The Sixteenth International Conference on Books, Publishing & Libraries

Abstract

My paper will explain the problem that Open Educational Resources pose for online instructors and describe the online module my peers and I created to address this. One of the biggest hurdles instructors face teaching digital natives is convincing them of the value of using library databases as opposed to simply googling. This challenge is not made easier by Open Education Resources, which are typically easier for students to access than the MLA Database would be. OER do democratize the process of retrieving peer-reviewed sources from the web, but they also permit “predatory” journals to thrive. My peers and I developed a module through which students can navigate OER, benefiting from its accessibility while also developing critical analytic skills to use in reading any article retrieved electronically. My paper will include slides from the module’s Webquest, a Materia game/assessment, and the rubric we adapted to help students evaluate sources. In a world where “fake news” is a legitimate concern, I find this critical skill to be most important, particularly for online students.