The Evolution of BBookX: Leveraging Design-Based Research to Fuel an Innovative Open Educational Resources Search Tool

• In Event: 34.078 - Roundtable Session 13
  In Roundtable Session: 34.078-14 - Technology Platforms and Practices

Abstract

Open Educational Resources are increasingly looked to as one solution for reducing costs and increasing access to educational materials (Caswell, Jenson, & Wiley, 2008). Unfortunately, developing OERs and operationalizing their use is fraught with difficulty (Atkins, Brown, & Hammond, 2007). Users are challenged to search OER repositories for materials that are content-appropriate and high quality. Our team developed a new tool, BBookX, to address these issues. We report here on a design-based research study of BBookX and the resultant use cases that emerged from faculty and student users of the tool. The focus is on the new use cases as they underscore the efficacy of design-based research as a method for exploring and maximizing the affordances of innovative learning environments.

Authors

• Crystal M. Ramsay, The Pennsylvania State University

• Barton K Pursel, The Pennsylvania State University