OEGlobal 2024

Through a unique collaboration between higher education institutions and sectors, two community colleges (College of the Canyons in California and Maricopa Community Colleges in Arizona) joined forces with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a research-focused university, to learn what happens when community college faculty adopt and adapt open educational resources (OER) from MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW). Community colleges provide access to high-quality post-secondary education for students across socioeconomic statuses (Budwig, 2022) and they democratize education by advancing open practices (Tesh, 2022). MIT has long-shared OER at scale through OCW but has traditionally not collaborated with community colleges.

Guided by the principle that “Open is Everyone’s Business,” we intentionally crossed institutions, sectors, student communities, and geographic locations to support community college faculty in discovering, using, and reflecting on teaching with OER. In this presentation we will offer a working model to help develop similar cross-institutional collaborations that will support teaching and learning with OER as a shared responsibility for all stakeholders within the open ecosystem.

In this 60-minute panel discussion, leaders from each institution will share insights, learnings, and reflections from this Alfred P. Sloan Foundation grant-funded collaboration that concluded in June 2024. Topics will include: the benefits of collaborative goal-setting; the impact of providing structure such as professional development, reflective practice opportunities, curated OER discovery assistance, and in-person community building; and addressing assumptions about prestige and status.

The panelists will discuss how these learnings point to three tenets of a working model for cross-sectional institutional open collaborations, including: the importance of 1) identifying institutions with which to collaborate that have complementary strengths; 2) communicating respect for stakeholders via programmatic infrastructure; and 3) making space for transparent conversations about how institutionalized stigmas and historical oppression impact the collaboration. These conversations are important because they allow stakeholders to challenge and dismantle prevailing ideologies that perpetuate inequities in higher education.

Throughout the panel discussion, participants will be encouraged to help the panelists expand on the model they are developing for cross-institutional open collaborations by contributing nuances to the tenets discussed and adding others from different perspectives that the panelists have omitted from their working model. We see attendees’ contributions as critical to our work because we cannot build a model for cross-institutional open collaborations alone. It takes a community. Together, we can forge an innovative and adaptable model that draws on the strengths of many to advance equity for all.



Included in [Session 2C]: First Nations, Equity

References
Budwig, N. (2022, Fall). A democratizing force: Eduardo J. Padrón on the transformative power of community colleges. Liberal Education. https://www.aacu.org/liberaleducation/articles/a-democratizing-force.

Tesh, G. (2022). Open educational resources in community colleges: Benefits and challenges. In E. Langran (Ed.), Proceedings of Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (pp. 1143-1148). San Diego, CA, United States: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved November 10, 2023 from https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/221134/.

Author Keywords
Cross-sector open collaborations, Cross-institutional open collaborations, Models for collaboration, Community college faculty, Open Educational Resources (OER), OER adaptation

First Nations voices and perspectives are few and far between within open materials in Australasia. Canada and the United States of America have led the way in this space, with little progress being made in our local region. Charles Darwin University (CDU) in the Northern Territory is wishing to make a difference in this field with the publication in 2024 of two open texts;'Engineering on Country' and 'A Yolnu Philosophy Reader' led by First Nations authors. The rationale, purpose and audiences relating to the creation of these texts will be outlined as will the unique benefits and roadblocks experienced in creating open texts featuring First Nations knowledge and experiences.

Tara Burton, the Open Education Librarian at CDU will discuss the support provided to the authors of the two texts by CDU Library and professional staff. She will unpack practical strategies to employ in collaboration with authors throughout the publication process. This will allow participants to be able to better assist their academics wishing to create open texts featuring First Nations content. Participants will leave the session with some theoretical knowledge and a takeaway mini toolkit with templates, tips and resources to implement in their open practice.

This lightning talk will provide participants with a greater awareness of how to approach the creation and support of First Nations open texts from the perspective of a smaller, remote university which caters for TAFE, higher education and research sectors. The First Nations open texts at CDU are designed to be used across all sectors of the university and beyond, as the engineering and Yolnu content can be used within industry and business in the Northern Territory, as well as within Australia and in other countries. Crocodiles, cyclones, laksas, the build-up and humidity are not the only things we wish to be known for in the Northern Territory, with the emerging representation of our First Nations voices in open texts presenting an exciting addition to this wonderful place.

