1. The Open Course Library:
Disrupting the $200 Textbook
• Thomas W. Malone, JD, MBA, Malone & Associates PS and past Trustee,
Seattle Community Colleges, WA
• Tom Braziunas, Ph. D., eLearning Associate Dean, North Seattle Community
College, Seattle Community Colleges, WA
• Boyoung Chae, Ph. D., Program Administrator of Open Education and eLearning
Research, Washington State Board of Community & Technical Colleges, WA
• Stephanie Delaney, JD, Ph. D., Associate Dean for Distance &
eLearning, Seattle Central Community College, Seattle Community Colleges, WA
• Carey Schroyer, D.C., District Faculty Coordinator (and Tenured Biology
Faculty, South Seattle Community College), Seattle Community Colleges, WA
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2. TheOpenCourseLibrary: Disruptingthe$200Textbook
What this presentation is about…
• The problem
• The “OCL” project
• Open-resource challenges
• Strategies to reduce costs
• Student reactions / results
• The road ahead
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3. TheOpenCourseLibrary: Disruptingthe$200Textbook
The Problem:
The high cost of textbooks has reduced
Washington citizens’ access to higher education.
•According to the Advisory Committee on Student
Financial Assistance, 200,000 qualified students
fail to enroll in college each year due to cost
•Full-time students spend approximately $1,000
on textbooks every year ($4.6M/yr for the 46,000+
enrollments in English Composition ENGL& 101
alone in Washington State Community and
Technical Colleges)
•2005 GAO report: College textbook prices have
risen at twice the rate of annual inflation over the
last two decades 3
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4. TheOpenCourseLibrary: Disruptingthe$200Textbook
OCL Project :
An initiative to develop affordable digital course
materials for Washington State’s community & technical
colleges
WHO:
•SBCTC eLearning and Open Education
•Supported by a multi-year $750,000 grant from Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation
•Supported by $750,000 from the Washington State
Legislature
WHAT:
• Built as 82 high-enrollment, gatekeeper college courses
• Designed and reviewed by CTC faculty members and
instructional support teams
• Total materials cost to student must be under $30 per
course
• Free global public use through Creative Commons
Licensing
WHEN:
• First 42 courses released in October 2011
• Second 40 courses will be released March 2013
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5. TheOpenCourseLibrary: Disruptingthe$200Textbook
Action plan for lowering costs:
• Faculty & instructional teams create OER courses
• Courses are peer-reviewed using Quality Matters
• Courses are openly licensed via Creative Commons
• Faculty colleagues accept utility of these OERs
• Content is adopted widely in whole or in part
• Content revised by adopters as fits their teaching
• Faculty provide constructive feedback so OERs see
continuous quality improvement & updating 5
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6. TheOpenCourseLibrary: Disruptingthe$200Textbook
Action plan for increasing student success
•Students have ready access to course materials
before & during their courses (no delays in receiving
textbooks)
•Students experience better grades, completion rates
and satisfaction with their learning through courses
built by teams consisting of faculty, instructional
designers, e-learning specialists, librarians & cultural
diversity experts
•Students benefit from currency of content
(commercial textbooks become outdated quickly)
•Students develop information literacy skills through
use of the Internet to access, research & evaluate
many sources of data
•Students improve their technical literacy through
skills learned in using educational technologies
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7. TheOpenCourseLibrary: Disruptingthe$200Textbook
The Challenges
(Mis)perceptions by potential adopters:
•“Not invented here” means “does not fit” with teaching
style or program content
•Administrators want to dictate homogeneity and/or
replace faculty with technology
•“Open” educational resources are below college levels
& of questionable quality
•Adoption is “all” or “nothing” with content being
replaced by a “generic classroom in a box”
• “Another passing fad” – this perspective (expressed at a
faculty focus group) is likely to be heard less & less 7
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8. TheOpenCourseLibrary: Disruptingthe$200Textbook
The Challenges
Legitimate concerns of seasoned online faculty:
•“Already invented here” – why change something that is
already working for students and instructor?
•“Where’s the beef?” – where are the data proving that
student success rates will increase?
