Interactive Open Educational Resources: A Guide to Finding, Choosing, and Using What's Out There to Transform College Teaching

A Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2014! Sponsored by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), this one-of-a-kind book demonstrates the best tools, resources, and techniques for discovering, selecting, and integrating interactive open educational resources (OERs) into the teaching and learning process. The author examines many of the best repositories and digital library websites for finding high quality materials, explaining in depth the best practices for effectively searching these repositories and the various methods for evaluating, selecting, and integrating the resources into the instructor’s curriculum and course assignments, as well as the institution’s learning management system.

Table of Contents:
Preface: Transforming the Learning Experience through New Forms of Instructional Materials in the Digital Information Age ix About the Author xv Part One Interactive Learning Materials: Setting the Stage 1 One Interactive Learning Materials: Engaging Learners in the Emerging Digital World 3 Two Defining an Emergent Class of Educational Resources: Interactive Multimedia Modules, Simulations, and Games 11 Part Two Finding ILMs: A Digital Exploration 19 Three The Discovery Process: The Art of Discovering ILMs 21 Four The Pioneers: Searching Online Educational Repositories in North America and the United Kingdom 35 Five The Educators: Searching College and University Educational Repositories 61 Six The Entrepreneurs: Textbook Publishers, Entertainment Media, and Educational Software Companies 83 Seven The Exhibitors: Museums, Professional Organizations, and Governmental Organizations 95 Part Three Choosing and Using ILMs 111 Eight The Selection Process: How to Choose and Evaluate ILMs 113 Nine The Implementation Process: How to Instruct and Engage Students through ILMs 129 Ten The Assessment Process: The Impact of ILMs on Student Learning 143 Epilogue: How Faculty, Librarians, and Instructional Support Staff Transform Learning with ILMs in the Future 155 References 163 Index 169

About the Author :
John D. Shank is an instructional design librarian for the Information Commons at the Thun Library, Penn State Berks in Reading, Pennsylvania. He has a decade of experience working with instructors and directing the integration of interactive learning resources into web-enhanced, hybrid, and online courses.

Review :
"I highly recommend this book for faculty, academic advisors and all higher educational professionals. Although the content is geared more closely to faculty and instructors, all university personnel should be aware of new, potentially significant mechanisms to impact student achievement. With clear descriptions and instructions for finding quality resources, the author has provided an abundance of information and tools for practitioners to apply across multiple disciplines." — NACADA Journal Issue 34 (2)