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Definitions, Purposes and Possibilities for Inclusion of OEP in Faculty Promotion

Faculty may need to advocate for the OEP “work” they do in order to meet existing promotion and tenure guidelines at their institutions.

This past week’s reading of Open Education in Promotion, Tenure, & Faculty Development provided a good definition of OER:

“[T]eaching, learning, and research resources that are free of cost and access barriers, and which also carry legal permission for open use. Generally, this permission is granted by use of an open license (for example, Creative Commons licenses) which allows anyone to freely use, adapt and share the resource—anytime, anywhere.”

The definition was provided to show that there are a myriad of instructional material that fit under the OER banner as well as many uses of that material. The authors posits that the work it takes to create and use OER products “might meet existing promotion and tenure guidelines at your institution, and how you can advocate for including OER explicitly in your institutional or departmental promotion & tenure guidelines.” 

Faculty who use OER as part of their curriculum and teaching efforts is defined as Open Educational Practices (OEP). The article lists ways in which faculty may “participate” in OEP. The rest of the article discusses how OER can be used, how it can fit existing tenure requirements, and how one could advocate for the recognition of participation in many aspects of OER “work.”

The section of the article that resonated with me was the discussion about the need to influence stakeholders and the different types of stakeholders that needed the “evidence” of the value of OER and OEP. The authors included a table with three columns with the stakeholder role (individual, group, or organization) in the left column, the list of “what they can do for you” in the middle column, and the last column suggested the best time to contact the stakeholder. 

This section was helpful to me because it broadened my mind’s perspectives as to the who (to contact) and what (to say) and when (to say it) and where (the advocacy should be applied). 

There is also a tip section to help one make a case for development of OER and adoption of OEP to count towards promotion and tenure. 

The rest of the article is an Appendix that is a compilation of common OEP done by faculty and staff—separated into research, teaching and tenure.

I recommend this article to those who are seeking to promote OER and OEP at their particular institutions.

Reference:
Elder, A., Gruber, A. M., Burnett, M., & Koch, T. (2022). Open Education in Promotion, Tenure, & Faculty Development. In R. Kimmons (Ed.), Becoming an Open Scholar. EdTech Books.

#openscholarship

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OER as Infrastructure: Possibilities to Build Upon

DISCLAIMER: These are from notes of the Zoom interactions in class, and have my biased built in, so I take responsibility for my interpretation that may not be totally reflective of what David and Nicole meant by what they shared.

Infrastructure has been the byword this past year as Congress and the Biden administration have negotiated on the larger and finer points of updating highways, bridges, rails, power grids, broadband internet and the creation of a myriad of programs and policies related to climate change, restoration of lakes, removal of lead pipes, provisions for clean drinking water, and reduction of vehicular collisions with wildlife. The case for these updates comes as infrastructure’s invisibility cloak has become thread-bare with the moth holes of indifference during the past few decades.

Just as in the case with the crumbling of the nation’s infrastructure and the tantamount need for modernizing, the nation’s higher education system needs a similar-in-scope overhaul. In last Thursday’s class, we listened (via Zoom) to two thought leaders in the area of Open Educational Resources (OER)—David Wiley and Nicole Allen—and they both proposed using OER as an educational infrastructure with the idea that there are a myriad of possibilities to build upon it.

“OER is about creating possibilities,” said Wiley. “When infrastructure is of reasonable quality and it’s available for everybody to use, then it becomes kind of an innovation platform that you can do all kind of stuff on top of.” He furthered explained that there is a “base layer on which all the interesting things we do depend” and that having that infrastructure in place “doesn’t mean that anything interesting is going to happen, but minimally it has to be present,” said Wiley. “It’s necessary, but not sufficient.”

Allen later commented, “I think the future of OER is going to require a shift in the way that higher education looks at course materials and I think it probably needs to be a part of that broader systemic shift and reckoning that higher education needs to go through in terms of like—Why are we actually here? Are we doing what we think we are we doing? Are students getting out of this what they think they [are getting]  at the beginning?”

