When launching a digital courseware pilot using open educational resources (OER), the path to success can be different for every faculty member. Sharing perspectives from multiple institutions, courses and disciplines, this presentation profiles different, common faculty approaches. It highlights the unique challenges they encounter along the way and explores solutions that help them achieve success.

1. The Long and Winding Road to
Success with Personalized Courseware
OLC Accelerate 2017
Orlando, FL

2. Presenters
Kelly Gillerlain
Interim Dean - Business, Information Technology & Public Services
Tidewater Community College
Nicola Wayer
Director of Instructional Design & Training
TN eCampus, Tennessee Board of Regents
Kim Thanos
CEO & Co-founder
Lumen Learning

3. Who We Are
Public community college
Located in southeastern Virginia
Four campuses, five regional centers
34,000+ enrollment
One of 23 schools in Virginia
Community College System (VCCS)
Originator of the “Z-Degree”
www.tcc.edu
goo.gl/vjJ4cE)

4. Who We Are
Serves 46 Tennessee Board of Regents
(TBR) higher ed institutions and their
200,000+ students
Comprehensive view of online programs
and courses offered by TBR institutions
400+ online courses and 500+ online
program and degree options
www.tnecampus.org

5. Who We Are
Learning innovators with open
educational resources (OER)
Based in Portland, OR
150+ institutional clients
175,000+ students served in 2017
$15.5+ million in textbook cost savings
lumenlearning.com

6. Learning design innovation
with personalized learning
“UniversityLife246”(goo.gl/yz2Z2R)byFranciscoOsorioislicensedunderCCBY2.0

9. Open Educational Resources (OER)
Enriched OER; day 1 access; a fraction of the cost of traditional textbooks
Frequent Practice and Feedback
Assessment as a learning activity; strong alignment to learning outcomes; practice
designed to develop mastery
Personalization
Metacognition: coach students on where to focus; learn how to learn
Faculty-student Connection
Nurturing the learning process; individualized outreach & intervention
What makes a difference in learning?
1
2
3
4

10. Nicola’s Story:
TN eCampus
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USDepartmentofEducationislicensedunderCCBY2.0

11. Outcomes To Date
Win-win-win
Students get increased access to course materials & report increases sense of
engagement. Faculty have increased control over content and get more insights from
data. Waymaker supports institution’s goals of access, accessibility, and transparency of
data.
There is no one-size-fits-all implementation strategy!
Different content areas, different faculty profiles lead to different implementations.
Partnership with the provider is key
Partnership between TN eCampus & Lumen for accessibility, implementation, & support

12. Faculty Profile #1
Steady Eddie
(Micro/Macroeconomics)
Fully engaged in: Content and detail
Not so interested in: Personalized learning tools
Course prep time: 10-12 months
Prep style: Fine-toothed comb
Strengths: Eager to make his own
quizzes, exams, structure
Mindset: Squeeze new toolset into
old paradigm. How can I
make this like MyLabs?
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USDepartmentofEducationislicensedunderCCBY2.0

13. Fully engaged in: Adaptive / personalized
teaching methods and content
Not so interested in: Reviewing every last detail
Course prep time: 2-3 months
Prep style: Dive in head first
Strengths: Adding her personal touch to
augment courseware
Mindset: Make it my own, within
construct of the learning design
Faculty Profile #2
Keen Janene
(Intro to Business)
“Social Work Students' Accreditation Visit 3.26.13”
(goo.gl/ZDSNDn) by Southern Arkansas University is
licensed under CC BY 2.0

14. Kelly’s Story:
Tidewater Community College
“VCUProselytizing”(goo.gl/SpLNEp)byEliChristmanislicensedunderCCBY2.0

15. Effectiveness of OER Content
OER “Very Effective” – 85%

16. Textbook vs. OER
Enroll in Z Course – 85%

17. Overall Course Quality
Z Course “Better or Same” – 98%

18. Semester Enrollment Savings
Fall 2013 386 $38,600.00
Spring 2014 579 $57,900.00
Summer 2014 96 $9,600.00
Fall 2014 572 $57,200.00
Spring 2015 867 $86,700.00
Summer 2015 327 $32,700.00
Fall 2015 966 $96,600.00
Spring 2016 1,581 $158,100.00
Summer 2016 838 $83,800.00
Fall 2016 2,252 $225,200.00
Spring 2017 1,757 $175,700.00
Summer 2017 1,624 $162,400.00
Fall 2017
11,845 $1,184,500.00
$tudent $avings

19. Average credit load and success
(Fall 2013 through Spring 2017)
Student Type
Non-Z course Z-Course
Average Load Average Load
8.30 8.49
Average Credit Load Comparison:
Non-Z Sections and Z-Section
(AY 2013-14 to 2016-17)
Course Success Rate:
Non-Z Sections and Z-Section
(AY 2013-14 to 2016-17)
Success Rate
(Grade of “C” or better)
Non-Z course Z-Course
66.6% 69.7%
+3.1%
$543,000

20. Fully engaged in: Hands-on customization to
reshape student experience
Not so interested in: Quick time-to-implement
Course prep time: 4-6 months
Prep style: Dig in and take time to get
comfortable
Strengths: Passion for making course
relevant at the local level
Mindset: Align content to my learning
outcomes and students’ needs
Faculty Profile #3
Bob the Builder
(Intro to Psychology)
“01102015 - Teach to Lead Lightning Round 1 12”
(goo.gl/WPME62) by US Department of Education is licensed
under CC BY 2.0

21. Faculty Profile #4
Busy Lizzy
(Adjunct instructor; multiple subjects)
Fully engaged in: Teaching at a moment’s notice;
working efficiently
Not funded to: Design, create, reshape
Course prep time: 1-3 weeks
Prep style: Use course off-the-shelf
Strengths: Ready to go; open to ways to
work smarter
Mindset: If you make it simple for me to
adopt, I’m fine with innovation
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22. Technophobe / Technophile
Left brain / Right brain
Maker / Adopter
Openness to new paradigms for
teaching & learning
Factors to Explore
How prescriptive are you about
your course content? (Does this
vary by discipline?)
How are you comfortable
assessing learning?
How comfortable are you with
approaches to assessing learning
in the courseware pedagogy?
Questions to Ask

23. Useful Strategies
Strategy Steady
Eddie
Keen
Janene
Bob the
Builder
Busy
Lizzy
“Pathways” training: understand and buy into
concept
✓ ✓ ✓
Adopt off-the-shelf; little to customize ✓
Research to compare alternate versions in the
classroom: which works best?
✓ ✓
Clear expectations and instruction on practices you
want them to use actively
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Early follow-up: make sure key features are turned
on and faculty are aware
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Push launch date out if timing creates undue anxiety ✓ ✓

24. What would you do differently?
Next Time Around

25. Thank You
Kelly Gillerlain, kgillerlain@tcc.edu
Nicola Wayer, nwayer@tbr.edu
Kim Thanos, kim@lumenlearning.com