OER Fundamentals Fall 2024

1. I was glad to have a practice example.  I want to do some more time-intensive projects (like remixing a textbook), however, I'm going to start with small things.  In our breakout room, we discussed things that can be scaled.  I can start with a single document and later expand it as time permits.  This is a PROCESS not just an ending point.  

2. I started this practice with creating a  new document.  I have looked to find new items.  They both are important tools for OER.  If I could find EXACTLY what I am looking for, it would be a full textbook for Death and Dying that is focused on the USA.

What did you hear in a breakout room (or main session) that connected with something you were considering for your OER Remix/Creation?

In the breakout room, I resonated with the idea of customizing OER to better fit the unique needs of specific student groups. This aligned with my plans to remix materials that make data analytics more accessible for beginners.

Create?? Or Find?? If you could create or find exactly what you're looking for, what would it be?

I would love to create a modular, interactive data analytics course with real-world case studies and dynamic visualizations, tailored to diverse learning styles.

This is a great point and I believe you are on the most sustainable track for a larger item. Creating one component at a time is great. 

I love activity resources and getting students out the main classroom is a great way to do that. Thank you for sharing your activity worksheet. 

1. What did you hear in a breakout room (or main session) that connected with something you were considering for your OER Remix/Creation? The things I've already created can be OER like Canva templates or worksheets. 

2. Create?? Or Find?? If you could create or find exactly what you're looking for, what would it be? In a perfect world where I can code, I would remix an RN refresher text to make it specific to my course and add Virtual simulation to replace the $300 book and resources currently being used. 

1. What did you hear in a breakout room (or main session) that connected with something you were considering for your OER Remix/Creation?

   1. I have more confidence in the organization of posting.  It is easier to envision the structure for building after this session. I loved talking and sharing in the breakout rooms. 

2. Create?? Or Find?? If you could create or find exactly what you're looking for, what would it be?

   1. I think I am going to start with a food safety and sanitation course that can be used to help students get ready for a National ServSafe Certifcation Test. It is the curren course I am working on a rebuild for. I am excited at the idea of sharing the resources. 

Hi Amanda, 

I agree having more cofidence I think just comes from practicing what we are doing in these sessions. I love the idea for the food safety course. 

1. It was great to learn that I'm not the only one planning on using something I've already been working hard on as my OER creation. 

2. An up-to-date resource on Google's most recent guidelines for Search Engine Optimization, as well as AI marketing trends.

1. The quest for using OER at the 4-year colleges disappeared around 7 years ago - why? My thought is that the private universities are a business trying to make money.

2. I would create a resource with more contextual learning ideas versus theoretical ideology.

Is that the case?   that is,   fewer 4-years use it?

If this is tru,  then it is because paid services give better customer support.  If there is an issue,  there is a person to contact and responsible parties.   Private 4-years are a business and as such,  they are responsible to their paying clients...the students.   Having issues with say, MyOpenMath, with no responsive recourse is not an option.

I was glad to hear that others were considering more manageable ideas for the OER creation but were also thinking about larger-scale projects. 

I would love to find the perfect resource, since I often don't know what I need until I have it :)) 

1. My breakout room colleague is working on her second OER submission. So, I'm considering consulting experts through the process of creating my own remix. 

2. While I love finding, I usually end up creating. My projects and units tend to be so esoteric that I save time by making things on my own. 

This is something I would like to do more of: talk to more people who have experience with creating OER work and getting ideas from their perspective on how to be successful and overcome some of the more common challenges. 

1. What I heard from Pippa in the breakout room that connected with my thoughts was creating something interesting and seeing where it could lead. Then Marc mentioned the possibility (with time) to create a resource that could potentially be the focal point for a course to teach. Awesome ideas.

2. If I could create or find exactly what I was looking for, it would be more legit and reliable resources revolving around creative writing that includes potential exercises, figures, and tips for college level students.

Hi Samuel, I love your idea for creative writing tips. I feel the entry level tips and tricks is lacking for OERs so will be looking into similar for my subject, working in the GLAM sector.

