Adaptation of an OER

Use of an existing OER with modifications, for example localization. See the BCCampus Adaptation Guide.

Adoption of an OER

Use of an existing OER without significant modifications.

Ancillary Materials

Supplementary resources that accompany a textbook to improve student learning. Examples include linked websites or videos, presentation slides, or lecture notes.

Category

In qualitative research a category refers to a group of several codes that are related .  For example students are surveyed about their experiences using an OER. Many of the codes, such as “improved accessibility,” “interactive learning,” and “ease of use” all have an impact on academic success. These codes can be put in a category called “academic success”.

Code

In qualitative research a code is a short label given to a piece of text. Many different things can be coded including context, definitions, perspectives, processes, actions, conditions, consequences, relationships, strategies, social structures, and more.  For example, an instructor is interviewed and asked why they are hesitant to create an OER. They begin talking about their workload and how it can be difficult to find time to work on an OER. Part of this discussion might be labeled with a code that says “time”.

Coding Tree

In qualitative research a coding tree is a visual organization chart that shows the relationships between codes, categories, and themes.

Continuous Data

There are two different types of data.  These are continuous data and discrete data. Continuous data can take any value. Common examples of continuous data include temperature and weight. This type of data is rarer in OER.

COUP Framework

A framework which looks at Cost, Outcomes, Use, and Perceptions (COUP) as it relates to the impact of OER or open pedagogy.

Creation of an OER

The development of a novel OER.

Creative Commons (CC)

A set of licenses that define how a work can be used. There are different levels of CC licensing, representing a spectrum of different allowed uses from CC0 (public domain) as the least restrictive to CC BY-NC-ND (no commercial use, no derivative works) as the most restrictive.

Dependent Variable

The dependent variable is influenced by other factors. The outcome is dependent on the other circumstances, especially the independent variable. For example, if I were running a trial to see if the type of course materials used has an impact on student scores, my dependent variable would be the test scores, since those are influenced by the course materials that are used.

Descriptive Statistics

Descriptive statistics are used to describe and summarize data, such as percentages, averages, measures of central tendency (mode, median, mean), and measures of spread (like range or standard deviation) in a sample or dataset. They might describe the distribution of a single variable (univariate descriptive statistics), the relationship between two variables (bivariate descriptive statistics), or more than two variables (multivariate descriptive statistics).

Discrete Data

There are two different types of data.  These are discrete data and continuous data. Discrete data is any data that can only be specific values. Most often, discrete data is any data represented by whole numbers. This data cannot be broken down into smaller values. Examples in OER include: the number of courses in a given faculty that use OER or test scores. Most quantitative OER data is discrete.

Grant

Funding available for a time-limited project.

Hypothesis Testing

Hypothesis testing is one of the two main types of inferential statistics. Hypothesis testing is a category of inferential statistics that can be used to determine whether there is a relationship between two variables.

Independent Variable

The independent variable is the variable that is not influenced by other factors. In this sense, the outcome is independent of other circumstances. For example, if I were running a trial to see if the type of course materials used has an impact on student scores, my independent variable would be the type of course material (eg, I might have some students use a commercial textbook and other students use an OER).

Inferential Statistics

Inferential statistics allows you to draw inferences from data, by making predictions, deductions, or generalizations based on a sample. By analyzing this sample, it becomes possible to draw larger conclusions about the dataset as a whole. The two main types of inferential statistics are hypothesis testing and regression analysis.

Learning Management System (LMS)

Software used for course delivery. Examples include Moodle and Blackboard.

Localization

Adaptation of a work to local context.

Low-Cost Courses or Programs

Courses or programs with a total combined material cost. The term “Affordable Educational Resources” is sometimes also used. Many institutions use a cutoff of under $50 to define low-cost – for example Penn State.

Measure of Central Tendency

The mode, median, or mean of a sample or dataset.  These are ways of calculating the “average” for the sample or dataset and are frequently used in descriptive statistics.

Open Educational Resources (OER)

Teaching and learning materials that are under a license allowing for their retention, reuse, revision, modification, and redistribution without cost or access barriers.

Open Pedagogy

A pedagogical approach which involves students in the creation of course materials.See The Learning Portal.

Open Textbook

A learning resource for students in a particular course designed to comprehensively address a syllabus or instructional plan.

Personally Identifiable Information

Personally identifiable information is sensitive in that it can allow a person to be identified and matched to other data about them. This includes data that is directly identifiable, such as a student’s name or email, but also includes indirect data that can make someone identifiable by its level of detail and intersection relative to the size of the population. For example, if you identify a student’s program, year, gender, and country of origin, that could be sufficiently unique to identify that student, even if none of these details are personally identifiable on their own.

Pressbooks

A software platform designed for the creation of open textbooks.

Public Domain

Materials not protected by copyright.

Regression Analysis

Regression analysis is one of the two main types of inferential statistics.  Regression analysis involves quantifying how one variable will change with respect to another variable.

Repository

An online system that stores textbooks and ancillary materials for access.

Standard Deviation

The standard deviation is a calculation for the measure of spread in a sample or dataset.

Theme

In qualitative research a theme is the broader meanings that can be found across categories. These can be seen as the conclusions drawn.  For example, students are surveyed about the impact of needing to purchase expensive textbooks. Several categories, such as accessibility, accommodation, and financial stress, are all equity issues. An underlying theme in this data could be that the cost of textbooks is an equity issue.

Z-Degree

A complete degree program with zero textbook cost to the student.

Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC)

Courses or programs that do not have any required materials costs for students. ZTC can be achieved through use of OER and/or library-licensed resources, or by not including a textbook at all.