International Journal of Open Educational Resources Volume 2, Issue 1, Fall 2019/Winter 2020 | Page 33

Building a Community of Inquiry Around OER
mation were the primary goals of the
entire course. Much of this cognitive
work takes place individually, as faculty
incorporate what they have learned
from course materials and each other
into selecting, developing, and formatting
materials for their own courses (see
Figure 10). This work will continue into
the Fall 2019 semester as faculty teach
their courses with OER, most for the
first time, and they will have continuous
access to the OER training course
and the News/Announcements feed on
its homepage (see Figure 11). The OER
training course uses online education
best practices to facilitate collaboration
and knowledge sharing, including
member introductions, discussions,
and organizing faculty and librarians
into team groups. This encourages faculty
to learn from and support each
other in an environment that is familiar
and lasting. In the librarians’ conversations
and email exchanges with faculty
over the Spring and Summer 2019 semesters,
faculty have exhibited indicators
of cognitive presence, including
asking questions, exploring different
solutions, and applying new methods,
ideas, and materials into their courses.
Figure 11. OER training course announcements/news feed.
Findings and Results
Most OER grant courses are
currently being taught for the
first time or are scheduled to
be taught in future semesters, so a full
analysis of the first grant cycle is still
pending. Formal assessment and evaluation
will occur once the first year concludes
in Spring 2020 and will include a
25