The Use of Open Educational Resources in Nurse Case Management
Carol Thomas and Emma Kontzamanis
The National Association of College Stores (NAC) reports that the average college student will spend at least $655 per year on textbooks, and $300 or more on a single textbook. College textbook prices have increased faster than tuition rates, healthcare costs, and housing prices all of which have risen faster than inflation. The college board puts the annual cost of books and material at $1,168 for traditional colleges and universities. Students at for-profit colleges spend more on textbooks (Kingkade, 2017).
Education transmits knowledge to individual students, this can be done using Open Educational Resources (O.E.R.), and builds the prerequisites for a cohesive community. The open educational resources are cost free and openly licensed educational materials that can be used for teaching, learning, research, and other purposes. What sets open educational resources apart from cost free resources they are referred to as “open licenses.” The author / creator has chosen an intellectual property license to allow their work to be available for others to use and share.
In order to bridge the gap between the textbook model and open education resources, the way information is disseminated should be concise, simple and easy for students to use. Like students, faculty may face challenges when integrating new technologies. Faculty should successfully execute appropriate technical skills, which often require extra time, and resources. Faculty should focus on pedagogical underpinnings the innovation, professional support, and leadership that will help create a less stressful environment. Faculty should be supported and be able to use new technologies to enhance their teaching strategies (Fielder, Giddens, and North, 2014).
During my sessions learning about open educational resources, I informed the librarian that reading and following the instructions on “open licenses” was confusing to me. I theorized that if I was having difficulties understanding the new system, what problems may the students encounter? The librarian's patience, teaching methods and encouragement helped me understand the open educational resources concept.
I felt confident to continue with the class. I was assigned an assistant librarian who would be my mentor and provide further support to help me bridge the gap between understanding the textbook model and the open education resources. At each lesson, I brought research articles and ideas that would support the classes I currently teach. Once a week for a month, I sat with my mentor and continued the training until the site was on the open lab. Educators recognize the need to develop their expertise in technology to keep pace with students’ education.
What is the librarian's role? They can obtain efficiency by getting the most for the least, by achieving an objective for the lowest cost possible, “no textbooks.” Efficient organizations are the ones that get things done with a minimum of waste, duplication, and use of resources (Stone, 2012). In the ideal market, information is perfect. It is accurate, complete, and available to everyone at no cost. In the polis by resistance, information is never complete. It is ambiguous, incomplete, often strategically shaded and sometimes create barriers, which is caused by the excessive cost of textbooks.
Image caption: College tuition and fees have increased 63 percent since January 2006
From January 2006 to July 2016, the Consumer Price Index for college tuition and fees increased 63 percent, compared with an increase of 21 percent for all items. Over that period, consumer prices for college textbooks increased 88 percent and housing at school (excluding board) increased 51 percent.
References
Bureau of Labor Statistics (2016, August 31). College tuition and fees increase 63 percent since January 2006. The Economics Daily. https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2016/college-tuition-and-fees-increase-63-percent-since- january-2006.htm
Fiedler, R., Giddens, J., & North, S. (2014). Faculty Experience of a Technological Innovation in Nursing Education. Nursing Education Perspectives, 35(6), 387-391. doi: 10.5480/13-1188
Kingkade, T. (2017, December 7). College Textbooks prices increasing faster than tuition and inflation. Huffington Post. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/college-textbook-prices-increase_n_2409153
Stone, D. (2012). Policy paradox: the art of political decision making (3rd ed.). New York,NY: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Carol Thomas is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at New York City College of Technology and currently teaches Professional Nursing. Carol has extensive experience in clinical nursing and management.In July 2014, Carol was a guest professor at Jinan Vocational College of Nursing in Shandong, China. Professor Thomas attained a BSN at St Joseph College, MSA with a concentration in Human Resources at Central Michigan University, and an MSN in Education at St Joseph College.
Emma Kontzamanis is an assistant professor and the RN-BS Program Coordinator in the Department of Nursing at CUNY’s New York City College of Technology. Professor Kontzamanis has a BS in Nursing from Hunter College, an MA in Nursing Education from New York University, an Advanced Certificate in Cultural Competence, and a PhD in Nursing from the CUNY Graduate Center. Her research area of interest is cultural competence. Before coming to City Tech, she was an Assistant Professor at Long Island University and Vice President of Clinical Operations at Visiting Nurse Regional Health System. She has taught at St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights and has held administrative positions at Metropolitan Jewish Health Systems. She has extensive experience in Community Health Nursing, Leadership and Management and Case Management.Professor Kontzamanis is a member of the Transcultural Nursing Association and Sigma Theta Tau International, Upsilon Chapter.