Charles Darwin University believes in ‘honouring Australian First Nations knowledges and cultures’ and ‘fostering a culture of inclusion and belonging and valuing our diversity’ (Charles Darwin University, 2021-2026) as outlined in the University’s Strategic Plan which lends itself well to the creation of open materials in this space and the Conference theme of 'Open Is Everyone’s Business'. 30% of the Northern Territory’s population are First Nations peoples with 13% of CDU’s commencing Higher Education students identifying as Indigenous which is higher than the national average Indigenous population of 3%. These statistics highlight both the need and opportunity for CDU to be at the forefront of creating open materials aimed at this student cohort and in bringing First Nations content to the international stage in an accessible way.

CDU is committed as an open educational practitioner, creators and supporters, to ensuring that Australia’s indigenous voices are more widely represented in our open materials. We encourage you to join us in making sure 'Open Is Everyone’s Business' and in closing this important gap in open education.



Included in [Session 2C]: First Nations, Equity

References
Charles Darwin University. (2021-2026). Charles Darwin University Strategic Plan 2021-2026.

Kutay, C., Maher, G., Bertei, S., Boye, T., Rupa Deva, S., Hughes, M., Leigh, E. & McArdle, P. (2024). Engineering on Country. Charles Darwin University.

Wanambi, G., Hayashi, Y. & Christie, M. (2024). A Yolnu Philosophy Reader. Charles Darwin University.

Author Keywords
First Nations perspectives, Local Indigenous cultures and ways of knowing, Open educational practices, Open textbooks

This session examines the trajectory of Canadian federal OER advocacy over the past several years. Since 2001, Canadian OER advocates have developed a more systematic approach to national OER advocacy. This presentation reviews the developments with an aim to inform other attendees of approaches to advocacy and to share insights on how the Canadian situation has developed. Despite a history of work in open education, Canada’s lack of a national department of education creates a major barrier to federal involvement in OER.

Recognizing these challenges, successive steps have been taken to develop a coordinated approach to advocacy among national stakeholders in the Canadian context. The session begins with an examination of who these stakeholders are. The session then covers the work of the Canadian Association of Research Libraries to develop the Open Educational Resources (OER) National Strategy – Stratégie nationale en matière de ressources éducatives libres (REL) group. The presentation explores how advocacy priorities were identified by the National Advocacy Framework for Open Educational Resources in Canada (McNally & Ludbrook, 2023).

The Framework identified 27 advocacy proposals on six themes that were narrowed down to focus on three key areas - Indigenous OER, Francophone OER and OER infrastructure and policy. Building on the work of the Framework strategy document, the session then explores the three focused summits that were held on each key priority area - the OER Infrastructure and Policy Summit in Toronto 2022, the Francophone OER Summit in Ottawa 2023, and the Indigenous Knowledges and OER Summit: Exploring Indigenous Knowledges and Open Educational Resources in Vancouver 2024. Each of these summits, attended by different delegates, produced a series of different outcomes - from formal advocacy positions to problematizing entire areas of future OER advocacy in Canada.

The presentation concludes by examining how national advocacy has evolved since being informed by the summits. We will also report on each stage of the priorities, in terms of advocacy, outline some plans for future work and the focus on how we are strengthening the work needed. The presentation provides an important viewpoint into the interplay between stakeholders, a coordinating strategy document, and focused advocacy summits to develop and refine advocacy strategies. It also provides an update on this work to date in Canada.



Included in [Session 3B]: First Nations

References
McNally, M., Ludbrook, A., et al. (2023) A National Advocacy Framework for Open Educational Resources in Canada. https://www.carl-abrc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/A-National-Advocacy-Framework-for-Open-Educational-Resources-in-Canada.pdf

Author Keywords
Open education policies and strategies, Sustainability, Inclusion, diversity, equity, access, First Nations perspectives, Local Indigenous cultures and ways of knowing, Canada, open education

This presentation will share the results of an assessment of the capacity to support open educational practices (OEP) of the colleges, universities, and Indigenous institutes in Ontario, Canada.

This system-wide survey is the first application of the ISAT 2, an institutional self-assessment tool to assess capacity to support OEP in higher education. This multidimensional instrument builds on earlier research in British Columbia (Morgan et al., 2021) and the Netherlands (van Rossum & Schuwer, 2022) and assesses capacity and maturity related to: vision and implementation; partnerships, policies, and incentives; professional development; institutional supports; leadership and advocacy; and culture change. The ISAT2 is openly licensed and available in English and French.

