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CO-DREAM OER

Two students work on a robot.

CO-DREAM OER: Collaborative Development of Robotics, mEchatronics, and Advanced Manufacturing Open Educational Resources

Project Objectives:

CO-DREAM OER will develop nine textbooks on robotics, mechatronics and advanced manufacturing education, as well as ancillary materials on robotics education for associate level, 4-year undergraduate and master's programs in the southern United States and other industrial regions of the country. The project also involves research on the learning behavior of students in these programs, making sure that the textbooks produced will support their academic success.

Textbook Features

  • All textbooks and ancillary materials are Open Educational Resources (OER), Creative Commons licensed learning resources that are free for students to use and retain and allow for instructors to adapt them to suit the needs of different courses. 
  • CO-DREAM OER textbooks will come with “virtual reality” computer simulations that mimic human-robot interaction and workplace situations involving robotics. Students can gain hands-on experience working with robots through these simulations, reinforcing concepts they learn.
  • Textbooks will also include interactive homework questions.
  • All textbooks and ancillary materials will be available for both online and offline use to support students from rural areas with low bandwidth.
  • Design of the textbooks complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), is guided by the theories and practices of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and will contain inclusive language and examples.

Benefits of the Project

Robotics, mechatronics and advanced manufacturing are integral components of the advanced manufacturing industry taking hold in the South and many other parts of the US, which could generate millions of jobs in the current decade. Students in these regions face exciting career opportunities related to robotics, but their entry into the workforce has been hampered by expensive textbooks. Existing textbooks often don’t meet the demands of the employers and lack ancillary materials to support the needs of instructors. CO-DREAM OER aims to address these issues and improve access to robotics-related career opportunities for underrepresented minority students through the development of Open Educational Resources.

Timeline and Aspirations

The project will complete the OER materials from September 2021 to August 2024. With additional financial support, it seeks to develop 6 additional textbooks and ancillary materials supporting mechatronics and advanced manufacturing education for the associate, 4-year undergraduate and master's levels.

Project Consortium 

CO-DREAM OER is spearheaded by a team of faculty from Clemson University Libraries, Clemson’s College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences, Clemson University Press, the Clemson University Center for Workforce Development, as well as the Trident Technical College Division of Engineering and Construction, Tuskegee University Mechanical Engineering Department and University of Illinois, Chicago. The consortium represents three types of institutions, an R1 research university, a Historically Black College and a technical college.

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Stakeholders

The project is supported by BMW, ABB Robotics, the South Carolina Department of Commerce, the Partnership Among South Carolina Academic Libraries (PASCAL), and the South Carolina Technical College System.

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CO-DREAM OER was made possible by the US Department of Education Open Textbook Pilot Program.

PROJECT TEAM