OEGlobal 2024

In an academic institution, a strong policy is the foundation that guides operations, mirroring and harmonizing with the strategic direction of the university. At Queensland University of Technology (QUT), an Open Educational Resources (OER) policy was endorsed in 2016, making it one of the first OER policies implemented in an Australian university. Jointly developed by QUT’s Learning and Teaching Unit and the Library, the purpose of the policy is to provide clear direction to the University’s staff and students with relation to the adoption, adaptation, or creation of OERs.

The initial version of the policy supported the development of open educational resources, including some open textbooks. The Library and Learning and Teaching Unit were natural partners in this venture: the Library would support staff to find suitable resources; and the Learning and Teaching Unit would provide technical, curriculum and platform support, as well as strategic consideration. In Semester 2, 2020 the University launched the Open Textbooks with Pressbooks Pilot with the aim of understanding if the Pressbooks publishing platform was fit for purpose in supporting the adoption, adaptation and creation of open textbooks for positive academic and student outcomes.

This pilot, delivered by the Library and the Learning and Teaching Unit, was deemed successful and among the recommendations, Pressbooks is now the endorsed platform for OER creation and adaption at QUT; and the policy received further refinement and changes reflected in the wide range of perspectives and growing expertise.

A strong policy is often the linchpin that ensures consistency, fairness, and accountability in decision-making processes within an academic institution. The QUT OER policy serves as a roadmap, outlining clear expectations, responsibilities and standards for all stakeholders, including faculty, staff, and administrators.

While use and creation of OERs at QUT was slow at first, we appear to be beginning to turn the corner. Momentum is definitely growing at QUT to adopt, adapt, and create open textbooks. Cultural and organisational change can be a gradual process, even when supported by a strong policy. We have found that advocacy efforts and implementation strategies must be aligned to the requirements of teaching staff and the resources available for providing training and support within the institution. It's crucial to minimize barriers to facilitate smooth progress.

This lightning talk focuses on the importance of partnerships in supporting the development of a robust OER policy. In 2024, QUT’s OER policy will be updated again to reflect emerging global practices.



Included in [Session 2D]: Practice and Policy in OE

Author Keywords
open education resources, policy development, partnerships, collaboration

317 words In March 2022, RMIT University, led by the Library, embarked on a two-year project to develop an Open Scholarship Policy. A significant aspect of the project was to establish principles that drew together both open research and open education (OE), reflecting the reality of our academics and higher degree by research candidates who engage in both teaching and research. Significantly, the Policy project team were determined to articulate RMIT’s ambitions about engaging with open educational practices, including open pedagogy and the use and creation of open educational resources such as open textbooks. The outcome of this project is a Policy that provides a framework for the entire RMIT community – students, academics and everyone who supports teaching, learning and research – to create and disseminate knowledge openly and collegially.

This lightning talk will focus on the key processes involved in successfully developing an institutional policy that promotes OE endeavors. A supplementary openly-licensed OE policy project management toolkit will be provided.

The structure of the talk will include a snapshot of the key stages of the project, accompanies by three slides:

Beginning: alignment with RMIT’s new Education Plan; defining open scholarship to include OE and open research; an environmental scan of open scholarship policies in Australia, New Zealand and internationally; and relationship building with OE allies and stakeholders. (4 minutes)

Middle: three core consultative initiatives to invite perspectives, expertise, and feedback from senior staff from university strategic areas including Indigenous Education, Commercialisation and IP, Legal and Strategic Operations, ITS and Procurement, Research and Innovation, Student Equity and Inclusion, and College and School leaders; and the co-design of Policy principles with members of this community. (4 minutes)

Implementation: socialisation of OE with RMIT’s academic, research, teaching and professional communities using University communication channels, outreach programs and targeted initiatives including open textbook publishing. (2 minutes)

Questions: This will include an invitation by the presenter to take questions to follow up at a later time. (5 minutes)



Included in [Session 2D]: Practice and Policy in OE

Author Keywords
open education policies and strategies, open educational practices, open textbooks

For OEGlobal 2024 I've been facilitating a series of asynchronous online Reimagining Open At The Crossroads activities in the OEGlobal 2024 Interaction Zone. Activities kicked off October 14, 2024 with an Introduction and an activity called Reimagining Open At The Crossroads Through Music followed by three other weekly activities. All activities have been asynchronous and open to everyone to participate in whether attending the OEGlobal 2024 conference in-person or not. 

These activities carry forward the work of Catherine Cronin and Laura Czerniewicz who gave a joint keynote entitled “The Future isn’t what it used to be: Open Education at a Crossroads” at the March ALT OER 2024 conference in Ireland. Their keynote situated open education at a crossroads in a polycrisis world and issued a call for the open education community to take action to move forward from that crossroads. It’s a bit unusual to carry forward a call to action from one conference to another and I gratefully acknowledge Catherine and Laura’s permission and encouragement for me to do so. 

In Brisbane I'm facilitating in-person the fourth Reimagining Open at the Crossroads activity called Pathways and Connections.

This activity invites you to create a visual representation of your personal open education path forward from this crossroads in time. Plurality of paths are welcome. A template using the Brisbane River in Australia will be provided for you to imagine your open education path as a river with tributaries. 

This activity invites you to:

• identify your main pathway and places along it. Your main path can be based on your current open education work or on a reimagining of open education you've been contemplating. 

• create tributaries that connect with and feed into your main path. Tributaries represent other practices you believe can enhance your main pathway. Tributaries could be emergent trends affecting open education such as AI, open pedagogy, and the notion of digital public goods. Tributaries could connect other forms of open to your open education path e.g. open science, open access, open infrastructure, open data, open culture. Tributaries could be people or events that will inform your path going forward.

• Explore and integrate music, What if?, and Make Claims outputs from Reimagining Open At The Crossroads activities 1, 2, and 3 into your pathway.

The activity concludes with opportunities to share and discuss pathways along with finding others pursuing similar pathways you can connect with. This in person sharing intentionally aims to braid your work with others.

Come and invent your future in open education.


Included in [Session 2D]: Practice and Policy in OE

References
Cronin C., Czerniewicz L. ALT OER 2024 https://altc.alt.ac.uk/blog/2024/03/oer24-the-future-isnt-what-it-used-to-be/

Author Keywords
reimagining open, call to action, music, what if?, make claims, personal pathways

Access to information is a significant pathway to knowledge and open science. Therefore, it is hugely important to ensure such access is as widespread as possible. If we accept that in contemporary societies, knowledge dissemination primarily happens through digital media, it follows that access to knowledge must be a significant means of accessing and exercising power. Therefore, improving access to information resources equips people with relevant means towards the acquisition of knowledge and such access can happen through open science (Koutras 2023).

The Australian Government has been actively involved in the process of updating its copyright laws and regulations to align them with the evolving demands of the digital era (Cohen et al. 2015). It has undertaken several consultations and evaluations pertaining to diverse facets of the copyright system, including fair dealing, orphan works, internet infringement, and digital platforms. In addition, the Australian government has committed to examining the possible consequences of open access on the research industry in Australia and its implications for the public interest (Lacey, Coates, and Herington 2020). It has been acknowledged the pros of open access in terms of augmenting the prominence, calibre, and influence of Australian research, as well as promoting innovation, cooperation, and information dissemination (Chubb and Reed 2018).