Thanks, I really enjoyed our breakout chat!

Thanks, Pippa! You and Marc really gave me the open mindedness to want to try introduction type tips to try and get a foot in the door as far as creating OERs go. I think with all of us putting our heads together and sharing the information we're passionate about, we can really get some good things started in the OER field in general.

1. What did you hear in a breakout room (or main session) that connected with something you were considering for your OER Remix/Creation? That a syllabus is a great tool to add to OER for others to use for their similar courses.

2. Create?? Or Find?? If you could create or find exactly what you're looking for, what would it be? I would love to create or find interactive activities that are compatable with my colleges software. 

I thought the syllabus was a great idea too. I would have never thought of that.

Prompt:

1. What did you hear in a breakout room (or main session) that connected with something you were considering for your OER Remix/Creation?  In the breakout room discussions, I resonated with the challenge of finding OER materials that precisely match our students' level of understanding. This connects directly with my goal for the lactose operon OER.

   • Key insights include:  
     • Existing materials often vary in range between oversimplification and excessive detail.
     • The power of remixing lies in its ability to tailor content to specific learning needs.

2. Create?? Or Find?? If you could create or find exactly what you're looking for, what would it be? 

    

   •  Dynamic Animations:
     • Detailed, step-by-step visualizations of the lactose operon mechanism
     • Ability to pause, rewind, and zoom in on specific molecular interactions
     • Toggle options to show/hide different components (e.g., repressor, inducer)
   • Interactive H5P Activities:
     • Drag-and-drop exercises to arrange the steps of lactose operon regulation
     • Flashcards for key terminology (e.g., operator, promoter, structural genes)
     • Interactive diagrams where students label different parts of the operon

   • This resource would capture the dynamic nature of biological processes, particularly the lactose operon, while ensuring students grasp important details through interactive engagement and self-assessment."

   • Layered Content Depth:
     • Basic explanations for introductory students
     • More detailed information accessible via clickable hotspots for advanced learners
   • Real-world Applications:
     • Case studies showing how understanding the lactose operon applies to biotechnology or medicine
     • Interactive scenarios where students predict outcomes based on changing conditions
   • Assessment Tools:
     • Quizzes that adapt to student performance, offering easier or harder questions as needed
     • Open-ended questions to encourage critical thinking about gene regulation
   • Accessibility Features:
     • Audio descriptions of animations for visually impaired students
     • Transcripts and closed captions for all video content
     • Mobile-responsive design for on-the-go learning 

Thanks for such a rich outline here, Graham!

This outline is inspiring! I really appreciate that you've included accessibility features in your outline.

I love the interactive H5P activites! I have found some that I really like and use in my course, but I have also created some of my own. I really like the crossword puzzles and the drag and drop activities. 

1. I like the idea of starting with something small, or something you've already created. I was inspired by a different resource I had found in the OER Commons for working through case studies: Choose Your Own Adventure! I'm sure some of you remember those fun R.L. Stine books! Anyways, I'm going to share my own Choose Your Own Adventure case study I made for one of my Medical Lab Science courses and see if I can make it work as an OER.

2. If I could find OER textbooks for MLT with plenty of pictures, interactive games, and embedded videos for difficult concepts, I would be ecstatic!

I love the idea of Choose Your Own Adventure.  Gamefying content really helps it stick, and keeps it interesting.  In fact, you could probably get students to create some of the content for this.

Elyse, I just had an instructor from our dental college reach out asking about research themed interactives for her online students to help them choose a course of action based on EBP principles - and now I'm considering the possibility of a choose your own adventure style turorial as well!

This is awesome! I've also been inspired by Goosebumps' choose your own adventure model in my creative writing assignments. 

Gamification is the best! I worked with our library to create an escape room for the library orientation. Now we have an online version, too!

Hi Elyse,

I use a "Choose Your Own Adventure" quest with my nursing students involving care of a patient with pneumonia and the students love the activity! Thank you for sharing.

