NOTE: This session is pre-recorded. It will be streamed live over zoom with the speaker present to answer questions in the chat and after the presentation.
New and experienced faculty members face many barriers when attempting to incorporate Open Educational Resources (OER) into their courses. Research has shown that awareness, funding, time, and institutional supports are factors in faculty using or not using OER. The purpose of this research was to investigate the barriers that business faculty in Ontario colleges face when using OER within their teaching practices and determine if faculty have recommendations to overcome the barriers to using OER.
Based on a review of the literature on OER and the barriers business faculty experience when using OER, a mixed-method approach was used in this research. Potential participants were business faculty in Ontario. Data was collected via a survey and follow-up interviews. Seventy-two respondents from 12 Ontario colleges responded to the survey. Nine participated in follow-up interviews. Respondents were asked about their experiences using OER, the barriers they faced, and solutions to overcome them.
A thematic and cross tabulation analysis of the responses demonstrated that faculty are introduced to OER in many different ways, and institutions have unique approaches to supporting faculty with OER. Faculty experience barriers to using OER, such as no suitable resources, awareness, knowledge, support, institutional processes, and other reasons. Faculty outlined ways to overcome such barriers, including but not limited to improved professional development, creation of new high-quality content, time to create the resources, and enhanced collaboration and networking efforts.
This talk will review some of the research findings and recommendations that were made as a result of an examination of the faculty barriers and solutions to overcome the barriers to using OER.
Please note: the above session description is adapted from the author's Thesis abstract.
Learning Outcomes: After attending this session, attendees should have an understanding of:
- Barriers faculty face when attempting to use OER;
- Solutions faculty have used, or they believe could be used to overcome the barriers to using OER; and
- Recommended suggestions for decision-makers to support faculty with OER usage.