The difficulties and complexities associated with the implementation of open access policies and practices have also been recognised. These problems include the need to balance the interests of many stakeholders, ensure compliance and sustainability, and align with international standards and norms (Aufderheide and Jaszi 2018). It should be noted that the Australian government has also shown strong support for open access initiatives, including the establishment of the National Research Infrastructure Roadmap, the development of the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research, endorsement of the FAIR Data Principles, participation in the Research Data Alliance, and support for the Australasian Open Access Strategy Group (Carroll et al. 2020).

Recent copyright reforms and public consultations reflect the government's commitment to creating a modern and flexible copyright system that promotes open access to Australian research while respecting the rights of authors, publishers, and the public (Mons 2018). These efforts include exploring fair dealing exceptions for research and education, statutory licencing schemes for orphan works, addressing digital platforms' impact on copyrighted content, and aligning Australian open access policies with international standards (Minister for Communications 2022).



Included in [Session 2D]: Practice and Policy in OE

Author Keywords
open access, governance, copyright, intellectual property

Although open education is embraced within the international higher education sector, it is still an emerging practice in Australia. Over the last decade, a growing number of studies have started to explore open education in Australia. However, many of these studies are limited either by their focus on a specific institutional context or on open educational resources which represent only one part of open educational practice (OEP) more broadly. Australia’s higher education sector currently has a limited evidence base to inform the adoption of OEP. This has serious implications for how well Australian higher education – in which the nation invests $116.4 billion in public funds per year – can achieve the Australian Government’s commitment for quality, accessibility, affordability and sustainability for the nation’s higher education sector as articulated in the University Accord.

This presentation outlines preliminary findings from a phenomenographic study aimed at exploring Australian academics experiences of OEP. Phenomenography is a qualitative, interpretive and descriptive approach to research that explores the different ways in which people experience various phenomena and situations in the world around them. In this study, academics employed in Australian universities were invited to participate in a semi-structured interview. The academics interviewed came from various disciplines, universities, and academic levels. They had differing years of experience as academics, and varying levels of familiarity with OEP.

This research can enhance open educational culture and practice in Australian higher education. By revealing varying levels of adoption and challenges, the study informs policy development, professional programs, and promotes equity and collaboration. Ultimately, these insights can improve teaching practices and student outcomes. Addressing the conference theme "Open is Everyone’s Business," the study highlights diverse educator engagement with OEP, showing that fostering a culture of openness requires collective effort and benefits the entire academic community.



Included in [Session 3E]: Practice and Policy in OE

Author Keywords
Open educational practices, Open educational practitioner, Lived experiences, Phenomenography

As OER are increasingly in use across higher education, access to formal publications and research focused on OER and OEP become imperative. Beyond the critical importance of backing our educational choices with evidence, asking imperative questions about the benefits of OER to aid decision-makers is key to furthering the cause across education internationally. During this session, we will explore an open-access web-based archive of publications specifically developed to support practitioners, decision-makers, and researchers alike as they implement, investigate, and learn more about open resources and pedagogies in education. This work is rooted in a large-scale research study focused on advancing the conversation on OER beyond affordability, and having OER literature collected in (and easily accessible through) an online database has allowed us to discover the bigger picture behind OER scholarship, and how trends have shifted over time.

This session will take you on the journey of OER as told through trends in the literature, from an engaging demo where participants will be some of the first to explore the database to defining what we seem to actually know (and don’t know) about OER to–perhaps the most critical piece of all–asking what we can do to keep this important focus on open resources and practices moving forward in education internationally.

In this archive of OER/OEP-focused publications, we have collected and cited over a thousand formal publications whose main focus is OER or OEP, and further coded themes and categories illustrating the landscape of literature . The database includes a variety of publication types, from peer-reviewed journal articles to books and book chapters to reports from relevant organizations. All publications were qualitatively coded by a team of researchers and organized into main categories (OER, OEP), key subgroups detailing the type of information included in the publication (from descriptive to several types of empirical research), and inherent themes across the categories and subgroups highlighting areas of interest within the literature as well as clear gaps in what we know about open practices and resources in education (e.g., student outcomes, student perceptions, faculty perceptions, affordability, policy). This coding scheme also aids users in seeking out exactly what they need from hundreds of publications.We will share the trends we unearthed, data visualizations, and key examples of OER/OEP publications in this presentation. Participants will also have the opportunity to offer feedback on this emerging tool via an anonymous survey as we continue to expand and develop this work. Overall, we seek to support practitioners, researchers, and decision-makers as they identify and use scholarly literature when implementing and arguing for the use of OER at their institutions, thus practicing the science of teaching and learning.



Included in [Session 3E]: Practice and Policy in OE

Author Keywords
Research database, Repository, Scholarly Landscape

Over the last three decades, open educational practices have emerged as a field of both practice and research. In the language of this year’s theme, Open is Everyone’s Business, and business is booming. This boom has spurred institutionalization through myriad published papers, specialized journals, even dedicated classes and courses of study. But this institutionalization raises many questions, especially in regards to course offerings: are there regular courses offered in open educational practices, and if so, where are they taught and what do they include? Are courses on open education the purview of dedicated departments or centres, into transdisciplinary programs like Digital Humanities, or housed under the umbrella of education departments? To what extent are courses in open education inclusive of diverse perspectives and ways of knowing? Are courses on open educational practices taught using open educational practices? To answer these questions, I’ll conduct bibliographic and curricular analyses. I’ll construct a database (that will be shared openly) of courses by searching college catalogs, starting with those listed in Boston College’s Worldwide Higher Education Inventory (“Worldwide Higher Education Inventory), and US News’ list of top education programs in the US (“Best Universities”) as well as the English-speaking institutions on US News’ list of global universities (“Top Education”) and open universities such as the UK’s Open University and Canada’s Athabasca University. To cast the widest possible net, I will add the institutions of leading scholars (drawn from those who have keynoted open education conferences and/or publish frequently in open education journals) and emerging scholars (drawn from the members of the Global OER Graduate Network). Finally, I will email the initial database to multiple list-servs that focus on open education to request information on any institutions and courses of which their members are aware.

Once the list is assembled, I will search each institutions’ course catalogs to find any courses that have the search terms “open education,” “open educational resources,” “OER,” “open pedagogy,” and/or “open educational practices” in the title or course description to find out which institutions are offering courses, in what departments, as part of which degrees, and whether the courses are regular course offerings or special topics courses. Course syllabi and degree maps/courses of study that focus on open education will be requested from the instructors of the identified courses for content analysis to identify what topics are covered, what readings/materials are assigned, and what these courses say about the current state of the field of open education. Mapping where and how courses in open education are offered as well as what topics and readings these courses include, will provide insight as to what the field of research in open education truly is at this moment in time.

This proposal overlaps several of the possible proposal areas: *Open practitioners, identity, and space in education *Open data *Open educational practices, including open assessment *Inclusion, diversity, equity, and access to Open Education Resources (OER) and Open Education Practices (OEP)



Included in [Session 3E]: Practice and Policy in OE

References
“Best Universities in the US for Education Degrees 2024.” 2023. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/best-universities/best-universities-us-education-degrees.

“Top Education and Educational Research Schools in the World - US News Education.” n.d. Accessed December 13, 2023. https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/education-educational-research.

“Worldwide Higher Education Inventory - Lynch School of Education and Human Development - Boston College.” https://www.bc.edu/content/bc-web/schools/lynch-school/sites/cihe/research-resources/worldwide-higher-education-inventory.html.