I love this! Choose your own adventure style always feels like a good way to get students to buy in and have more ownership of the content and their learning. I also love the way it provides options for students to dive into something they find interesting as opposed to a topic I hand them that they may not love.

PS- Thanks for the nostalgia! I LOVED these books as a kid!

1. I resonated with others who found items of interest that just didn't quite fit their needs, so they will add to or remix the item.

2. I found a replica of what I want to create.  It's a library services "guide" specific to their college, but I'm planning to draw from the structure/outline of their work and apply it to my location.  Will be sure to credit them.  I envision instructional faculty being able to add my OER to their course materials as one more tool in library instruction to the students.

Hi Janelle,

Your library services guide sounds like a great idea! I should check and see if something like that exists at my college.

Elyse

Hi Janelle, would you share the link to the guide you're interested in replicating? I'm curious to see what it looks like and see if we have something similar. :)

https://oercommons.org/courses/introduction-to-the-library-and-library-research-at-stfx

They made a pressbook of their content.

Today's session did peak my interest about creating my own OER, maybe even a textbook eventually.  I would like to be able to review and look at more authoring platforms to decide what would be right for hosting OER materials that I create or that my students create. 

Great ideas! I would love to be able to gain student input on the creation process making it more of a group effort with many points of view wrapped into the resources.

Laura, hosting/sharing these OER materials often seems like a big challenge to me--we struggled on day 4 in my breakout room as well, trying to get permissions to view each others' published remixes. I think students expect to do a lot of work on their  phone, and I wonder if there is a really phone-friendly or useful hosting site for these materials that doesn't require you to buy a license.

Most of them do seem to have a subscription cost.  And someone has to be responsible for updating them which is also a challenge.  I mostly write my materials in my Canvas courses and then upload them to OER commons that way, but am very interested in sites that host OER texts and their benefits and drawbacks.  I might start a new discussion thread about that. 

1. In my breakout room with Kristen and John, I really connected with Kristen's impetus to remake a course she was handed from scratch to challenge her students. I've done the same thing in the past and it's still a longer term goal of mine to take the Franken-course that resulted and convert/update it as an OER resource. (NOT by Oct 25th however!) Instead, John's project caused me to think about my other role as OER library support and take on a much more manageable role of refining a resource we provide to faculty to help them determine their course classifications.

2.  Oh, my dream would be to find a media literacy course that provides a wide range of active learning opportunities and focuses on all of the following: effective tools and strategies for evaluating information (this exists!), the psychological and social factors that influence our information landscape (this is harder to find), and the technological factors that we can and cannot control, but must still be aware of. All while emphasizing the importance of recognizing our own responsibilities and agency in this process. (If anyone has a lead on this unicorn let me know - I have a lot of the elements but it's very hodgepodge.) 

1. In the breakout room I heard that we each have support (design specialists, colleagues, OER resources) at our campuses that we can rely upon for assistance with our Remix. 

2. I found a text on intercultural communication that I'm interested in. I would like an opportunity to connect/discuss with the authors.

That would be a lot of fun to connect with the authors on something like that. I hope that happens for you.

Thank you Tammy! And thank you for sharing at our breakout this afternoon.

1. I found that I'm not the only one who is new to learning and creating OER and feeling a bit overwhelmed at times. I learned about different things that an instructional designer can help with and how the process works.

2. I would love to find keyboarding and accounting exercises with instant feedback like the ones provided by publishers  

That would be great Tammy! I hope you find exactly what you're looking for.

Ruth

1. In today's session, I was reminded to start small. The big crazy goal may be the endpoint, but it is sometimes more palatable to make small chunks and create the big project.
2. I would love to find a textbook and resources that can be adapted for my Introduction to healthcare and nursing class. However, that is the big goal. I will focus on my pharm OER Drug reference for selected medications that we can use on campus and in the charting system case studies. 

Hi Corinn!

You pointed out a really great strategy.  Healthcare education has so many avenues that it is difficult to take it on all at once.  I really like the idea of consistently doing it a bit at a time to eventually create something unique and massive. I think this will also be my approach as I try to create or fine OER specifically geared towards healthcare ed. 

