The presentation will be a 10-minute video with slides, images, and narrative/audio. In our video, we will explore our own journeys as users and developers of open educational resources. Examples of past and potential future renewable assignments and tools used for implementation will be included.
We will begin our session with a look of where we began: two members of the original OpenEd Fellows cohort (2015-16) who had limited experience with OER but were excited about learning more and meeting others who had a similar passion. Along the way, we were exposed to the issues, problems, and the status of open education and started thinking as an instructional designer and instructor, what can we do? Since meeting at OpenEd, we have collaborated on multiple conference presentations, open pedagogy projects, and a manuscript (published in 2019).
Our interest started with a simple change for easing financial hardship due to the textbook cost issue—adopt an open textbook. Over time, we moved to implementing open pedagogy by changing disposable assignments to renewable/non-disposable assignments. Each semester we tried to improve the experiences for both teaching and learning. Along the way, we did a few pieces of research that helped us have a better understanding of students’ experience and preferences regarding the textbook selection and non-disposable assignments. What was not reported in our findings about textbook selection was our own growth as an instructor and instructional designer. In our session, we will focus on the energy it took to create, implement, assess, and redesign the assignments we created, the collaboration needed between the two of us to make this work, and suggestions and recommendations based on what worked and what didn’t.
Our goal is to help others by being transparent with our own journeys. Our story is particularly relevant to this year’s conference theme, as we see our collaboration as an intersection between multiple dimensions of ourselves: we are in two different roles (instructor and instructional designer) at very different institutions half-way across the United States.
We will discuss our past collaborations--including celebrations and challenges--and how we will move forward in a time of increased emphasis on remote/online learning. This evolution will be crucial both as individuals and as a field, as we continue to move forward with rapid pedagogical shifts and changes during an unprecedented time.
Learning Outcomes: After this session, attendees will have a better grasp of and appreciation for the effects one's journey has on developing and using open materials and assignments. Understanding our journeys are key to understanding our pasts—and futures—as champions and users of OER. By opening up and examining our experiences of growth and setbacks thus far, we are more self-aware and can imagine how we might evolve as individuals and a community in the open education field.