Wiley stated that the “intellectual infrastructure of education” is based on outcomes, content, assessments and certification. He said that he thinks of all of those things as infrastructure, just like we would think about roads and power and water [in a city]. “Nobody really gets excited about roads but everybody gets mad when the infrastructure doesn’t work, like when the power goes out or a road is blocked; otherwise, this infrastructure is invisible until something goes wrong.” He added, “Imagine trying to do education without any learning goals, learning content, assessment of learning or any recognition.”

“How do we make the kind of investments to have that kind of infrastructure?” Allen posed. “OER is going to take investment in training, professional development, new staff….” she added. “The future of OER is thinking about OER as infrastructure, and as part of the core infrastructure of what institutions do” as indicated by Wiley’s hard nod to outcomes, content, assessments and certification.

I think the invisibility cloak has been pulled from the higher education infrastructure and the moth holes are showing. Making a shift to think of OER as educational infrastructure begins the possibilities for higher education to make beneficial changes.

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Stop the Brain Drain: Kill the “Disposable Assignments”

Light bulbs are being pulled by a magnet from a graphic head. Te title is STOP THE BRAIN DRAIN.
Idea taken from David Wiley’s blog post What is Open Pedagogy? published October 21, 2013.

I have sometimes felt an inordinate amount of my life has been spent doing school assignments that are ends with no means instead of being means to some important end. One could argue that graduation would be the end that would justify the mean, but I would argue that the plus benefits of having worked on “meaningful” assignments during the school process would be an enhancement to a degree AND the world.

So, imagine my delight when I read the article by David Wiley What is Open Pedagogy? and found that others share the same sentiment about the time spent on homework that doesn’t add value, both for the students doing the assignments and for the teacher doing the grading. He said:

If you’ve heard me speak in the last several months, you’ve probably heard me rail against “disposable assignments.” These are assignments that students complain about doing and faculty complain about grading. They’re assignments that add no value to the world – after a student spends three hours creating it, a teacher spends 30 minutes grading it, and then the student throws it away. Not only do these assignments add no value to the world, they actually suck value out of the world. Talk about an incredible waste of time and brain power (an a potentially huge source of cognitive surplus)!

David Wiley

Wiley goes on to ask: “What if we changed these ‘disposable assignments’ into activities which actually added value to the world?” He then makes the case for OER and open pedagogy as a way to make this happen. He provides several effective practices to adopt with examples of open pedagogy. He then defines open pedagogy and makes the case that we can’t have open pedagogy without the permissions granted with open licensing.

Although this article was published in 2013, it provided insight into looking for ways to kill the disposable assignment, both in how I approach my assignments in the future, and in what I would require of students I would teach.

#intro2opened

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Getting In the Air with Open Pedagogy

Getting in the Air. Graphic to represent one of the points in David Wiley's January 2015 article: Open Pedagogy: The Importance of Getting In the Air.
Graphic represents one of the stories in David Wiley’s January 2015 article: Open Pedagogy: The Importance of Getting In the Air. Words for graphic are from Wiley’s article.

David Wiley’s “Parable of the Restrictive Roads” in his article Open Pedagogy: The Importance of Getting in the Air, compares the copyright restrictions associated with online content to an imaginary law that was made to restrict all motorized vehicles to stay on roads. In the story, the law was still in place when the airplane came along. The airplane was put under this law as a motorized vehicle and had to remain on the road. If a pilot made his plane leave the road (and fly), (s)he was punished under the law.

Wiley makes the point that we now have the internet and such copyright restrictions as were in place before the internet are outmoded and outdated. Just as the possibility for flight with the airplane was squashed by the law, Wiley states that the copyrighted textbooks and other materials invisibly “shackle” our actions.

The actions needed to be released via the internet (that is void of the restrictive copyright laws), according to Wiley, is for OER to be plentiful and educators to adopt OER. These actions, in turn, promote open pedagogy (that wouldn’t be possible without the availability of OER).