Author Keywords
open educational practices, open practitioners, open curriculum, open syllabi

The focus of our presentation will be on the interdepartmental collaboration in creating an Open Educational Resource (textbook) for business students at IBS University (Papua New Guinea), and the stages of the design, development and publishing process. Background context: SCU and IBSU have been in educational partnership for over 20 years. SCU’s move to the Southern Cross model of delivery (the shorter, more focused unit structure, delivered over six weeks) necessitated redesign of the existing, co-delivered, business units for IBSU students. Whereas open educational resources have been present in education for over four decades, it is over the last 10 years that they have gained momentum in the tertiary sector as “a powerful tool for reducing inequalities of educational opportunity and promoting innovative strategies to improve educational problems” (Bliss and Smith, 2017, pp. 9-10). This point of view informed our decision to design and develop an Open Educational Resource (textbook) for SCU/IBSU students in Port Moresby. In December 2023, Library Services, Centre for Teaching and Learning, and Business School academics (from Australia and Papua New Guinea) started a working group with the goal to design and develop an OER textbook for the unit Introduction to the Business Law of Papua New Guinea. The group had regular meetings every fortnight, and responsibilities were: academics were responsible for writing the content, Centre for Teaching and Learning for educational/learning design, and Library Services for administrative and publishing process. We made every attempt in the design stage to place the focus on the Papua New Guinea students’ point of view; our design was informed by the teaching experiences of academics from SCU/IBSU, the students’ feedback on their learning experiences in previous deliveries of the unit, and our visit ISB University. This was achieved through regular (fortnightly) discussions on specificities of the educational environment in PNG and collaborative analysis of students’ feedback form. All decisions in this stage were guided by student-centred design and the Universal Design principles to maximise usability for a wide variety of individuals. In the writing stage, academics produced the content and suggested the corresponding activities. Activities were designed and collectively evaluated for their usefulness and friendliness of use (with student engagement in mind). The development stage included bringing in the digital design expert to consult on story lines (for proposed animations) and a colleague from PNG to advise on images and interpretation of the visuals. The end result is an OER textbook that is easy to use by students, easily scalable, and enhances the unit content and increases student engagement and interaction with the learning material. NB: We expect to have the textbook ‘published’ in July, so we will be able to show it to the audience.



Included in [Session 3E]: Practice and Policy in OE

References
Bliss, T J and Smith, M. 2017. A Brief History of Open Educational Resources. In: Jhangiani, R S and Biswas-Diener, R. (eds.) Open: The Philosophy and Practices that are Revolutionizing Education and Science. Pp. 9–27. London: Ubiquity Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/bbc.b. License: CC-BY 4.0
Liu, C., & Elms, P. (2019). Animating student engagement : The impacts of cartoon instructional videos on learning experience. Research in learning technology, 27, 1-31. https://doi.org/10.25304/rlt.v27.2124

Author Keywords
inclusion diversity equity and access, open access publishing, open educational practices, open textbook, social justice

Recent research has revealed the "Global Collaborator Mindset" (GCM) (Lindsay & Redmond, 2022) as critical for educators to develop online global collaborative teaching abilities. The GCM comprises four key attributes: Connection, Openness, Innovation and Autonomy. This presentation focuses on the Openness attribute and its importance for globally collaborative and open educational practices aligning with the core idea that "open is everyone's business." While technology provides access to networks, cultivating an open mindset serves as the fundamental enabler for educators to fully engage in open global collaboration and radically transform pedagogies beyond conventional classroom-based teaching paradigms. The Openness attribute challenges assumptions that online connectivity alone fosters open educational practices. Study findings indicate educators require developing this open perspective, coupled with specific skillsets, to become truly capable open global collaborators.

Openness as a mindset can be explicitly defined, intentionally cultivated, and applied through iterative learning experiences over time. It represents the critical disposition explaining why certain educators willingly embrace and effectively implement radically open and collaborative pedagogical approaches. As engagement with the Openness mindset deepens through practice, this attribute becomes further ingrained within educators' professional identities as open practitioners.

Central to the Openness mindset is believing in the inherent value of transparency, openly contributing ideas, and collaboratively co-creating new knowledge together with others across boundaries and within "flattened" learning environments that transcend traditional classroom walls. Openness involves prioritising the collaborative process itself as the core purpose of teaching and learning - moving beyond one-way content delivery to continual, inclusive knowledge-building with diverse global audiences.

Key aspects and applications of the Openness mindset include: leveraging digital technologies to create, share resources openly and fluidly online; redesigning teaching approaches around new student-driven, participatory pedagogies based on the belief that education fundamentally expands beyond mastering set content; adopting an "anytime, anywhere" stance where collaborative co-learning happens continually across contexts; intentionally deconstructing traditional instructor-student hierarchies to position all as co-learners collaboratively building understanding together; integrating new radically open practices into learning environments; and cultivating empathy, receptivity and deep respect for diverse cultural perspectives and ways of knowing.

The Openness mindset provides an essential conceptual model for transforming what it means to teach and learn in the digital age - nurturing the open dispositions required to embrace globally collaborative, networked educational practices. Specific open concepts crucial for "everyone's business" include:

• Mindset - The core beliefs, perspectives and dispositions that underpin openness as an educational philosophy and enable open pedagogical practices.
• Collaboration - The process of openly sharing ideas, resources and collectively co-creating new knowledge together with others across contexts.
• Flat Learning - Deconstructing traditional hierarchies and power structures so that everyone has an equal opportunity to engage as open co-learners.
• Openness - A holistic approach embracing radically transparent, collaborative pedagogies focused on learning as an inclusive, continual process of open knowledge construction. Cultivating an open participatory mindset oriented around collaboration and flat, inclusive co-learning is everyone's business - essential for transforming teaching into an open educational practice fostering global connectedness for our modern, networked world.

Included in [Session 3E]: Practice and Policy in OE

References
Lindsay, J. & Redmond, P. (2022). Online collaborative learning starts with the global collaborator mindset. Educational Studies. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03055698.2022.2133957

Author Keywords
Mindset, Collaboration, Flat Learning, Openness

The open education (OE) movement and scholarly literature, including UNESCO's (2019) Recommendation on OER, make frequent reference to the importance of developing supportive policy environments to allow OER and other open practices to thrive. In the higher education (HE) context, much of the policy needs to be made at the institutional level, but is this happening?

This presentation will report findings from a doctoral study investigating the relationship between OE and related policies, at the institutional level in HE. The study aims to discover in what ways open educational practices (OEP) are understood, supported or enabled in institutional policy - therefore, the concepts of both OE and policy are considered in a wide sense. OE can be described as a wide umbrella term, which can potentially refer to many practices across formal, informal and non-formal education (Weller et al., 2018). ‘Institutional policy’ is considered to include documented policies, strategies, regulations or guidelines, but also, more informally, usual courses of action, presence of expertise, infrastructure, or funding to support relevant activities (Atenas et al, 2020).

This study is particularly focused on the intentions and effects of institutional policies, in higher education, on the following areas of practice in particular: · use, creation, sharing and adaptation of OER - for example, open textbooks, or other openly licensed and freely available content items such as documents, slides, videos, images, or datasets. · offering of free and/or lower-cost online courses - for example, MOOCs or microcredentials. · opening up of aspects of learning, teaching and assessment to external participants, partners and audiences - for example, open publication of student-generated content as OER. · participating in open professional development communities - for example, using blogs, podcasts or tweetchats for sharing and discussion of practices.