Great post!

1.  We had a great discussion of how to describe our produce or remix.  The clarity of the item desctiption helps those searching for content to find it quickly.  

2.  If I were to creat/find something that was exactly what I was looking for I would have a good textbook on Death and Dying.  Currently there is no textbook I really love, so I'll likely have to remix one and add components to meet our district competencies.  

1) It was good to have some practice time during the breakout room. Unfortunately the webpage was not saving my work (which guarantees I'll be getting more practice at it). 

2) Something that I found included activities I can offer learners so that they can practice what they are learning. It provides something different than just lecture slides or audio. A more interactive activity allows learners to self-assess their learning and be able to concentrate on what they need more studying on. 

1. What did you hear in a breakout room (or main session) that connected with something you were considering for your OER Remix/Creation?

   1. Finding OER material that was easier to digest for the level of the student we are teaching in STEM.

2. Create?? Or Find?? If you could create or find exactly what you're looking for, what would it be?

   1. Step-by-step videos of how to calculate out several of the mathematical functions being discussed in class

1. My group used our breakout time to hunt for resources and start work on the template. It was mostly words of solidarity :)

2. I would create an assignment that tied historical concepts to modern events, and promoted thoughtful group discussion in an online setting.  That last bit seems the hardest!

What a great idea Aubrei! I think the hunting is what takes the longest time - finding what you want, making sure all pieces are aligned with your teaching practices. I guess that's why it's ok to mix and match bits and pieces from here and there :)

1. What did you hear in a breakout room (or main session) that connected with something you were considering for your OER Remix/Creation?

    In our breakout room, some folks expressed that they weren't sure where to begin with creating OER. I felt the same way! I'm going to have to brainstorm this week what I can create/remix for my project, but I think it'll be pretty basic to start with, even though I have some ambitious ideas I'm not sure how to implement them until I get more practice writing OER.

2. Create?? Or Find?? If you could create or find exactly what you're looking for, what would it be?
   
   I've been enjoying the process of finding materials so much! I really like the concept of remixing too, I think I will dig into that tool more and try to gain more confidence in adding to/changing content under a CC license that allows that.

1. What did you hear in a breakout room (or main session) that connected with something you were considering for your OER Remix/Creation?

   I was not able to attend webinar 3 live and plan on watching the recording once it is uploaded. So, I was not able to particpate in the breakout rooms or main session. 

2. Create?? Or Find??

   If you could create or find exactly what you're looking for, what would it be? I would love to find a textbook or resource that has nursing interactive content specific to Obstetrics, such as mini videos, case studies, practice quizzes, interactive diagrams, drag and drop activities, etc. 

I love that idea, Shellece! And I also have to watch the recording for this week. 

Have a great one!

Hilary

1. In my breakroom we discussed the need for the creation of material for courses closely related to Human Anatomy and Physiology. Material such as real images of tissues, organs, and just better quality imagary. 

2. Answered in question 1 but would like to create better material for A&P courses and other related courses. 

I met with Marc (from Utah) and Samuel (from AZ) in the breakout room. It was good to be able to discuss OERs and get inputs across the skill levels we have, all varied. Something that connected with me is to start small, I think I was feeling overwhelmed on where to start, so the breakout room discussion was really helpful to ground me into 'starting small!'

Within these sessions and in my internship, I am finding OERs are limited in their subject matter. So I am planning to create a 'how to' or 'introduction' to working in the GLAM sector for entry level students - what studies, interships, pathways there are into the sector. Much like Samuel, looking at something small and introductory for students starting their journey.

1. What did you hear in a breakout room (or main session) that connected with something you were considering for your OER Remix/Creation?

   In my breakout session I was relieved to hear that content CAN be created even though some of us are new and it doesn't have to be super complicated.  One of my group members had already created a worksheet using the template and was able to dispell a few concerns and help us build confidence in the process. 