This tool aids institutions in evaluating their current support for OEP and provides actionable strategies to enhance pedagogical practices and resources. By offering insights from our survey of public universities, colleges, and Indigenous institutes in Ontario, we will highlight how ISAT2 can support institutions in leveraging OEP to widen equitable access and democratize the learning process in service of societal transformation.



Included in [Session 3B]: First Nations

References
Morgan, T., Childs, E., Hendricks, C., Harrison, M., DeVries, I., & Jhangiani, R. S. (2021). How are we doing with open education practice initiatives? Applying an institutional self-assessment tool in five higher education institutions. The International Review of Open and Distributed Learning, 22(4), 125-140. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v22i4.5745

van Rossum, L. & Schuwer, R. (2022). Quickscan open educational practices. https://www.versnellingsplan.nl/en/Kennisbank/quickscan-open-educational-practices/

Author Keywords
Open educational practices, Open educational resources, Open education policies and strategies, Higher education

At OE Global 2023, Indigenous ways of knowing and being were a fundamental component of the conference design and organization. Indigenous and non-Indigenous organizers established a collaborative governance approach to foster partnership and mutual guidance throughout the planning and execution stages.

In this session, the four conference program co-chairs will perform métissage to recount the design and implementation of, and personal experiences with, a conference program that reflected the concept of two-eyed seeing, navigating Indigenous and non-Indigenous worldviews. We will explore the incompatibility and compatibility of Indigenous ways of knowing with the ontological and epistemological assumptions embedded into open education. A fundamental question we examine is how the braiding of conference stories can unearth the interplay of Indigenous (nêhiyawîhcikêwin Plains Cree) ways of knowing with the values and practices of open education.

As a storytelling research method, métissage provides an opportunity to use an arts-based approach to evoke, provoke, and possibly unsettle the privileged notions of knowledge and knowledge sharing embedded into open education. Métissage draws from life writing, storytelling, theater, and figuratively, from the art of braiding (Chambers et al, 2008). This research performance will use the metaphor of braiding to weave together the conference program co-chairs' short narratives as they respond to specific prompts:

1. Why did the metaphor of braiding matter to the conference experience?

2. How did you experience relationality or what did you think it was and what do you think it is now?

3. Why does braiding open education with Indigenous ways of knowing matter?

4. How can the richness of Indigenous knowledge face the challenge of, and domination of western knowledge systems and practices?).

Through this narrative and arts approach, truths and awareness of the self and knowledge of others may be conveyed; self/other knowledge is a hallmark of arts-based research (Gerber et al, 2012 as cited by Leavey, 2017).

This session draws upon open education practices (Cronin, 2017) and explores their relation to the Seven Sacred Teachings (Norquest, 2017). The seven sacred teachings cannot be swiftly summarized. The areas they cover include Peyak: Respect, Nîso: Courage, Nisto: Truth, Newo: Honesty, Nîyânan: Wisdom, Nikotwâsik: Love, and Tepakohp: Humility.

There are significant differences between the axiological, ontological, and epistemological characteristics of Indigenous Ways of Knowing and open education but there are also areas of overlap. “The Cree natural law concept of wahkôhtowin shows us that there is no ‘us and them.’ All human beings are part of the same family; we are all interconnected.” (Norquest, 2017, p. 10). It is this interconnection among the two framings that underlies this research project and our methodological approach of métissage. Through the metaphor of braiding, stories reflective of the seven sacred teachings and of open education practices will work individually and collectively to reveal the interconnections, the gaps, and the need to listen closely to these braided stories.



Included in [Session 3B]: First Nations

References
Bishop, K., Etmanski, C., Beth Page, M., Dominguez, B. & Heykoop, C. (2019). Narrative métissage as an innovative engagement practice. Engage Scholar Journal, 5(2), 1-17.

Cronin, C. (2017). Openness and praxis: Exploring the use of open educational practices in higher education. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 18(5). https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v18i5.3096

Leavey, P. (2017). Research design: quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, arts-based, and community-based participatory research approaches. Guilford.

Norquest College. (2017). Wahkôhtowin we are all related: Norquest College Indigenization strategy 2017. https://www.norquest.ca/NorquestCollege/media/pdf/about/publications-and-reports/norquest-college-indigenization-strategy.pdf

Author Keywords
First Nations perspectives, métissage, Local Indigenous cultures and ways of knowing, Open educational practices, Inclusion diversity equity and access