Your Name and Title:
Amee Evans Godwin, VP, Research & Development
Library, School, or Organization Name:
ISKME / OER Commons Digital Public Digital Library
Co-Presenter Name(s):
Cynthia Jimes, Ph.D., Director of Research and Learning, ISKME
Kelsey Smith, Open Educational Resources Librarian, West Hills College Lemoore
Area of the World from Which You Will Present:
CA, US
Language in Which You Will Present:
English
Target Audience(s):
Academic Librarians
Faculty
Campus Administrators
OER and Equity Leaders
Instructional Designers
Courseware Decision-makers at all levels
Short Session Description (one line):
The session will present two research-based guidebooks that support the use of OER in online learning in the face of the pandemic and beyond, and offer entry points for a collaborative long-term vision for faculty, librarians, learners, and college leaders that aligns OER to diversity, equity and inclusion practices.
Full Session Description (as long as you would like):
Join us for a presentation and discussion exploring research findings and guidebooks created by ISKME, as part of a project in partnership with the Michelson 20MM Foundation, on how CA community colleges (CCC) are utilizing open educational resources (OER) to support high quality online learning experiences in response to campus and library closures due to the pandemic. This project’s two guidebooks offer practical strategies for using OER, from course building through an equity lens, to policy environments needed to foster increased OER use for online learning.
Additionally, our focus is on the OER librarian role, specifically at West Hills College Lemoore, which in 2020, was awarded a $2M grant from The U.S. Department of Education to further enhance their OER efforts in partnership with the Equitable Change in Hispanic Serving Institutions Open Educational Resources (CC ECHO) program. The grant intends to help WHCL to develop culturally relevant OER and training materials built into 20 courses that aim to save students over $2M in textbook costs by the end of 2023.
Due to COVID-19, there has been an urgent need for digital course materials to fill the gaps left by publishers’ textbooks, which are often not available as e-versions, as well as due to library closures and the resulting lack of access to course reserve materials. To address these challenges, community colleges leaders, librarians, and faculty are turning to OER—including open textbooks and ancillary resources—to build out their online course content. Through open licensing that allows faculty to adapt OER and librarians to curate openly licensed digital content, CCC have been finding the flexibility needed for emergency remote courses, and for accessible and equitable online learning in the long term. In addition, while revising their course materials, faculty and librarians can collaboratively address requirements for culturally relevant, engaging materials for their learners in the online setting.
Outcomes for participants from this session include increased understanding of:
- The role that Open Educational Resources (OER) and OER librarians and campus champions play in supporting high quality online learning experiences for varied learners, and how one college is approaching their OER initiative.
- Practice and policy supports needed due to the COVID crisis and beyond, to enable the use of OER for equitable online learning
- Tools and resources to foster the use of OER for online teaching and learning at their own institutions.
Websites / URLs Associated with Your Session:
- Faculty Guide: OER & Online Learning: Faculty Quick Start (Google Doc Version); OER & Online Learning: Faculty Quick Start Guide (Downloadable PDF Version)
- Admin Guide: OER & Online Learning: Administrator Quick-Start Guide (Google Doc Version); OER & Online Learning: Administrator Quick-Start Guide (Downloadable PDF Version)
- WHCL News release: https://www.westhillscollege.com/news/posts/whcl-oer-grant-jan-2021.php
- ISKME: http://www.iskme.org
- OER Commons CCC Hub: https://www.oercommons.org/hubs/ccc
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