•“Textbooks synthesize & organize” – Students learn better
when course materials and activities are clearly designed and
aligned
•“It’s a great first draft” – but time-consuming revision is
required before each specific adoption & much of OCL still
depends on proprietary materials
•“Common” courses are not so “common” – OCL spotlighted
heterogeneity in content & outcomes within the system & even
within districts 8
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9. TheOpenCourseLibrary: Disruptingthe$200Textbook
Data on dollars – baseline savings:
“Show them the money!” – How much will our students save?
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10. TheOpenCourseLibrary: Disruptingthe$200Textbook
Successes “in the commercial world”:
District-wide Barnes & Noble bookstores
Savings at the register over the last two academic years
$1,304,728
•Student savings by renting textbooks
$376,397 (unit rentals nearly tripled)
•Student savings by purchasing digital options
$ 80,579
•Student savings by purchasing used textbooks
$847,752
Data from Lori Schmit, Regional Manager, Barnes & Noble
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11. TheOpenCourseLibrary: Disruptingthe$200Textbook
Hopeful Strategies for Faculty:
Educate faculty adopters on “whole” and “piecemeal” options
•Create venues for developers and adopters to share experiences, insights
&tips with colleagues
• “Leading from the Classroom” is an example of a successful
trustee initiative
• Conduct campus-by-campus focus groups to bring developers
together to debrief
• Build OER presentations into “Sharing Days” and “Faculty
Institutes”
•Join national consortia such as the CCCOER -- “Community College
Consortium for Open Educational Resources” (http://oerconsortium.org)
•Create templates to assist the collaboration of faculty and librarians to
adopt/adapt appropriate OERs (http://sccopenaccess.pbworks.com/)
•Produce up-to-date checklists on peer-reviewed sources of OERs for
adopters
•Integrate OER into all relevant trainings so that it becomes something
natural for faculty to consider.
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12. TheOpenCourseLibrary: Disruptingthe$200Textbook
More Hopeful Strategies for Faculty:
Work with the strongest “critics” to address (and resolve!)
key concerns
Educate faculty designers on creating OPEN content
•Publicize available online tutorials and guides to using
“Creative Commons” to grant copyright permissions to share
your work
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses)
•Provide training in the use of Quality Matters standards to
produce effectively designed course content and activities.
Encourage Faculty Course Reviews
•Department or eLearning sponsorships of faculty peer
reviews.
•Use a Quality Matters peer review model for reviewers to
follow for reviewing content
• Include standards on “ease of adoption” and space to share
practical suggestions for adopting specific OER material 12
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13. TheOpenCourseLibrary: Disruptingthe$200Textbook
Strategies that have not worked:
•If we build it, they will come – Simply having affordable resources built by system colleagues is
not enough to get faculty to adopt
•Expectation of rapid adoption – OER work will take time to bear fruit. Doubters and true
believers are both constrained by the time limitations of full workloads
•Faculty stipends alone – It is NOT about the money or workload but about student success.
Seasoned online faculty turned down $2500 to adopt OCL materials for a variety of pedagogical
and logistical reasons (paraphrased below)
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14. TheOpenCourseLibrary: Disruptingthe$200Textbook
Student Feedback:
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15. TheOpenCourseLibrary: Disruptingthe$200Textbook
“OCL” reactions/ results
Student Comments -- Pro:
•I loved that we didn't have a text book. We were able to get different
types of readings from different authors. Also, we didn't have to spread
money,
•I found that articles are so much more in depth about the real world. As
opposed to textbooks that can be very general. Good work on the
interesting, informative articles plus supplemental reading is nice and
visual.
•i am happy i got all the materials that we read for this course on the
internet because i did not spend money to buy book which is expensive
, how ever if there is not alternetive , i do not mind to buy book to study
to my cource since it is important.
•I love not having text books because books are large and having
everything I need at my fingertips is convenient.
•I think it is great that we don't have to buy a text book. The only time I
really had to print out the readings was when I planned on doing them
outside my home. I think it's more eco-friendly. Something we learned a
lot about this quarter.