In order to investigate how policy, broadly defined, interacts with a similarly broadly understood range of practices, three research strands have been employed in order to investigate 1) the content of policy texts, 2) the views and experiences of staff members working in institutions, and finally, 3) the particular perspectives of a subgroup of staff who have had a role in developing relevant policy.

The first and second strands have uncovered wide variety in institutional approaches to OE, ranging from the very engaged to those which show little awareness. OER tends to be the aspect most discussed by policies and staff members, but institutions also evidence varying degrees of involvement with the other forms of practice. There is widespread evidence of more informal forms of policy support, but lower prevalence of documented OE policies. If documented policies can be taken as evidence of sustained institutional commitment to enable and support practices, then this low prevalence is perhaps cause for concern. This presentation will focus on findings from the third strand involving policymakers, and the emphasis they place on the specificity of the local, while situated within globalised and national policy contexts.



Included in [Session 6A]: Practice and Policy in OE

References

Atenas, J; Havemann, L; Neumann, J. and Stefanelli, C (2020). Open Education Policies: Guidelines for co-creation. London: Open Education Policy Lab. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4032993

Weller, M., Jordan, K., DeVries, I., & Rolfe, V. (2018). Mapping the open education landscape: citation network analysis of historical open and distance education research. Open Praxis, 10(2), 109–126. https://doi.org/10.5944/OPENPRAXIS.10.2.822

Author Keywords
open education policies, higher education institutions, institutional policies, open educational practices

This talk describes a study into the use of open monographs in teaching and learning, specifically those in the OAPEN global open access book library or listed in the Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB). The presenters will also share their methodology, which can be used by others to gather data with which to analyse their own context.

The study initially considered whether OAPEN books – which, by definition, are not textbooks – were being used for the purpose of teaching and learning in Australia and New Zealand. The work originally considered the types of data available to the research team to understand this question. Studying usage of open teaching material is challenging because of the variability of data sources and because organisations deliberately do not track users. The OAPEN and DOAB metadata can be ingested into university library catalogues, and ExLibris provides download data of usage out of the catalogue. OAPEN provides dashboard statistics for supporting libraries based on IP addresses and the physical location of the primary campus. Analysis of these two sets of data indicate that the ExLibris information represented approximately a tenth of the download information, which in itself speaks to where students and staff are sourcing their links.

Analysis of the Open Syllabus Analytics service identified that open resources are currently a small proportion of texts prescribed in syllabi (less than 5% overall). Within that proportion, the open resources originating from DOAB are almost equivalent to those originating from Open Textbook Library. This clearly answered the original question: open monographs *are* being used for the purposes of teaching and learning. However it does reinforce the broader question: what are we talking about when we talk about an open educational resource in an educational setting?

A closer analysis of the download data uncovered some interesting observations. In one research intensive institution, it became clear that a significant proportion of the top 25 downloads in 2023 were related in topic and likely all part of a single course. This laid open a secondary consideration which is now being pursued – how much can the uptake of OERs in an institution be attributed to individual practice as opposed to institutional policy?

This prompted a secondary research question: is it possible to detect a discernible difference in uptake of OERs in institutions? At the time of submission, this work is only beginning, but by the conference the research team will have some results to share. This study is intended to provide a method that is reproducible in other geographical settings, to allow comparisons. The team is eager to hear feedback on the approach, and any suggestions for data that could be shared with the community to further shed light on this topic.



Included in [Session 6C]: Repositories, Pedagogy, Practice and Policy in OE

Author Keywords
Open access monographs, Open educational practices, Open education policies

The financial services sector emphases initiatives that empower consumers in an increasingly and diverse financial system. One of the areas of initiative is that of consumer education, which includes the provision of numerous financial education programmes by many stakeholders. Financial education can benefit any age person and irrespective of their income level (OECD, 2005). The changing nature of financial products and their increasing complexity are among the many reasons for financial education becoming increasingly important (FCSA, 2020). In South Africa educating financial consumers and potential financial consumers is legislated in terms of the Financial Sector Regulation Act, 2017 (Act No. 9 of 2017) (FSR Act). In terms of this Act the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) is responsible for this education. A project is currently underway to develop a South African financial education portal. The aim of the South African financial education portal project is to encourage the financial services industry to work collaboratively to identify opportunities to consolidate existing resources into a sustainable programme. The South African financial education portal is planned to consist of four segments, a repository of financial education content, accreditation of financial education resources (a Quality Mark), certification of financial education providers and an evidence hub. The proposed online platform will be designed through the application of a living lab integrative approach (Mastelic, 2019), underpinned by design thinking. As per the integrative approach, the first step of the research project is in the ‘Problem space phase’ following a sequential multi-method research approach. Empathise is the first stage in design thinking and in living lab research researchers try to gain a deep understanding of the problems and motivations of the end user. The context is researched, to gain an understanding of user behaviours, perceptions, and social practices.

Ramsunder & Mathiva (2020) found in a desk top study, that most programmes offered by institutions are generic in nature, in South Africa. This research aims to answer two questions How can educational resources be shared amongst institutions and how then can a culture of collaboration of financial education materials be encouraged so that potentially limited budgets are utilised more efficiently? This paper will present the exploration of the relationship between corporate social responsibility and open educational resources in the financial service sector and how to encourage a culture of collaboration to enhance the efficiency and quality of the provision of consumer financial education.



Included in [Session 6A]: Practice and Policy in OE

References
FCSA (2020). Discussion Document: Ensuring Appropriate Financial Consumer Education Initiatives. https://www.moonstone.co.za/upmedia/uploads/library/Moonstone%20Library/MS%20Industry%20News/1.%20Discussion%20Document%20-%20Ensuring%20Appropriate%20Financial%20Education%20Initiatives_June2020.pdf Mastelic, J. (2019). Stakeholders’ engagement in the co-design of energy conservation interventions: The case of the Energy Living Lab. OECD (2005). Improving Financial Literacy. Analysis of Issues and Policies. https://read.oecd-ilibrary.org/finance-and-investment/improving-financial-literacy_9789264012578-en#page6 Ramsunder, J. and Mthivha, F.(2020). Trends in consumer financial education in South Africa. https://dnaeconomics.com/trends-in-consumer-financial-education-in-south-africa/

Author Keywords
Open educational resources, corporate social responsibility, financial consumer education

The “diamond” model of journal publishing rests on the premise that knowledge should be free for all to disseminate and free for all to read. Diamond Open Access therefore refers to a scholarly publication model in which journals and platforms do not charge fees to either authors or readers. Such an approach offers opportunities for diverse and inclusive participation, giving voice to communities and groups that are otherwise marginalised and underrepresented in mainstream scholarly communications. The diamond model is one where publishing costs can be facilitated not only by academic institutions, but also by community groups and organisations, nonprofits and governments. This potentially makes it possible for communities beyond the Academy to disseminate their ideas freely to all, for open to be everyone’s business.

Internationally, interest in the value of this publishing model is increasing with a number of new diamond publishing initiatives, including the DIAMAS and CRAFT-OA projects and the Plan for Diamond Open Access. In 2020 an international diamond OA journals survey was conducted by Science Europe and cOAlition S with a final report released in 2021 and in 2023, the inaugural Global Summit on Diamond OA brought together over 700 international delegates who presented a set of pledges for furthering the diamond model. Yet so far there have been no specific initiatives that comprehensively address diamond publishing in Australasia.

