Professor Del Rhoden was part of the Faculty Senate when he learned about Prince George’s Community College’s initiative to fully implement Open Educational Resources (OERs) in courses. He has been using OERs in his courses in conjunction with the textbook for nearly five years, but transitioning his Introduction to Mass Communications course to a fully functioning OER course is a move he thinks was both necessary and beneficial for students. In the following Q&A, he shares his thoughts on OERs and the benefits they provide students.
Q: Why did you decide to teach OER courses?
A: I started using OERs because the textbook was at times out of date. I teach in mass media and mass media is extraordinarily fast-moving. If you write a textbook every two years, you're at least one year behind the publishing. So I had to use OERs to make sure that our students were completely up to date if they were planning to leave and go to work.
Q: How do you ensure that you're current on industry best practices so that you can teach students?
A: I stay up to date on the industry because I have friends who work in the industry that I regularly meet with, and I go to conferences and job shadow so that I know what my students will be doing in two to four years. I ask them [friends] what's new, and I try to figure out how to use that and how the students may be using it in two to four years. I also use statistical data and industry data from a couple of different sources, then I try to integrate them into the classroom.
Q: What are some OERs that you’ve created or offered to your students as a result of those conversations?
A: When I do research, I put together a packet for students and put it on a Blackboard. I include a PowerPoint that I create based on the information that I research.
Q: What are the benefits of OER courses for students?
A: The biggest pro is that students don't have to buy this textbook that they’re not going to be able to sell back. I really feel bad about my students having to pay an extra $200 for a class that was already relatively expensive, and then not be able to use that book a year from now because it's out of date.
Q: Any others?
A: Students learn to be excellent critical thinkers. Utilizing technology also improves their educational experience. Using online and digitally-based information talks to the students where they are versus where we [faculty] are.
*This Q&A was edited for clarity and to read more concisely.