2. Create?? Or Find?? If you could create or find exactly what you're looking for, what would it be?

   If I had unlimited time to focus solely on researching and creating OER, I would love to create it, but becuase of time restraints and other responsibilites my preference is to find it.  That said, sometimes certain content just isn't available and requires creation whether we like it or not. 

1. What did you hear in a breakout room (or main session) that connected with something you were considering for your OER Remix/Creation? In the breakout room, I learned of several OER tools that may help me customize a more dynamic and interactive course.

2. Create?? Or Find?? If you could create or find exactly what you're looking for, what would it be? I would be very interested in incorporating more interactive activities into my OER course. I would also like to find additional resources that align with the course competencies.

1. What did you hear in a breakout room (or main session) that connected with something you were considering for your OER Remix/Creation?

   I enjoyed learning how I could use the remix versus creating, in terms of time management in building a stronger course. i see how this accessibility, sharing, collaborating small idea's to become larger together!!! Also talking about not aiming for perfection really struck true for me to utilize this tool more fluid and just allowing the magic to happen, not forcing an outcome.

2. Create?? Or Find?? If you could create or find exactly what you're looking for, what would it be?

   ​​​​​​​I would love to create or find OER materials that can help to support dental hygiene students as they prepare for their national boards. So many companies charge for classes, flash cards, of board style questions as practice materials & I would love to bring more access to all for exam prep.  

1. What did you hear in a breakout room (or main session) that connected with something you were considering for your OER Remix/Creation?

   1. During the main session, I learned the definition of remixing/adapting, which affirmed my idead for a workbook. I also received positive feedback in the breakout group and in the comment section once rejoining the main session

2. Create?? Or Find?? If you could create or find exactly what you're looking for, what would it be?

   1. I'm a creative, so I will always choose to create something that fits the needs of my institution and students.

Hi Cherrelle, 

Thank you for sharing. I am not a very creative person myself and would like to ask how you would advise someone, who isn't creative, in contributing better to OER? 

1. In the break room, we were all new about remix/creating OER. So we just talked about the plan what we will do in the future.

2. I will try to find high quaility resources and remix them first. And then I will add virual activities, reserach papers related to each chapter, study guide homework and future applications.

1. starting small! I really want to work on everything all at once but I've got build up large collections of material more slowly.

2. I think I would like a guide to creating guided-inquiry learning questions. I want to add this to all of my activities, but having to come up with it on the fly is still a bit challenging. A database of physics and astronomy simulations would be pretty useful too (although PHET has most of them!)

This is great, Kristen. To me, it is always important to start small.

Phet is a useful simulation resource that I use. I wanted to share an example. There are topics such as atomic structure and molecular bonding that can be interesting but difficult due to the abstract nature of the material. So it makes it conceptually difficult for students to understand how bonding happens. In order to provide another tool to help bridge this conceptual gap, I have found simulations very useful as a bridge between unmoving textbook figures and a model of kinetic electrons. You can now have a model that would have the option of user changes to emphasize certain parameters, such as the effect of electronegativity on bonding electrons.

1. In my breakout session, we discussed how much we knew about OER, and what we were doing in our current projects fo our discilpines.

2. I am looking for rhetoric, compoistion and, current short readings.

1.) How to adapt classroom lessons to OER.

2.) More of a creator than a finder - creating better tools for making the classroom organized around marginalized writing practices.

Hi Peter... I share a similar goal of adapting OER materials to enhance experiential learning for my students taking intercultural communication. So I found it fascinating when a history professor at the OER Providence, RI conference this week shared a story about how he and his wife who teaches English used OER materials to create a classroom lesson on rhetoric, a role-playing game that fired the minds of her students. Good luck with your projects.

Ruth

1. What did you hear in a breakout room (or main session) that connected with something you were considering for your OER Remix/Creation?
   In my group we talked about using NotebookLM through Google to create AI podcasts by uploading only specific information you'd want to have the podcast discuss. It was fun to listen to samples of them and really get some ideas on how it could be used in the classroom. It also brought some interesting discussion points on uploading AI created content in OER groups.