A report by Open Access Australasia into open access initiatives in Australasia, based on data collected at the end of 2022, evidenced significant uptake of the diamond open publishing model in the university sector where more than half of the institutions examined had some form of open publishing, though other sectors showed little involvement. We will present a brief overview of diamond open publishing in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand based on recent updates to this report.

We will then showcase examples of how diamond open access journals can allow diverse communities and underrepresented perspectives to be heard. From Australia, we will present examples from Queensland University of Technology’s Open Press, and from Aotearoa New Zealand we will look at the diverse groups represented on the Tuwhera open access platform hosted by Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makau Rau/Auckland University of Technology.

We will conclude by describing the formation earlier this year of a vibrant diamond open access publishing community of practice, a forum where those interested in starting a diamond journal and those already involved in running one can interact to promote best practice and tackle challenges together. We discuss the priorities this CoP is focusing on in 2024 and why, and look at the applicability of the diamond publishing approach to the wider OE community.



Included in [Session 6C]: Repositories, Pedagogy, Practice and Policy in OE

References
Diamas (2023). Developing Institutional Open Access Publishing Models to Advance Scholarly Communication. https://diamasproject.eu/about/ CRAFT-OA (2023). CRAFT-OA (Creating a Robust Accessible Federated Technology for Open Access). https://www.craft-oa.eu/ Ancion, Z., Borrell-Damián, L., Mounier, P., Rooryck, J., Saenen, B. (2022). Action Plan for Diamond Open Access. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6282402 Catterall J, Barbour V. Open access initiatives by research active institutions in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand: a snapshot of the landscape in 2022. Zenodo. June 26, 2023. doi:10.5281/zenodo.8081166

Author Keywords
Inclusion diversity equity and access, Open access publishing, Open licencing, Open practitioners

The current study utilized Lambert's 3R framework of social justice (redistributive, recognitive, and representational justice) to investigate the impact of justice frames and open educational practices in syllabus design on undergraduate students' perceptions. Participants (n=207) viewed several versions of a hypothetical syllabus, with each version increasing in social justice focus. Participants then answered questionnaires on their intent to take the course, student sense of belonging, and instructor evaluation.

We hypothesized that with each consecutive version of the syllabus, reflecting an increased focus on social justice, (1) Student sense of belonging will increase, (2) Instructor evaluation will become more positive, (3) Intent to register for the course will be more likely, and (4) These relationships will be moderated by the number of marginalized identities experienced by participants.

This study underscores the importance of incorporating social justice frameworks into syllabus design to enhance student engagement and perceptions of inclusivity.



Included in [Session 6A]: Practice and Policy in OE

References
Lambert, S. R. (2018). Changing our (Dis)Course: A Distinctive Social Justice Aligned Definition of Open Education. Journal of Learning for Development, 5(3). https://doi.org/10.56059/jl4d.v5i3.290

Author Keywords
Open educational practices, Social justice, Course design, Higher education

Collaboration is pivotal to expanding the reach and adoption of open educational practices, especially when growing the Open movement throughout a region from grassroots. The ASCILITE Australasian Open Educational Practice Special Interest Group (OEP SIG) is a community hub for Open practitioners throughout the Australasian region. One of the OEP SIG’s key activities is the production of the monthly OEP Digest, collaboratively curated by a dedicated team of open education practitioners geographically distributed across Australia.

Since its inception in 2018, inspired by SPARC’s OER Digest, the Australasian OEP Digest has been raising awareness of open education principles and practices in Australasia, providing a vehicle to highlight professional development resources, project opportunities, local learnings and the achievements of pioneering open education practitioners. Published through the OEP SIG website, the Digest takes its cues from the OEP SIG community, continuously evolving to curate resources and updates relevant to the Australasian open education landscape and delivering an easily accessible summary of OEP content straight to the inbox of approximately 200 subscribers.

In this session, join the OEP Digest curators for a reflection on: - The origins, philosophy and development of this community-centric newsletter - Navigating the process, challenges and unanticipated benefits of working as a cross-institutional team of academic librarians from four Australian higher education institutions, each with open education programs at varying levels of maturity - Strategies for using a publication such as the Digest to advance open education in your institution

The Digest team makes Open everyone’s business by providing a platform that invites, elevates and celebrates community voices, curates a diverse range of readings, resources and professional development opportunities, and promotes the latest open textbooks relevant to Australasian educational institutions.

While the Digest has an Australasian focus, highlighting locally developed resources, many international resources and opportunities are included to ensure readers understand and remain connected with the global nature of open education. In a field where practitioners can often feel isolated and unsure of how to move forward, the OEP Digest brings us together, celebrates us, and reminds us we’re not doing this alone. Because Open is everyone’s business.



Included in [Session 6A]: Practice and Policy in OE

Author Keywords
Open access publishing, Open educational practices, Open education policies and strategies, Open practitioners, Open textbooks

The ability to create engaging learning experiences is key to the effective delivery of education and the development of lifelong learners. Globally, we are seeing the growth of learning design practices, which are influencing and enhancing traditional teaching and education practices. Yet adoption is hampered by the lack of a system of design practices, language and shared approaches. Is there space for more open systems and practices to help share experiences and practices? Are there ways that we can create bespoke experiences that suit specific learners, locations and situations rather than embrace the restrictions of a templated approach? This presentation will introduce an approach based on the concepts of ‘learning patterns’ that sets the groundwork for an open approach to creating a learning design system that can be adopted across sectors, languages, technologies and systems. While still very much in development, this system has already been used in South America and Europe. It has the potential to form a foundation for open practices around learning experience design.

Laurillard (2002, 2012) introduced a set of learning types in her work around a Conversational Framework. Using this formed the basis for our system, and the initial work was on converting the types of learning to adjectives and expanding some of the ideas and explanations to apply more broadly. This process also led us to move away from being framed around the teacher's conversation to a model that was focused on the learner and their actions. Through this process, the team developed a set of seven Learning Types: Assimilative, Investigative, Formative, Discursive, Productive, Evaluative and Social.

The Learning Types help define the overall learning experience, but they become less useful as you begin to develop individual lessons and activities. A missing piece was required to aid the development of a sequence of learning, so the idea of 'Learning Patterns' was introduced. Based on the concept of a Pattern Language (Alexander, 1977), Learning Patterns are a reusable scaffold to aid the design of a learning experience. They provide a superstructure or way of thinking that can be reused and recombined to suit different contexts and topics. The Patterns developed (Klapdor, 2022) act like Lego, simple shapes that fit together to create unique student experiences. Their usefulness comes from the fact that sequences can be adapted to suit the lesson's purpose and scaffolding provided to help author that aspect of the course.

This system has been used across several programs at the University of Adelaide and in various other institutions to help support their learning design efforts. This presentation aims to introduce these concepts and test the appetite for such a system on a more global scale by going open and developing shared resources and practices across a broader community.



Included in [Session 6C]: Repositories, Pedagogy, Practice and Policy in OE

References
Alexander, Ishikawa, S., & Silverstein, M. (1977). A pattern language : towns, buildings, construction. Oxford University Press. Klapdor, T. (2022) Learning Patterns Library, retrieved from https://learning-patterns.com/ July 2023 Laurillard, D. (2002). Rethinking university teaching: a conversational framework for the effective use of learning technologies (2nd ed.). London: RoutledgeFalmer. Laurillard, D. (2012). Teaching as a design science: building pedagogical patterns for learning and technology. London: Routledge.