Even with all of the technology and opportunities available for OER to promote open pedagogy, however, Wiley fears that some educators may still not get into the air.

Simply adopting open educational resources will not make one’s pedagogy magically change to take advantage of the capabilities of the internet. Adding legal permission to technological capacity only creates possibilities – we must choose to actively take advantage of them. There is nothing about OER adoption that forces innovative teaching practices on educators. Sadly, many of the educators who choose OER end up driving them on the road, anyway.

David Wiley

#intro2opened

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A Pledge, a Badge, a Convening

Office of Educational Technology – ISKME – Licensed CC-BY 4.0

This is another blog post about badges, namely one badge. Lately, I’ve seen quite a few examples of badges, places that give badges, and reasons why badges should be given. In our digital era we can show our support of causes by “earning” the right to display badges. Badges can also provide digital records of professional achievements and activities. The frequency in which I see information about badges could be because I’ve been made aware of badges through the study of OER…so now I see or hear about them nearly everywhere I turn.

Today I saw an announcement about a forthcoming OER badge that interested me. I want that badge! Here’s the skinny on how to get one for yourself.

In a joint effort to continue to build awareness and implementation of OER, the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME) and the US. Department of Education (ED) announced a new #GoOpen pledge and a virtual convening surrounding OER. Upon taking the pledge, each person will be presented with a #GoOpen digital badge to display their support for OER and #GoOpen.

Here’s the details about the #GoOpen Pledge of Support from the #GoOpen website. There is one pledge for states or districts, and one for individual educators:

The Pledge for States or Districts

The pledge is intended for a State Educational Agency (SEA) or Local Educational Agency (LEA) and represents a public commitment to the principles inherent in open education, demonstrated through support for the use of open educational resources (OER) for their principals, teachers, learners, and other interested parties. The pledge is intended to endure beyond changes in personnel at the SEA or LEA, and organizations will have a chance to renew their commitment every 3 years.

The [SEA/LEA] commits to support the #GoOpen initiative, and as a member of the initiative, we pledge to support open education by:

  1. Sharing new opportunities for open education alongside knowledge and evidence about what works, in our communications to all interested parties;
  2. Emphasizing open education as a means for providing equitable access to high- quality, flexible, low- or no-cost teaching and learning materials in our policies;
  3. Supporting ways for educators to adopt and use OER and include students as beneficiaries, contributors, and co-creators of OER, in our practices; and
  4. Offering rigorous and engaging learning experiences that are inclusive, culturally responsive, and accessible to all learners, in our commitment to equity and continuous improvement in education.

The Pledge of Participation for Individuals

The Department of Education also offers the opportunities for individual educators to take a Pledge of Participation to demonstrate their commitment to grow open education as part of their own work. Educators, leaders, and interested parties will have a chance to renew their commitment every 3 years.

As a Participant in the #GoOpen initiative, I pledge to support open education by:

  1. Endorsing open education as a mechanism for providing equitable access to high- quality, adaptable, low- or no-cost teaching and learning materials;
  2. Adopting OER and open educational practice;
  3. Sharing knowledge and evidence about successes and challenges locally and nationally;
  4. Supporting others to adopt OER and open educational practice, including students; and,
  5. Supporting learning experiences that are inclusive, culturally responsive, and accessible to all learners, in my commitment to equity and continuous improvement in education.

Invitation to the #GoOpen Convening

When: December 10, 2021, 11-2:30 Eastern Time
Where: Virtual via Zoom, details and registration forthcoming
Cost: Free of charge

The convening is to support educators in collectively working to expand access to high-quality open educational resources, toward scaling continuous improvement in education locally and nationally.

This special one-day event will feature a keynote speaker, a participatory working group activity, and Q&A. The event will span important open education topics, including diversity, equity, inclusion, problem solving within the classroom, and OER implementation and scaling.