2. If you could create or find exactly what you're looking for, what would it be?
   I currently view OER as a good way to get extra supplemental materials for my classes. All of the classes I teach are fully OER already so I would use to look for activities to support what I am already teaching.

1. In my breakout room, I learned of the value of creating effective syllabus templates; I hadn't properly valued this before.

2. I value learning to create, considering that a flexible skill: For example, I want to learn how to leverage generative AI to build better course pages and assignments on open-source LMS platforms (like Canvas). 

I have valued this, but our university creates the syllabus, so it is not something I can create per class (even though I am on the design team). I feel like this would be a great 'supplemental' syllabus for my classes and students!

During the breakout session of Webinar Three - Remixing and Creating, I was particularly inspired by a fellow instructor who shared their experience with adapting Open Educational Resources (OER) to include more interactive STEM projects. They emphasized the value of incorporating real-world datasets into coursework to enhance student engagement and practical understanding. This conversation resonated with my own plans for an OER remix. I've been considering how to integrate more hands-on data analysis activities into my curriculum, especially ones that allow students to explore current industry trends and real-time data.

1. What did you hear in a breakout room (or main session) that connected with something you were considering for your OER Remix/Creation?

Unfortunately, I was not able to attend live, but I've been playing with the Remix and have found it surprisingly easy to manipulate!

1. Create?? Or Find?? If you could create or find exactly what you're looking for, what would it be?

I'm working on creating content that helps psychology teachers assess students without the typical testing model.

1. I missed the breakout room discussion due to other commitments. For my OER remix, I aim to create materials that not only align with our curriculum but also engage students by connecting mathematical concepts to real-world problems.

2. In OER, both creating and finding resources are important. If I could create exactly what I’m looking for, it would be a comprehensive, interactive digital textbook tailored to meet our course outcomes, featuring modular units that allow for easy customization.

Shirley,

I would Love to find that resource. Great idea!!

I saw how OER can be used to create a whole new course, basically! I wanted to create resources for my students to puruse, curate the best of the best, and this provided me with the tools and ideas to extend this further. It can be more than books...I built an arcade of my own and now I am considering doing something similar in here.

I would find exactly what I am looking for, and then organize and present in a way that makes sense to my students. I want it to be like candy, where they can't help but get in and try it out!

1. What did you hear in a breakout room (or main session) that connected with something you were considering for your OER Remix/Creation? I was thinking about remixing an existing resource that I cover with students as it relates to evidence-based practice (EBP) in nursing.

2. Create?? Or Find?? If you could create or find exactly what you're looking for, what would it be? I would rather find, than create an OER, as the whole OER creation process is still a bit unclear to me. 

Hi Ashley,

I can't remember which school you are from, but see if your school has a OER builder training. The training will go more in depth and clarify what you learned in this fundamentals course, while you build. I bet you will enjoy creating once you receive the clarity. I wish you the best and hope to see you in OER builder soon.

Ashley,

I am on a learning curve with this as well. Since nursing is such an innovated field, it seems your materials would need continuous updating....?

I connected with quality materials about how to have essay assistance with AI from a colleague's suggestion.

I prefer to find and adapt. I would like to find a sequence of assignments leading up to an essay that utilizes work AI in some aspects for enhancement.

Hi Elissa,

Do you mind sharing what kind of essay assistance you are getting from AI and which AI tool? 

Take care,

Teresa 

Hi Everyone,

The month got away from me with a looming project, so I missed the last couple of sessions. Watching the recording was great though! 

1. What did you hear in a breakout room (or main session) that connected with something you were considering for your OER Remix/Creation? I tend to feel that what I have to do has to be perfect and it stops me from starting. I will just "do it" now! 

2. Create?? Or Find?? If you could create or find exactly what you're looking for, what would it be? I want to create an ancillary tool that can be used by my students now. So, I will CREATE!

Thanks,

Teresa 

Hi Joanna,

I was not able to partake in breakout room session.

My plan is not just to create an OER textbook for lecture and lab for a Chemistry and Society class, but also to make sure that I am incorporating universal design elements, it is accessible to all.