Author Keywords
learning design, design system, design for learning

The University of Technology, the Learner Experience Design team adopted a strategy to make Open Educational Practices (OEP) integral to everyone's role by emphasising professional development. In higher education, professional development is described as the process of enhancing the skills and competencies of staff necessary for facilitating and enhancing the student learning experience. According to Havea & Mohanty (2020) professional development contributes to sustainable development by improving the skills and competencies of individuals, which in turn enhances workforce quality and productivity. This is also in alignment with the sustainable development goals under 2030 Development agenda, which underscores the importance of building higher education staff capacity in content, pedagogical and technological knowledge (Mishra and Koehler, 2006). At its core, the UTS strategy of sustainable partnerships fosters a culture of engagement and collaboration within UTS and the external community (n.d, UTS). While the impact of engaging in OEP has primarily been realised through cost-cutting with open textbooks, at UTS, we see that OEP can further enhance the student learning experience. This is achieved not only by reducing costs of textbooks but also by promoting inclusivity, engaging our learning and teaching community, and building capacity in open education. In this presentation, I’ll highlight the efforts made by a learning and teaching central team at UTS to advocate for OEP through professional development. Our efforts were focused on the following six areas: Resources and Blogs: We curated a resource collection where academics can openly share their teaching approaches. Additionally, our blog series dedicated to open education serves as a platform to advocate for OEP

Community Engagement: UTS Learning Design Meetup has been instrumental in starting the conversation on OE. This initiative has inspired various university units and academics to publish OER focusing on Learning Design and Sustainability. Furthermore, we have successfully encouraged academics to create their own open textbooks and apply for open textbook grants. Projects for Scalable Impact (Central Team): We formed specialised squads focusing on Open Education (OE) and H5P OERHub, facilitating collaborative efforts towards impactful outcomes. Moreover, in partnership with the UTS library, we were able to contribute to the development of open-access policy procedures addressing technological infrastructure needs and OEP in learning and teaching. Workshops: Our OEP workshops have been instrumental in raising a culture of sharing educational materials within and outside UTS. Global Events: UTS proudly hosted Open Education Week in both 2023 and 2024, showcasing our institution's global presence and commitment to open education initiatives. Creative Commons Licensing: Two members of our central team completed Creative Commons certificate for educators, contributing to capacity-building efforts within our organsation. The impact of our efforts is clear in how the OEP community at UTS has grown. We made sure that people who used to work alone now work together through partnerships. Keeping OEP going has been hard, but by helping people learn and grow professionally, we brought everyone together, got important people involved, and made UTS a leader in open education.



Included in [Session 6A]: Practice and Policy in OE

References
Havea, P. H., & Mohanty, M. (2020). Professional development and sustainable development goals. In Quality Education (pp. 654-665). Cham: Springer International Publishing. Koehler, M., & Mishra, P. (2009). What is technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK)?. Contemporary issues in technology and teacher education, 9(1), 60-70. UTS. (n.d.). Sustainable partnerships. In UTS 2027 strategy. Retrieved May 20, 2024, from https://www.uts.edu.au/about/uts-2027-strategy/sustainable-partnerships

Author Keywords
Professional development, Open education advocacy, Partnerships, Institutional strategies

One missing piece to the conversation around the impact of OER on student success metrics is a discussion about implementation quality. Are instructors just substituting an OER textbook for an expensive, commercial text, or are they going through a faculty fellowship, supported by their institution that includes conversations around pedagogy? OER implementation spans a continuum with one-to-one replacement of textbooks with OER textbooks at one end and thoughtful integration of OER in ways that enhance pedagogy at the other end. We believe these differences in OER implementation quality are a primary reason for the “muddy waters” surrounding OER and student success.

Furthermore, the potential differences in the support, training, and incentives instructors receive when implementing OER in their classrooms may impact the quality of that implementation. If instructors are not provided with adequate resources and guidance on best practices for adapting, remixing, and aligning OER with learning objectives, they may struggle to implement OER into their courses in a meaningful way. Lack of incentives, such as compensation or recognition for the time and effort required to implement OER, can also be a barrier to quality implementation. Understanding effective ways in which institutions can provide support for instructors implementing OER is crucial to advancing OER initiatives.

AAC&U is embarking on a large-scale study on OER and student success to advance the conversation on the effectiveness and impact of OER beyond affordability. Our multi-institutional study brings together 17 U.S. colleges and universities spanning all six primary higher education institution categories officially recognized in the United States, and features key minority-serving designations including Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges, and Hispanic-Serving Institutions. From these institutions, we are collecting historical data on student success in courses that implemented OER within the past 10 years. As part of this study, we will be conducting focus groups with faculty from these institutions about their OER implementation and what characteristics indicate higher quality OER implementation. These results will allow us to understand and codify quality, leading to the creation of a framework outlining quality OER implementations.

In this session, we will present the findings from our focus group research and share the implementation quality framework we are developing. We will discuss the process of developing the framework; characteristics that indicate quality and the impact that support, training, and incentives (or lack thereof) have on OER implementation quality; and how we intend to share this framework to enhance OER implementation quality on a broader scale. Finally, we will reveal the next stage of this research—our incorporation of this framework into an instructor survey that will be disseminated to additional faculty at each of our partner campuses. The purpose of the instructor survey is two-fold: first, to determine if higher quality is positively associated with student success and second, to examine the extent to which OER implementation differs within and across institutions. These additional pieces of the study will further extend the conversation around the impact of OER on student success.



Included in [Session 6A]: Practice and Policy in OE

Author Keywords
OER Implementation Quality, Focus Groups, Instructor perceptions

In southwest Arkansas lies UA Cossatot, a small community college whose inspiring story resonates with themes of determination, collaboration, innovation, and the transformative power of open educational resources (OER). Cossatot Community College has four campuses with an average enrollment of about 1,300 and is a part of the University of Arkansas System. We lead the state in OER usage, but we didn’t get there overnight. We faced some challenges along the way to becoming the state leader in OER adoption, but commitment to our students and collective determination fueled our journey.

In 2015, UA Cossatot addressed the financial hardships textbook expenses created for its diverse student population. As the sole Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) in a state with a 17% poverty rate, the nation’s seventh highest poverty rate, the imperative to remove financial barriers to higher education assumed paramount importance. In our initial research, it became clear that establishing an OER initiative was not only a viable economic alternative, but also the right thing to do for students.

With a mission statement emphasizing our commitment to improving the lives of those in our region by providing quality education and outstanding services while embracing diversity, it was obvious that the belief in equal educational opportunities for all demanded that we build an internal textbook rental and OER program, so we did.

Despite initial hesitations among faculty members apprehensive about departing from traditional textbooks and widespread sentiment that what we were attempting to do was impossible, UA Cossatot persisted, understanding that OER embodies a collective responsibility to nurture student achievement. The college diligently sought inclusive pathways for all stakeholders, ensuring that proponents of conventional textbooks could seamlessly transition to affordable alternatives. The collaborative effort between college administration, faculty, and staff underscores that OER is not merely about finances but a shared moral responsibility to ensure student welfare and academic success.

Open education is crucial to the future of education and addresses the challenges and needs of contemporary and future learning environments. For community colleges transitioning to OER, it doesn’t matter how big or small the college is, higher education leaders can step up to eliminate some of the financial barriers that students face. Recognizing that we can value traditional culture while embracing modern ways of thinking teaches us to respect both perspectives and know that we’re not bound by either. At UA Cossatot, we’ve learned a lot about open resources and Creative Commons and we’re eager to share that experience. UA Cossatot’s journey from OER novices to leading Arkansas with 76 percent of our courses using open resources exemplifies our commitment to the changing landscape that is education and illustrates a balanced approach to tradition and innovation within the future of learning in a constantly evolving educational landscape.



