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