• "I feel OER materials is actually used a lot more than the standard classroom (material)."
• "the textbook quality is actually the same or even better, and more up-to-date than the older textbooks."
• "I feel the printed materials sometimes end up, just getting lost."
• "I realized I can still highlight on the page online, and I can still write notes.  I don't need the printed material.  I can search easier online'"
  

Santa Ana College Awarded the Zero Textbook Cost Degree Grant
by the California Community College Chancellor's Office

The Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) Degree program is one of the Open Educational Resources (OER) initiatives to improve teaching, learning, and accessibility for all learners at California Higher Education institutions. SAC is one of 20 California Community Colleges to be awarded the Implementation Phase II RFA for 2017/18.

 

Textbook Costs Inspire New Alternatives for Studentsby Natalie James

A national leader in collegiate student media, the Santa Ana College el Don, has published an informative article on Open Educational Resources and how SAC students benefit from an affordable textbook alternative.  Read the online el Don article for more information!

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Santa Ana College hosted an Open Educational Resources Summit on Friday, October 7, 2016.  With 120 participants from 15 Colleges and Universities from Southern California, the OER Summit far exceeded expectations.

The Summit opened with Vice President of Academic Affairs, Carlos Lopez, welcoming the participants and guest speaker Dr. David Wiley.  Wiley's keynote address explored "The Power of Open Educational Resources," further explaining and defining the concept of "Open."  Open Educational Resources are characterized by providing "free and unfettered access, and perpetual, irrevocable 5R permissions."  Wiley further identified the 5R permissions as "Retain, Reuse, Revise, Remix, and Redistribute."  Once defined, Wiley acknowledged the "high impact of OER adoption that improves affordability, improves student success, invigorates pedagogy, and does it at scale."

View highlights from Dr. David Wiley's keynote address, "The Power of Open Educational Resources," and PowerPoint Slides below. 

The Santa Ana College Faculty panel enlightened educators on the reasons why they selected OER material for their courses, and the advantages of OER that they have witnessed for themselves and their students.

Watch SAC faculty panelist, Claire Coyne, talk about her students' response to the use of OER in her course.

The panel of Santa Ana College Students was one of the highlights of the OER Summit.  The students eloquently expressed the benefits and impact that OER had on their education. 

Watch SAC student panelists, John and Kenny, explain the positive impact that OER has had on their education and their lives. 

The afternoon breakout sessions of the OER Summit were dedicated to assisting educators in locating OER materials and resources specific to their discipline.  Overall, the OER Summit exceeded expectations for organizers, presenters, and participants.  95% of responding attendees indicated that they are very likely or likely to use OER in a future course, and felt that the sessions were positive, professional and inspirational.

Santa Ana College Hosted OER Summit on Friday, October 7th, 2016

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7:30 - 8:00am ​Registration/Coffee ​8:00 - 8:15am ​Welcome ​8:15 - 9:30am  ​Keynote: David Wiley "OER 101" ​9:30 - 10:30am ​Faculty Panel ​10:30 - 11:30am ​Student Panel ​11:30 - 12:00pm ​*** Lunch *** ​12:00 - 2:00pm ​OER Discovery Hands-on, breakout by discipline

​ ​"David is one of America's most innovative thinkers on the future of learning. His cutting-edge work is helping America find ways of cutting costs while delivering a world-class education to all our students. Harnessing the promise of technology to drive better results is David's trademark." Adam Frankel, Executive Director, National Center for Research in Advanced Information and Digital Technologies (Digital Promise)

Santa Ana College Selected for Achieving the Dream OER Degree Initiative

Santa Ana College was recently selected to be part of the Achieving the Dream's Open Educational Resources (OER) Degree initiative.  SAC is one of only 38 community colleges nationwide that will be working to ensure equity for students in the coming year by creating two degree pathways utilizing OER materials!