Included in [Session 7E]: Practice and Policy in OE (workshops)

Author Keywords
Inclusion diversity equity and access, Open educational practices, Open education policies and strategies, Open textbooks

In 2021-2024, The European Network of Open Education Librarians (ENOEL) developed, enhanced and maintained the OE Benefits Toolkit to help advocate for OE, consistently with Action Area 1 of the UNESCO OER Recommendation. The ENOEL Toolkit was initially designed to assist educational professionals in articulating the tangible benefits of Open Education—ranging from increased access to educational resources and improved learning outcomes to fostering a culture of co-creation and shared knowledge.

Members of the ENOEL invite participants to a collaborative wildcard activity aimed at discussing how to further promote the widespread adoption and understanding of Open Education (OE) by identifying and discussing the benefits for librarians in particular and above all the lessons learnt to date: discussing its applications and advocacy experiences that underscore the critical role of different stakeholders, especially librarians, in the OE movement.

Exploring the Benefits of OE on cards, participants will engage in structured discussions to identify and elaborate on specific benefits, fostering a deeper understanding of how these can be articulated in advocacy efforts, in line with the findings of SPARC Europe’s Report “Open Education in European Libraries of Higher Education 2023”. Attendees will examine and expand the evidence base supporting OE benefits by integrating both research and personal anecdotes, utilising tools and templates to document these insights. Participants are encouraged to share their own experiences and challenges in advocating for OER, discussing how the identified benefits can address existing barriers and enhance their advocacy strategies.

The ENOEL-designed Toolkit can become an essential resource for effectively communicating the value of Open Education. By outlining the diverse benefits for key stakeholders—including students, teachers, librarians, institutions, and citizens at large, —it provides a foundation for robust advocacy efforts. For the participants in this session, the Toolkit highlights their unique role in advocating for and advancing OE through its benefits.

This session offers the opportunity to share practical strategies for overcoming common challenges in the field and champion OE within their institutions and beyond, advocating for policies and practices that support OE. ENOEL members invite participants to collaboratively discuss the benefits collected in the toolkit, drawing from both evidence-based research and anecdotal experiences, to focus on a diverse range of contributions and take this opportunity to learn from peers coming from different geographical, historical, and social backgrounds. Participants will engage with the recently enriched list of benefits, evidence-based references, and templates for capturing anecdotal evidence. More specifically, attendees will review existing benefits, choose those that fit their context and discuss their implications. Using the Rolfe et al. reflective model, participants will be invited to articulate and record anecdotal benefits, enriching the evidence base with personal insights. Participants will also choose in parallel those benefits that they would see fit their context but are not there yet, and discuss with peers how to make them part of it, starting from their experiences.

This activity will use a dynamic, card-based discussion format to stimulate thought and facilitate the exchange of ideas.



Included in [Session 7E]: Practice and Policy in OE (workshops)

References
European Network of Open Education Librarians (2024), An ENOEL Toolkit: Open Education Benefits. Version 4. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5568482
Rolfe, G., Freshwater, D., Jasper, M. (2001). Critical reflection in nursing and the helping professions: a user’s guide. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Treadway, J., Corti, P., & Proudman, V. (2024). Open Education in European Libraries of Higher Education 2023. Zenodo. https://zenodo.org/records/10889503

Author Keywords
Benefits of Open Education, Enhanced OE Toolkit resources, Lifelong and informal learning, Open educational practices, Open practitioners

In Spring 2018, KPU embarked on a groundbreaking mission: to eliminate textbook costs for students. With support from BCcampus, KPU pioneered Canada's first ZTC Initiative, introducing 75 ZTC sections and a flexible 1-year Certificate in Arts credential. Since then, the initiative has flourished, transforming the educational landscape. Now, just six years later, KPU offers an impressive average of 22% course section offerings with ZTC, along with eight known ZTC credentials, including two four-year Baccalaureate degrees. This commitment to accessible education remains unwavering. Today, KPU boasts a diverse ZTC landscape, spanning multiple disciplines and degree levels. The commitment to accessible education remains at the forefront. But the journey hasn't been without challenges, and in this presentation, we will share a recent project KPU underwent in order to overcome one of our challenges and to move our ZTC Initiative forward in a strategic way.

While individual course tracking has improved through integration into the registration system, a critical challenge persists: identifying potential ZTC pathways at the credential level. Historically, KPU relied on manual cross-referencing between degree frameworks and lists of ZTC course data. However, this process was time-consuming and lacked comprehensive insights.

In 2024, KPU embarked on a transformative project: digitizing the ZTC credential mapping process. The goal was to create a systematic approach that would facilitate strategic planning and provide comprehensive analysis.

Phase 1 of this project involved importing 177 degree frameworks from the KPU Academic Calendar website into MS Excel. These frameworks were organized into separate files for each Faculty. Next, each framework was cross-referenced against a list of historic ZTC courses extracted from the registration system. The initial data analysis yielded valuable insights, revealing the percentage of ZTC courses within each degree. This information allowed KPU to pinpoint degrees that were close to offering ZTC pathways.

Building on Phase 1, KPU dug deeper into the data in Phase 2. Which specific courses could strategically enhance ZTC pathways? Which ones were missing? The team identified key courses that, if converted to ZTC, would significantly expand the number of ZTC degree options available to students. To communicate these findings effectively, KPU developed data visualizations and a user-friendly dashboard using Power BI.

Armed with a clearer picture of ZTC opportunities, KPU Open is now poised for strategic growth. The "OER Advancement Grant" was created specifically to fund the conversion of courses to ZTC and offer more ZTC credentials. By focusing on degrees or programs that are on the cusp of ZTC readiness, KPU aims to increase student access to affordable education.



Included in [Session 7E]: Practice and Policy in OE (workshops)

Author Keywords
open education research, zero textbook cost, open education policies and strategies

What happens when a long-standing commitment to open sharing of knowledge awakens to and begins to infuse responses to the stark reality of the climate emergency? What new learning practices are catalyzed, and how can this lead to a more just and livable world?

In this session, we’ll explore some ways that more timely, equitable and effective climate learning is being enabled by the methods and materials of open education; and also how open education practices can evolve to maximize the positive impacts of climate action efforts.

Substantial progress has been made on climate action and climate justice in recent years. But our “business as usual” trajectory of incremental change within existing systems still has us on track for warming of over 3C by 2100. This trajectory is less dire than the prospects of 4C+ that we faced a decade ago; but without much deeper transformations, we’re still on a path to trigger planetary tipping points, ecosystem collapses and mass disruptions of human society.

More must be done. And as a means of transformation, open practices have a key role to play.

These questions are playing out now in developing the Climate Project at MIT, an ambitious program announced in early 2024 to do bigger things faster and work more effectively with partners around the scientific and societal challenges of climate change.

In this session, we’ll highlight some of the ways that open knowledge practices are infusing climate work at MIT and in its collaborations, and ask what might be possible if a commitment to open knowledge practices spreads widely across climate action spaces.

At OE Global 2023, a workshop session began to consider an open climate knowledge community of practice. We discussed needs and opportunities, and identified some resources and programs that can serve as inspirations and a basis for future work. See workshop notes at https://bit.ly/oeglobal-climate-community.

