Abstract:

There is a growing demand for Open Educational Resources (OER), and instructional designers are trying to create strong business models that also cater to these market desires. Since 2002, EduChange has been providing a small number of schools with OER, and we have learned a great deal about how teachers and students use these materials. This paper taps 10 years of extensive data collection during two phases of implementation, including close observations of OER implementation at the secondary/high school levels. The first phase, 2002-2008, involved the digital provision of OER to teachers, who then delivered materials in print to students. The second phase, 2012-2016, involved digital delivery of OER to both teachers and students via the Google Drive and Classroom platforms. Based on our qualitative and quantitative data, EduChange moved toward a sustainable model, which we coin as Sustainable Open Educational Resources (SOER).
Sustainable Open Educational Resources (SOER) meet the market desire for modifiable content. Instructors have complete modification privileges, which they desire and is a key selling point. We have developed systems that make our architecture resilient to ‘arbitrary’ modifications, such that those who adopt the program can refine and revise in good faith without impacting implementation negatively. These same systems also welcome modifications made by savvy teachers, who are adept at maneuvers that improve the alignment of the materials to their student needs. Our approach signals a departure from many publishers who insist on ‘implementation with fidelity.’ Such requests may implicate the fragility of their architecture, rather than the inadequacy of the user, as some publishers may claime.
SOER keep content up-to-date. Online delivery allows us to update the student anchor text (online textbook) with the latest STEM discoveries and resources in real time (e.g., students in Kuala Lumpur learned about NASA’s 2016 discovery of water on Mars the next day).
SOER eliminate the need for proprietary platforms, thus accommodating even sweeping technological changes that impact both user and publisher. This approach allows the content to maintain a ‘chameleon’ presence, agile enough to adapt to new platforms as needed. Since our basic architecture has existed since 2002, we have tested this approach with success. Some of the technologies that our program has survived include: Smart Phones (2007), Twitter (2007), SoundCloud (2008), iPads (2010), Google Drive (2012), HTML5 (2014).
SOER generate ongoing revenue. EduChange continues to modify and refresh the content (about 15% of the total repository is modified each year; my staff hand-crafts and hand-curates the entire repository). Materials maintenance and upgrades allow EduChange to offer an ongoing subscription fee after the program is established.
SOER provide ongoing professional development for teachers. This maintenance process helps teachers accrue new pedagogical practices incrementally, decreasing the stress caused by a need for ‘large leaps’ after several years of no change. Due to the multi-faceted nature of the ongoing maintenance subscription, schools can pay via professional development, STEM, Tech or library subscription budget lines, as desired.
The SOER model will work best with a network of partnerships offering schools various supports for SOER. EduChange is currently exploring such partnerships and we will share what we have learned in the virtual presentation. The Polytechnic and Community College markets are also ripe for these kinds of innovations, and we are interested to explore these settings with our program in the next phase of research and development.

Keywords:

OER, blended learning, e-learning, e-content, curriculum, online textbook, digital, integration.