Cheri Crenshaw ENGL 2010: Intermediate Writing OER Project

I incorporated all course materials into a Canvas course.  All materials were free to the students, so they did not incur any costs.  

I created quite a few PowerPoints for the students:

• “From College to Career Introduction”
• “Rules for Citing Quotations, Paraphrases, and Summaries”
•  “Common Issues in Formatting and Citation”
• “Grammar Review”
• “Using Research in Careers Exploration”
• “Common Issues in Analysis Essays”
• “Coherence and Cohesion”
• “Citing an Internet Source”
• “Interview Questions”
• “Majors and Mindsets”
• “Tips for a Great Long Form Report”
• “Tell Stories that Get you Noticed and Hired”

I also created examples in either PDF or Doc/Docx Format:

• “Exploring Careers with ChatGPT”
• “Format Template for Essays (MLA)”
• “Example Brainstorming Reflection”
• “Pitch for Careers Exploration Research”
• “Example Summary and Analysis”
• “Example Long Report”
• “Effective Presentations Using PowerPoint”

 Links that I used were as follows:

• Matt Ellis’s “How to Write Strong Paragraphs” at https://www.grammarly.com/blog/writing-tips/paragraph-structure/
• Utah Tech Library’s Citation Guide at https://library.utahtech.edu/
• Indeed.com’s “30 Exciting Careers in Writing (With Salaries)” at https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/careers-in-writing
• Indeed.com’s “A Complete Guide to Informational Interviews (With Benefits) at https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/interviewing/informational-interview-guide
• Indeed.com’s “21 Do’s and Don’ts of Job Shadowing (Plus Its Importance) at https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/dos-and-donts-of-job-shadowing
• Harvard Review’s “8 Email Etiquette Tips – How to Write Better Emails at Work” at https://youtu.be/1XctnF7C74s?si=B1upTiMDWc-OnYll
• Heather Austin’s “How to Use LinkedIn for Beginners – 7 LinkedIn Profile Tips” at https://youtu.be/_kwqqtpprrE?si=NNjkcK8Cki80UGpw
• Shawn Achor’s “The Happy Secret to Better Work” at https://www.ted.com/talks/shawn_achor_the_happy_secret_to_better_work
• Greg Letsel’s “Let’s Talk About Zines and Why You Should Make One” at https://youtu.be/FPMxDECh6ow?si=sEi0YIydFhEDxS8a
• Example Digital Ezines:  https://heyzine.com/flip-book/6fc64142e7.html and https://heyzine.com/flip-book/1b44e31f97.html
• The Oregonian’s “How to Make a Zine From One Piece of Paper at https://youtu.be/Ixqr9e3wCxI?si=LUDKTZn4MKS1zbWv

Curricular changes: 

I used to resort to reading quizzes to see if students had read the material in the textbook.  I don’t need to do that anymore since it is clear when students have looked at the materials that I have provided when I grade their actual writing assignments.

Teaching and learning impacts:

I think the impact on students is that they have everything available to accomplish tasks given in the class, and the class is clearly more focused on achieving specific learning outcomes.  As a teacher, I had to rethink my goals in teaching and design the class to meet those goals rather than simply following a design dictated by a particular textbook.  I value the change, and I think students understand the goals of the class more clearly and are able to accomplish the goals more readily.

OER Adoption Process

Textbooks are too expensive, so students are reluctant to buy them.  Also, I usually do not cover all the material in a textbook, so often students feel like they don’t get their money’s worth.  By creating an OER class, I was able to focus on using free materials as needed to support the main goals of the class, which focused on researching and exploring future career possibilities as well as writing analyses and reports.  Everything I put into the course has a clear purpose.  When I couldn’t find what I needed online, I created it since I know exactly what I’m looking for students to accomplish.  

Student feedback about using OER: 

• The material selected does a good job on showing techniques and differences in writing. It made the lessons flow smoothly instead of assigning a few page numbers over a topic that could be showcased in a few sentences.
• The material was pre-selected to focus on the more necessary information the course wanted to teach.
• it was wayyy easier to access and was easy to use
• There was no stress in reading so much in each class as if that were the only class a student has. It was also a free resource which helps when the cost of living is increasing as much as it is.
• Mostly the same I still consumed knowledge 
• Easier to access
• I like not having a textbook 

Instructor Name: Cheri Crenshaw

I’ve been faculty in the English Department at Utah Tech since 2008 and am currently a tenured professor.  I have a Ph.D. in rhetoric from Texas Women’s University.   My main focuses are rhetoric, technical writing, editing, grammar, and first-year composition.