Doug Corrin - Forestry

1) What drove you to make the decision to switch to OERs?

The motivating factor for switching to OER was a decision to make iPads mandatory equipment for the Forestry Diploma program. The use of iPads is nearly universal in the natural resource sector for field work. We made the decision to have our graduates be highly skilled in the use of this devise to better position them for employment. However, we were determined to do this in a cost effective manner for the students. Eliminating the requirement to purchase any textbook allowed us to achieve this goal. In the first year of implementation, the change to the iPad was cost neutral. Now it is cheaper for students to purchase the iPad than to buy texts at today’s prices.

2) What was the biggest hurdle you overcame?

Personally I believe the biggest hurdle was our collective mindset. As a department we had to agree to eliminate all texts … no exceptions. The immediate follow-up hurdle was finding suitable replacement online materials of high quality that were free of charge. Our discipline is somewhat specialized. Open textbooks were not an option. But in the end we found what we needed. And to be honest, I believe the students are more likely to actually use the online (free) materials we have found than to crack open a textbook. Win, win.

3) Where did you find the most support?

Moving to OER was actually a small part of a paradigm shift in the way we deliver our program. Our catch phrase was “Forestry goes paperless”. And this went far beyond eliminating textbooks. Luckily we found tremendous and invaluable support internally from the Centre for Innovation & Excellence in Learning (CIEL). In the end we did a major overhaul of our program… and we were successful.

One of the benefits of going to OER (aside from cost savings) was that students carry their full library of texts and other references with them at all times on the iPad. And this goes for in the field as well. Best part … the iPad doesn’t get any heavier … priceless.