Open Education 2016

This presentation will report on the benefits and challenges faced by a K-12 school implementing open textbooks. This case study focuses on a large K-12 public school located in the Midwestern part of the United States with an enrollment of over 18,000 students. The open textbook initiative began during the 2015-2016 school year with the adoption of open science textbooks in 6th through 9th grades. These open textbooks have been curated by district curriculum coordinators and teachers. Middle school students may access these open textbooks though computer labs, mobile computer carts and their own mobile device or a device provided by the school district as part of a 1:1 initiative. They may also use a printed copy provided by the school district.

Much research has been conducted on the money saving aspects and outcomes of using open textbooks for students in higher education environments. In K-12 environments however, the research, especially in the form of case studies that may inform administrators venturing in the OER space is very limited. With continual budget concerns of K-12 schools and the rise of expectations, cost saving benefits may help schools increase academic success with less funding.

As with many new innovations being introduced in the classroom there are often logistical issues that need to be addressed to facilitate successful implementation. For example, one consideration that needs to be addresses with the use of open textbooks is the availability of mobile devices on which to allow access to all students. While some students have their own mobile devices to use, other students may not. K-12 schools must consider how students will access their required open textbooks while they are at both school and home.

Evidence of open textbooks use in K-12 environments is emerging. For example, the CK-12 foundation, the largest U.S. publisher of open textbooks used all over the world include public, private, and charter schools on six of the seven continents. Goals of these schools using open textbooks include: creating and acquiring digital content, digital devices, and maintaining the devices with a relatively static budget, providing high-quality and current instructional material using no new textbook resources, and addressing instructional needs not being addressed by current textbooks. This presentation considers the attainment of these goals through an open textbook initiative at one K-12 school and their plans for the continued development and use of open textbooks in other content areas.

To date, very little research has been done K12 adoption on open education. We will focus on OER adoption in two school districts in the state of Washington. We compared 5,242 students who used EnagageNY Math with 6,552 students in comparable districts who used traditional curriculum. In a quasi-experimental study involving multiple regression analysis, we compared end-of-year test scores for these students. Even after controlling for socioeconomic factors, there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups.

In the last year the K12 OER Collaborative has spun out from incubation by The Learning Accelerator, to be a stand alone 501(c)(3) OER publisher. We have done extensive work on our brand and have established a style guide for the OER we are publishing. We have contracted with our partner Illustrative Mathematics to build a new middle school math curriculum to be licensed as CC BY OER. We have partnered with EL Education to deliver the next generation of their leading Engage New York Elementary ELA to market as part of our offerings. We have contracted with classroom teachers who have conducted thorough quality assurance with help from Student Achievement Partners (SAP), ACHIEVE and UnboundED. We have been working with University researchers led by Kenji Hakuta of Stanford University to imbed precise supports for English Language Learners (ELLs) and with national experts to assure accessibility for students with special needs. We are partnering with some of the most innovative purveyors of adult learning to assist school districts in their adoption of our OER. We are ready to go to market....except for one thing:



Full scale pilots in school districts whose student bodies disproportionately impacted by poverty, who have higher than the national average rate of students for whom English is a second language and whose district leadership is fully committed to giving those "disadvantaged" kids all of the advantages of a first class education to prepare them for college and careers that they can be proud of. Those pilots began as far back as July and are in full action mode today.



This presentation is an update on our progress as we prove out our theories regarding promotion of widespread adoption of the highest quality instructional materials in the marketplace to promote equity of access to the best opportunities a k-12 education can deliver.

Tracy Pitzer, Director of Instructional Leadership at Puyallup School District will be co-presenting this session.

In the K-12 space, there is a push to increase discoverability of open resources and develop repositories of OER. While important, this is not the endgame. It's critical to recognize that there is a range of OER interest from K-12 districts and their needs go beyond just finding discrete resources.

Each of the stages along the scale from using open materials to promoting open practice, has its own set of questions. For some districts, the initial foray into using OER may be as far as they go, but for others it can be the beginning of a journey to iterative curriculum development and student involvement in the creation of open resources.

It's important to recognize where educators are entering this OER continuum and provide them with the appropriate supports and guidance to help in their effective implementation. In this session, we'll share some stories from the field in Washington State:

- Fife School District is just starting to explore OER. They need to understand how OER fit into the instructional materials landscape, ascertain whether there are appropriate resources for adoption consideration, and communicate to their stakeholders the value of open beyond "free stuff on the internet".

- Spokane Public Schools needed comprehensive, standards-aligned mathematics materials and adopted an open resource as an alternative to expensive purchased or leased instructional materials. Now, they need collaboration on developing implementation resources, strategies for dealing with print to ensure equity of access, and professional development options.

- Puyallup School District, dissatisfied with current instructional materials choices, set out on their own to pull together resources to develop their own Civics curriculum. As a district starting to curate and create, they need help understanding licensing, clarity on copyright ownership, proper attribution examples, remixing tutorials, and a firm grasp that free is not open. 

For each case, we'll discuss the vital supports for their stage along the spectrum and brainstorm how to best provide assistance to sustain their efforts.

OSPI Interactive Copyright and Licensing Guide: http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/2689472/CopyrightLicensingGuide
Generic version of Interactive Copyright and Licensing Guide and Quick Start Guide to Openly Licensed Images:
http://digitallearning.k12.wa.us/oer/licensing.php

 

The Connecticut Adult Virtual High School program serves adults seeking a high school credit diploma via a blended/online curriculum. As budgets shrink and student needs increase, the only way to address this community's specific needs through customized and expanded offerings is through Open. This session will review the path taken in assessing the community needs, OER opportunities, the adaptations made, and the results so far.