Professor Sharon Marrama is entering her second full year using OER for her Introduction to Radiology and Radiologic Physics courses. She was drawn to OER because, “The text that we were using was out of date. It lacked the proper terminology that is required to completely understand the mathematics required for this course. The text was simply out of date and I could not locate another that supported the course. So I created one.”
She believes that, for her students, “the benefits include having the relevant material, being able to have some control over structure and content. Probably most important to the student is no cost is involved. My students have stated that the content is easy to follow and well organized. The OER also included a review section for students that needed a refresher in basic math skills.”
For faculty, she says, “My advice would be to look for material that benefits your course and your students. Once that is achieved it makes teaching the subject matter flow easier. And that reflects in the students attention, retention and grades…it sure was fun creating my own text that fit my course exactly. And I think it is worth taking the time to research the multiple resources for OER and pull together material that fits the course.”
Thank you for creating OER for your department, Professor Marrama!