At a recent campus event, Texas State’s University Libraries (UL) partnered with OpenStax to highlight stories of student success resulting from the use of Open Educational Resources (OER) as seen from the perspectives of faculty, college deans, administrators, and librarians from Texas State and the surrounding areas. This event was one of several initiatives UL is undertaking to facilitate the expansion of Open Education initiatives at Texas State. Research shows that efforts to make teaching and learning materials more accessible and equitable result in higher retention and more successful outcomes for students.
Texas State President, Dr. Kelly Damphousse was in attendance at the event and elaborated on his personal experience using the OpenStax Introduction to Sociology. He posted about the event on Facebook.
“Since 2013, I have been using a free online textbook (as an early adopter, I was once named an OpenStax Hero – ha!). So it was fun listening in on a Texas State University faculty panel discussion today about the use of #OER,” he shared.
Dr. Natalie Allen of OpenStax, one of the largest and most recognized providers of OER for academic institutions, highlighted the pivotal nature of Open Educational Resources (OERs), what their role is in student success, as well as the mission and materials of OpenStax as high-quality open education providers. This was followed by a moderated panel that covered topics ranging from why they are personally interested or invested in open education to specific instances of student success as a result of open educational resources. The panel was moderated by Isabelle Antes, Open Educational Resources (OER) Librarian, and the panel included:
- Carrie Gits, a Director in the Division of Digital Learning at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
- Dr. Nancy Wilson, an Associate Professor in the English Department at Texas State and the Director of Lower-Division Studies and recipient of Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board OER Grant and an internal OER grant
- DeeAnn Ivie, the Open Education Coordinator at UTSA Libraries, certified in OER Librarianship
- Dr. William Kelemen, a Professor in the Department Psychology at Texas State, an active user of Open Educational Resources in his course
- Dr. Kim Belcik, a Clinical Associate Professor at the St. David’s School of Nursing at Texas State, another active user of Open Educational Resources in her courses.
University Libraries would like to thank Dr. Natalie Allen and OpenStax, for partnering on this event; the panelists, for providing their knowledge and experience; as well as the faculty, deans, administrators, and librarians that were able to make time to attend this event.
UL will be hosting a faculty breakfast and series of OpenStax workshops on Friday, Feb. 17 from 8:30 am to noon in Flowers Hall, room 230. Interested faculty should register to attend by Friday, Feb. 10. You can find additional UL workshops and events covering Open Education and Open Access with the OPENtxst label on the Alkek Events Calendar.
This article was contributed by Isabelle Antes, Open Educational Resources (OER) Librarian.