This is a presentation that I have used for the last ten years to promote open textbooks and OER at various campuses I have worked at. It is in desperate need of updating but I think it is a good model and one that I am going to pursue at Green River College as well. The data in this presentation starting at slide 40 comes from a survey I did of students in the Biology dept at Humboldt State University – it provided a striking profile of our students.
My typical strategy is as follows:
- Connect with faculty – survey them and find out who is doing what.
- Go to dept meetings and discuss the issues with faculty.
- Talk to students in student government and the newspaper.
- Find a faculty member in a high stakes, high cost course – such as Biology 100 and pilot.
- Survey those students afterwards and publish the results.
In addition to this, what I learned at Humboldt State University is to NOT FORGET THE LIBRARY. The library is an invaluable ally (given the right library dean). I had the good fortune of working with the Library Dean, Cyril Oberlander, at HSU (formerly of CUNY). He is a tireless and transformational advocate for open textbooks and open practices. A transformational advocate is not just alliterative hyperbole: he has had the librarians creating online OER research guides for faculty in all disciplines.