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16. TheOpenCourseLibrary: Disruptingthe$200Textbook
“OCL” reactions/ results
Student Comments -- Con:
•I prefer to buy text book. The students came from different community and
country and we have different style of reading system. So for me I love to use
book.
•I seem to retain information better reading from printed text. I like the idea not
having to purchase a book. However it is spendy if I want to print them out so if
there was an option to pick up the printed package that would be nice also. I
just think reading from printed text is better for our motor skills and I believe
we retain the information longer and better through written text. This is
because we can feel and touch the paper or book the words are solid and in the
physical form. Its hard to explain.
•Only at King County library systems you can print off 75 pages black and white
per week. That is the only way i was able to print for free. If someone did not
tell me this helpful information i would of paid an arm and a leg for ink to print
at home.
•As selected above I really wish I had a text book! I like the idea of not having to
purchase the book however to me I think that having what I need at my
fingertips is worth the money. I enjoyed the readings this week. It opened my
eyes to a lot of things I did not know.
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17. TheOpenCourseLibrary: SuccessinBiology100
• Biology 100 -Survey of Biology
• Non Majors Lab Science Class
• Currently being piloted at SSCC.
• OCL Course Highlights:
• SME Review of Course Materials
Very Positive
• 100% of Reviewers supported
textbook choice and course
material developed
• OER Textbook: Biology Basics
• CK-12: Modified text
• Cost to Students: Free
• Downloadable in
PDF, tablet, kindle, android, etc.
• OER Labs: Instructor Packet
• Cost to Students: Free
• Combination of bench labs and
interactive online labs (require
internet connection for
completion).
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18. TheOpenCourseLibrary: Biol100ComparingOutcomes
Activity Fall 2011: Non-OCL Content Fall 2012: OCL Content
Textbook Biology For a Changing World
– Scientific American
•Book: ~$100.00
•Etext: ~$50.00
Biology Basics – CK-12
Flexbook edited by C. Schroyer
•Book: PDF $0
•Etext: $0
Lab Manual Instructor Compiled: $0 Instructor Compiled: $0
Lab Quiz 1 Average 77% 78%
Lab Quiz 2 Average 82% 82%
Test 1 Average 75% 73%
Test 2 Average 72% 71%
Lab Report 1 89% 88%
10th Day
Enrollment
84% 96%
Course Completion 85% 83% (based on current grades)
Student Failure
Rate
16.5% ~10%(based on current grade)
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19. Biology100:StudentCommentsusingOCLContent
• Loved free textbook.
• The textbook was easy to
access, available in a
variety of forms.
• Labs were fun and well
explained.
• Lots of really helpful
videos and animations
embedded in the
textbook.
• Chapter 1: Overview of the Scientific Method (hip
hop/rap version)
• Chapter 1: The Evolution of Homer Simpson
(Cartoon Animation)
• Chapter 2: Sugar and Biofuels (University Interview)
• Chapter 3: Introduction to the Cell (Video Lecture)
• Chapter 8: Video Animation Genetic Dissorders -
CF, Tay Sachs, Etc.
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20. TheOpenCourseLibrary:BiologyMajorsSeries
211,212,213–LessSuccesswithOERMaterials
• Biology Series Majors Textbook Challenges using OER:
• 3 Quarter Series, Quality of Content, Limited Availability of Complete Majors Level Textbooks
• Team of 5 experienced biology instructors spent ~6 months
reviewing available OER resources:
• The team WANTED to find OER resources, we looked at everything we could find.
• 2 OER textbooks were chosen for each class to satisfy the OCL requirements (however, the team expressed
reservations about the chosen texts).
• 100% of external reviewers (SMEs) from multiple institutions
rejected the OER textbooks chosen for all 3 courses:
• Reasons given for rejection of the OER textbooks chosen: Information was not current, information
was too simplified, information was not complete.
• Reality Check: Openstax (OER) Publisher response to questions
about their Biology Major’s textbook (email 6/11/12):
• “Until we work through that process, I don't know if you would find us comparable to Freeman and/or
Campbell....probably not, (truthfully, given our budget, you will never find us equal to those books. They
have 2-3x the budget and years of experience refining their art....we will, however, be very good and
accurate.)”