Office of Educational Technology – ISKME – Licensed CC-BY 4.0

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The Ultimate Open Educational Resource

I didn’t know I had badges coming. I didn’t know I had even earned any. All I can remember is that I gave a few dollars here and there because Jimmy had asked me to donate.

This morning Jimmy sent me an email with these badges and another request to donate. The subject line was catchy: “We’ve had enough.” He went on to more or less explain what he meant by the subject line. He said he and his team were tired of the pressure they constantly receive to “compromise” the “neutrality” of Wikipedia’s content by selling ads. They also don’t like it when it’s suggested they capture and monetize users’ personal data.

Having made those statements, Jimmy went on with the pitch: “We simply ask loyal readers like you for a helping hand. Not often, but it works! So after 20 years of saying no, I can still say that you are our best option.”

“Loyal” readers! Well, he got me there. I love Wikipedia. And I loved it even before I started learning about Open Educational Resources (OER). It just felt right to have a space without advertisements (except Jimmy’s occasional “ask” that gets unobtrusively posted in the top corner of a wiki page). I liked that I had the power to edit when I felt something wasn’t right (and I have exercised that right a handful of times through the years).

Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia founder
Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia Founder

In his email, Jimmy asks us to give what we can. He then shares that “only 2% of our readers give, but we manage to serve hundreds of millions of people per month.” He then asks us to “imagine if everyone gave.”

Jimmy believes we could “transform the way knowledge is shared online” if everyone who uses Wikipedia could donate a few dollars. “We rely on our readers to become our donors, and it’s worked for 20 years,” confirms Jimmy. “This year, please consider making another donation to protect and sustain Wikipedia.”

All of us can help Jimmy out and give a few dollars to support this ultimate OER. I did. You may even get a badge in the mail from Jimmy!

————————————————————————

FOR FURTHER READING: Wikipedia is called “the ultimate open education resource” in a blog post by Cassidy Villeneuve who writes for https://wikiedu.org/. She makes Jimmy’s case for Wikipedia by stating:

Wikipedia is one of the most important resources for public education in the world. It’s free, openly licensed, and available to anyone who has internet access worldwide. No ads, no collecting or selling of personal data, and no fake news.

#intro2opened

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Quick Synopsis of OER Valuation Study

I like that this article provided some compelling reasons to adopt OER at institutions of learning. I put together this short video presentation that shows the reasons.

Here is the conclusion of the study:

This research suggests OER is an equity strategy for higher education: providing all students with access to course materials on the first day of class serves to level the academic playing field in course settings.

While additional disaggregated research is needed in a variety of postsecondary contexts such as community college, HBCU, and other higher education settings to increase the generalizability of this notion, this study provides an empirical foundation on which to begin to change the advocacy narrative supporting OER.

A new opportunity appears to be present for institutions in higher education to consider how to leverage OER to address completion, quality, and affordability challenges, especially those institutions that have higher percentages of Pell eligible, underserved, and/or part-time students than the institution presented in this study.

#intro2opened

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Quick Summary of John Hilton III’s article that reviews OER resources and textbook choices

I really liked the ease of reading this study by John Hilton III. I made a quick summary to help me better understand his methods and conclusions. I realize that this research was conducted several years ago and is now surpassed by new research, but it was good to see the review of the studies that were made at the beginnings of the wider use of OER.

https://spark.adobe.com/page/2nhUIOUstzotI/

Reference:
Hilton, J. Open educational resources and college textbook choices: a review of research on efficacy and perceptions. Education Tech Research Dev 64, 573–590 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-016-9434-9

#intro2opened

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Let’s Get to 7!

In his blog post titled S3: A Holistic Framework for Evaluating the Impact of Educational Innovations (Including OER), David Wiley sums up and details his thoughts into an evaluation framework with three components: success, scale and savings.

He describes how he defines and measures each of these components. It took me a couple of close readings to understand what he is trying to do with these components. I decided it was first important to understand how components of the S3 framework work together. The above short presentation gives a hint.

#intro2opened