Internet Learning Volume 6, Number 2, Fall 2017/Winter 2018 | Page 52

Access to Information Doesn’t Have to Come with a Pretty Cover and a Price Tag
The Syllabus
Last, we learned to establish time to simultaneously
work through course lessons
and the syllabus. When we began
the OER transition process, we did not
realize how important it was to carefully
review the LMS weekly lesson content
and course syllabus for references
to previously required readings, while
changing those readings. It is easy to
overlook needed updates and brief references
to items that are no longer present
in the course. This may seem like
minor work compared to attending to
copyright or ADA compliance. However,
it is tedious work and oversights
led to one of the major complaints we
received from students.
Conclusion
Making the transition to OERs
is both an important and
worthwhile effort. It requires
a serious time commitment and proper
planning, coordination, and rollout.
However, the process is worth it
because beyond the lower price tag, it
provides students with the knowledge
and information literacy skills they
need to access information that might
otherwise be out of their reach. The way
that people access information will certainly
evolve as technology and internet
access rules change. We cannot anticipate
the details of that for our students.
But, what we can do is teach habits and
strategies that will help empower them
find a way to gain knowledge throughout
their lives.
References
American Library Association (ALA).
(n.d.) Information literacy competency
standards for higher education. Retrieved
from http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm
?Section=Home&template=/
ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.
cfm&ContentID=33553
Blue, C. (2015). Millennials and dental
education: Utilizing educational technology
for effective teaching. Journal of
Dental Hygiene, 89(1), 46–47.
Buczynski, J. A. (2007). Faculty begin to
replace textbooks with “freely” accessible
online resources. Internet Reference
Services Quarterly, 11(4), 169–179.
Clayn, L., Erickson, L., Alhramelah, A.,
Rhoton, D., Lindbeck, R., & Sammons,
D. (2014).
Technology and adult students in higher
education: A review of the literature.
Issues and Trends in Educational Technology,
2(1). Retrieved from https://
journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/
itet/article/view/18145/17925
Clobridge, A. (2015). Libraries, meet
open textbooks. Online Searcher, 39(3),
68–70.
Cox, G., & Trotter, H. (2017). An OER
framework, heuristic and lens: Tools for
understanding lecturers’ adoption of
OER. Open Praxis, 9(2): 151–171.
Florida Virtual Campus. (2012). The
direct relationship between textbook
51