One year later, where are we? How are open methods and materials making a difference for general public engagement and empowering k-12, post-secondary, workforce and professional learning about climate change and climate justice? Current and future generations are counting on us to make this everyone’s business.



Included in [Session 10A]: Practice and Policy in OE

References
Notes from OE Global’23 workshop on open climate knowledge: Accelerating Climate Action and Climate Justice Through Open Education. https://bit.ly/oeglobal-climate-community. OE Week 2024 event listing: Accelerating Climate Action and Climate Justice Through Open Education. https://oeweek.oeglobal.org/activity/accelerating-climate-justice-through-open-education/ International Open Access Week 2022 webinar video: Learn Climate with Open MIT Resources. https://youtu.be/WXshIwISJ5Y?si=rC-LUtGFGcypIymi

Author Keywords
Lifelong and informal learning, Open educational practices, Open education policies and strategies, Social justice, Sustainability

Open Educational Resources (OER) have been discussed in Sweden as early as 2008 (Westman & Paulsson). Unfortunately, their adoption is still very limited due to a lack of understanding about their nature, how they can be used, and the opportunities they present (National Library of Sweden, 2022). In light of the UNESCO recommendation on OERs, the National Library of Sweden was tasked with developing national guidelines for open science by the Swedish Government. These were recently presented and include the use of OER (National Library of Sweden, 2024).

The national library's work on national guidelines was companied by The Association of Swedish Higher Education Institutions (SUHF) working group on OERs. SUHFs aim is to promote the sector interests to external actors and at strengthening internal cooperation. The task of the working group is to develop proposals for recommendations on what national OER coordination could look like and how educational institutions could create a long-term structure for the work. The OER working group reports first and foremost to the working group on open science, which put forward a roadmap for open science as early as 2021.

In line with the national recommendations for open science, SUHF updated their roadmap in the beginning of the year (SUHF, 2024) and includes now a section about OERs. The roadmap defines the responsibility of Swedish Higher Education institution to "actively work towards creating a sharing culture regarding educational resources by encouraging and promoting the creation, sharing, and use of open educational resources". In this presentation, a member of the OER working group presents the roadmap and its' accompanying guideline for the OER section, which tries to ensure that OERs are finally everybody's business in the Swedish Higher Education system.



Included in [Session 10A]: Practice and Policy in OE

References
Moore, M. G. (2022). From correspondence education to online distance education. In Handbook of Open, Distance and Digital Education (pp. 1-16). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.

National Library of Sweden (2022). Öppna lärresurser – en kartläggning och analys: Redovisning av uppdraget om öppna lärresurser, U2021/04163. Available at: https://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kb:publ-691

National Library of Sweden (2024). Natio­nal guide­li­nes for promoting open science in Sweden. Available at: https://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kb:publ-722.

SUHF (2024). Färdplan för öppen vetenskap (reviderad). Available at: https://suhf.se/app/uploads/2024/02/REK-2021-1-Fardplan-for-oppen-vetenskap-SUHF-Antagen-av-SUHFs-presidium-REVIDERAD-240201-1.pdf.

Westman, P., & Paulsson, J. (2008). Open Educational Resources in Swedish Higher Education. ScieCom Info, 4(23).

Author Keywords
Open Educational Resources, National policies, Sweden, UNESCO recommendation on OER, Higher Education

In 2021 California made the largest public investment in history in OER and Zero Textbook Cost degrees with a $115M grant program. Beginning in 2022, all California Community Colleges received funds to develop and implement ZTC pathways. As of 2024, colleges are developing hundreds of ZTC pathways to transform the student experience in the United States’ largest system of higher education, serving 2M+ students.

In this session, hear from leaders who are coordinating and supporting colleges in this historic work. What supports are provided to colleges? How are diversity, equity, and inclusion woven into support for colleges? What role do Open Pedagogy and Generative AI play? What is the sustainability plan for this massive undertaking? We will also consider how California got here and what it will mean when all colleges offer ZTC pathways.

The unique audience of OEGlobal presents an opportunity to consider how the ZTC movement in California can impact higher education in general. 



Included in [Session 10A]: Practice and Policy in OE

Author Keywords
Zero Textbook Cost degrees, Open Education policies and strategies, Community colleges

“An area of HE activity that is highly inequitable is the provision of expensive fully copyrighted print-based textbooks” (Cox, Masuku and Willmers: 2020).

Open educational resources (OER) have gained traction in many parts of the world, through their expression as open textbooks. South Africa is no exception when it comes to proclaiming their commitment to such open practice. The Open Learning Policy Framework for South African Post-School Education and Training commits higher education (HE) to such pursuits (Department: Higher Education and Training, 2017). As well as this national commitment, literature clearly demonstrates that open textbooks have the potential to disrupt the trajectory of exclusion in South African Higher Education by addressing issues of cost.

Open textbooks are also seen as a solution to variable quality of educational resources as well as addressing social injustice through increased access to learning materials (Cox et al., 2020; Hodgkinson-Williams & Arinto, 2017). The Digital Open Textbooks for Development (DOT4D) Project found that open textbooks “addressed economic, cultural, and political in justices faced by their students, issues not considered by traditional textbooks” (OER Africa, 2024). However, not much is known about the use of open textbooks in South African Higher education, especially in Accounting education and more specifically taxation education. Taxation is the focus of this study because of its content uniqueness to specific countries based on regional tax law.

In addition to the geographical uniqueness annual amendments to Tax Acts necessitate the continual updating of some content. Most universities in South Africa prescribe textbooks for undergraduate taxation modules (Department: Higher Education and Training, 2020). For all the reasons provided above and others reported in literature on open textbooks, this study aims to explore the use of open textbooks in Taxation. The challenge is that for the use of a taxation open textbooks to be sustainable, someone needs to take responsibility for updating for annual changes. Currently this function is performed by various commercial publishers who pay authors to do this.

The paper will report on a study focused on exploring the use of open textbooks in tax education. The paper will first report on a scoping review on the use of open textbooks in business education globally. The overarching question was: How are open textbooks used in business education? Following the scoping review, the study surveyed undergraduate taxation lecturers at South African universities to garner their perceptions regarding the use of open textbooks with the intention of introducing the use of open textbooks in tax education. The paper will report on the findings of this survey and more specifically identifying the challenges that need to be mitigated so that open textbooks or a sustainable alternative that speaks to increased access to learning materials and lower costs, can be introduced in the South African taxation education arena.



Included in [Session 10A]: Practice and Policy in OE

References
Cox, G., Masuku, B., & Willmers, M. (2020). Open textbooks and social justice: Open educational practices to address economic, cultural and political injustice at the University of Cape Town. Department: Higher Education and Training. (2017). Open Learning Policy Framework for Post-School Education and Training. (). https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201704/40772gon335.pdf Department: Higher education and Training. (2020). Students' Access to and Use of Learning Materials. Survey Report 2020. (). Pretoria: Department of Higher Education and Training. https://www.usaf.ac.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/DHET_SAULM-Report-2020.pdf Hodgkinson-Williams, C., & Arinto, P. (2017). Adoption and impact of OER in the Global South. African Minds. OER Africa. (2024). What are the benefits of open textbooks in the Global South? OER Africa. Retrieved 19 May 2024, from https://www.oerafrica.org/content/what-are-benefits-open-textbooks-global-south

Author Keywords
Open Textbooks, OER, Accounting (Taxation)Education, Higher Education