning material,” Essmiller said. “In just the first decade of this century, 2.4 million American students either did not attend, or could not complete college because of the cost barrier. This resource can change that.”

OSU Librarians are available to assist applicants in locating OER or library-licensed content to replace current educational resources. Interested applicants can stop by or schedule an appointment.

“We want to help students see the value in materials beyond the price tag,” Essmiller said. “With open resources, we can do that. Through OER, the whole campus can benefit.”

To learn more and apply for the “Hack your Syllabus” mini-grant, visit info.library.okstate.edu/open/hackyoursyllabus.

Post by Lonna Freshley, communications and recruitment specialist for the College of Arts and Sciences.

SHAREOK Gives Access to Scholarly Work

Access to scholarly work and research is an incredibly important aspect of any university curriculum. Luckily, the Oklahoma State University Libraries have made accessing scholarly work easier than ever with SHAREOK.

SHAREOK is a joint institutional repository for the Oklahoma State University Libraries, the University of Oklahoma Libraries and the University of Central Oklahoma Max Chambers Library.

Essentially, it is a place for students and faculty to deposit digital versions of their work. SHAREOK houses theses, dissertations, research reports and more from some incredibly talented and brilliant people across the state. Why is this so important? Well, the documents are all open access, meaning they can be read by anyone, anywhere, anytime.

Because the documents on SHAREOK are all open access, this provides students with a way to find scholarly work after they graduate. For a student like myself who will graduate in May, this is exciting news. I currently have access to a plethora of databases provided by the library, yet once May rolls around, that access will no longer be available. SHAREOK allows students like myself to transition into their postgraduate lives while preserving one of the educational assets they had at OSU.

Juliana Nykolaiszyn, a professor in the Digital Resources and Discovery Services department at the OSU library, is responsible for maintaining SHAREOK at OSU.

“The whole goal is to make everything open, accessible and free,” Juliana said. “Not only for students here at OSU, but throughout the state of Oklahoma and worldwide.”

Students are not the only ones who benefit from this platform. When faculty submit their work to SHAREOK, they gain another layer of visibility in the scholarly world. Rather than just allowing it to sit on their computers, unseen and unused, professors can submit their articles, presentations, posters or other work to SHAREOK where anyone in the world may now find it.

Clarke Iakovakis, an assistant professor in Research and Learning Services, works to increase the visibility of SHAREOK at OSU. He explained some of the benefits faculty gain by submitting their work to the repository.

“It’s this movement toward making what has been invisible more visible,” Clarke said. “There are people who are interested in really building their online scholarly profiles and sharing the work that they do. Downstream, other researchers can benefit from it, but it also can help build their profiles as researchers.”

While the benefits to students and faculty may be evident, the benefits of SHAREOK extend beyond what we see at OSU. Professionals in every industry have access to the material. The research conducted at OSU is often publically funded, so why shouldn’t the public be able to learn from the research, too? Furthermore, peer-reviewed research has traditionally been limited by subscription-only paywalls, the costs of which have risen dramatically in the last two decades. SHAREOK provides everyone with a way to continue learning and using the information on the platform without the financial burden of paying for a subscription service.

People around the globe can explore the information available on the platform. They may discover something that, had they been required to purchase access, they may never have learned. After all, knowledge is one of the greatest treasures. Why shouldn’t we share ours with the world?

Posted by Jenny Berry, electronic communications intern