• Solution: Required (non-OER) Textbook available in ebook version
for $83.99 (Coursesmart).
• If a student completes the 3 quarter series, the book is less than $30.00/quarter.
• Continue to review new materials, as OER resources continue to be developed, more options will become
available.
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21. TheOpenCourseLibrary: Disruptingthe$200Textbook
The Road Ahead
• Timeline
• Ongoing research
• Strategic implementation plan
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22. TheOpenCourseLibrary: Disruptingthe$200Textbook
Progress
Phase 1
Phase 2
Adoption 22
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Winter 2012
DEVEOP
COURSES
Spring 2012
DEVELOP
COURSES
Fall 2012
PILOT
COURSES
Winter 2013
REVISE
COURSES
Spring 2013
RELEASE ALL
COURSES
Summer 2010
DEVELOP
COURSES
Fall 2010
DEVELOP
COURSES
Winter 2011
PILOT
COURSES
Spring 2011
REVISE
COURSES
October 2011
RELEASE 42
COURSEs
Ongoing

23. Our CTCs--National Leaders
WA colleges are taking measures to reduce student textbook costs. Examples:
•Community Colleges of Spokane Foundation funded a three-year project to
increase use of open resources.
•Green River Community College math department adopted OCL texts for their
students. Approximately 1740 students enrolled in those courses, saving students
$139,200.
•During Fall2012 and Winter 2013, Tacoma Community College faculty adopted
open educational materials including OCL $100,000
•“Colleges are appointing OER specialists to manage their OER initiatives (Tacoma
Community College, Clover Park Technical Colleges, and Community Colleges of
Spokane)
•AirWashington content will be shared on OCL.
•System librarians are creating a database of open information literacy materials.
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24. TheOpenCourseLibrary: Disruptingthe$200Textbook
Uses of OCL nationally
• Gates-funded Kaleidoscope Projecthttp://www.project-
kaleidoscope.org/
• Saylor Foundation free online courseshttp://saylor.org
• Canvas.net free MOOC http://canvas.net
• Scottsdale Community College (math)
• Connexions http://cnx.org
• Merlot http://www.merlot.org
• 85 media mentions worldwide
• 50,000 visits to opencourselibrary.org
http://opencourselirary.org
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25. Ongoing State-Wide Research
1.Investigating the adoption of Open Course Library (OCL) courses
within the WA college system.
• How and to what extent are open course materials being shared and
used?
• What are the barriers or keys to the successful adoption of open
course materials?
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TheOpenCourseLibrary: Disruptingthe$200Textbook

26. PreliminaryfindingsfromongoingOCLstudy
• 53% faculty reported that they had a chance to review Open
Course Library contents.
• 23% faculty reported that they used or adopted the contents
in their courses.
• The participants enjoyed many aspects of OCL course
materials including (1) high quality course content, (2) a
variety of well-made resources, and (3) low-cost textbook.
• Among the participants who indicated that they have not used
OCL materials, 45% rated the quality of the overall course
contents either very good or excellent. 26
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PreliminaryfindingsfromongoingOCLstudy

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PreliminaryfindingsfromongoingOCLstudy

29. TheOpenCourseLibrary: Disruptingthe$200Textbook
Strategic Implementation Plan for OCL Adoption
“Diffusion is the process by which an innovation is communicated
through certain channels over time among the members of a social
system.” from Rogers Model for the adoption and diffusion of
innovations
1.Build Online State-wide OER HUB
2.Organize OER Advisory Group
3.Provide OER Hands-On Workshop
4.Build a larger OER community
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30. TheOpenCourseLibrary: Disruptingthe$200Textbook
Questions Answers
•Our contact information:
Tom Malone: tmalone@malonelegal.com
Tom Braziunas: tom.braziunas@seattlecolleges.edu
Boyoung Chae: bchae@sbctc.edu
Stephanie Delaney: stephanie.delaney@seattlecolleges.edu
Carey Schroyer: carey.schroyer@seattlecolleges.edu
URL of this slideshow: http://bit.ly/WlErIY
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