2024 Open Education Conference

This session is designed to identify an agenda for action and research for the open education community which, we argue, is at a crossroads – building on a critical conversation begun at OER24 in March: “The future isn’t what it used to be: open education at a crossroads” (Cronin & Czerniewicz, 2024). The purpose of the session is to enable globally diverse conversations about the future of open education. In the context of the current global polycrisis, it is clear that the assumptions and foundations of open education are under threat. This moment –a crossroads– requires all parts of the open education movement to work together. In alliance with those who believe that open education is central to fighting for human rights, democracy, justice and sustainability, we (i) propose a framework of ideas for moving closer to realising those ideas, a “manifesto for open education for good”, and (ii) facilitate groupwork so that participants can collaborate to identify specific next steps.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Recognise at least some of the ways that wider global crises emerge within, impact on, and intersect with open education.
• Articulate the five tenets of the Manifesto for Open Education for Good.
• Take first steps in developing an agenda to take forward after the session, to work towards creating better open education and social futures.

Open Education leaders often adopt Servant Leadership, prioritizing serving others. Despite its fulfillment, this commitment can be draining. Leaders may neglect self-care. To empower current and future leaders, cultivating self-awareness is crucial. This involves understanding personal values and leadership identity. Participants will engage in exercises exploring values, vocational aspirations, and strategies for maintaining well-being while supporting others. The session will address financial sustainability and supporting team members in resource-constrained environments. Above all, it will guide leaders to align their practices with their values, fostering ethical leadership in open education.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Participants will assess and articulate their leadership values in open education through reflective exercises and group discussions, gaining clarity on how these values shape their leadership style and decision-making processes.
• Participants will acquire practical strategies for maintaining personal well-being and supporting their team members and organizations. Techniques for managing emotional labor, avoiding burnout, and fostering resilience will be explored, particularly in challenging or low-resourced environments.
• Participants will develop insights into leading authentically and aligning with their values. They will learn to integrate personal values into decision-making, communication, and team management. Through interactive activities and case studies, they will enhance their understanding of providing effective and ethically grounded leadership in service to others and the organization.

The International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA) leverages Open Access to empower medical and science education worldwide. IFMSA is transforming its organizational approach towards OER and Open Access, through freely available platforms, sharing educational materials with students worldwide, extending and promoting open principles. Specifically, IFMSA works on OpenEd in: (a) Developing & Sharing resources for medical students worldwide to get educated. (b) Gathering and sharing resources, open to the public and built by other organizations. (c) Students access this knowledge and gain skills to tutor their peers, supporting open learning models globally. Data and feedback collected on resources’ usage strengthens our materials through continuous updating and improvements, ensuring ongoing sustainability and relevance for medical students. This session aims to highlight IFMSA initiatives and show how your organization can transform towards OpenEd!

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Highlight the efforts of students, especially medical students in advocating and supporting open education values by meaningfully engaging in various areas of open education.
• Understand and familiarize themselves with the components of IFMSA's strategy to raise awareness about open education topics.
• Understand the different approaches in the development and usage of educational toolkits to contribute to open pedagogy.
• Access, use, and follow up on various open education resources developed by the IFMSA.
• Outline methodologies used in IFMSA and plan similar strategies to utilize in their organizations.

With readily available internet connectivity in our homes plus always on access with mobile devices, we overlook that half of the world's population lacks connectivity needed to reach educational materials designed for online delivery. Outside of metropolitan areas of British Columbia 20% of the province are unconnected. We will demonstrate how BCcampus is exploring the Kolibri system from Learning Equality to make its B.C. Open Collection available in an offline-first environments, including interactivity of H5P exercises. Kolibri offers customization to remix with other open materials (e.g. PHET simulations, Khan Academy) plus course management features one might not expect in an offline platform. Beyond a demo, we challenge the idea of OER being only online, discuss scenarios for offline OER (incarcerated, refugee learners), ways this approach could be distributed, and to influence creators to make their content available to the world through the Kolibri Catalog.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Identify the different underserved communities and populations that do not have access to online educational materials or technology.
• Understand how the Kolibri platform enables offline-first access to OER
• Contemplate and contribute to the potential use cases and needs for offline OER.
• Install the Kolibri application to directly experience the offline capability to use BCcampus content as well as more OER available in the Kolibri catalog
• Contribute their own OER content to the Kolibri catalog to make available to more offline first learners worldwide

Links and resources mentioned in video available at https://bit.ly/bccampus-kolibri-opened24 and see also a transcript for this video.

Not all of today's OER look like the traditional textbooks going back hundreds of years, having text interspersed with images/diagrams.   Today's open pedagogy approaches often revolve around OER which have interactive components using software embedded in the OER, and may refer students to large, open access databases. However, when it comes to policy in higher education, there is little formalization in terms of how to dual license with both Creative Commons and Software Licenses. 
This lightning talk addresses which license suite or legal tool to use under which conditions, whether you are dealing with databases or static or dynamic content. Static content includes text and images or diagrams, and can include software manuals. Dynamic content relates to software including service-side, client-side, and Apps, inter alia. The recommendations are based on strongly held philosophical principles in terms of how best to ensure openness in educational resources not only in terms of use but also in re-use and relates to specific versions.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Be able to use the appropriate FOSS license for software that is meant to be part of an OER.
• Understand the full spectrum of CC licenses, and the augmented spectrum including public domain tools
• Understand the relationship of CC licensing to FLOSS and database licensing
• Use a summary chart to help them choose which FOSS and/or CC license or domain tool to use when creating educational software or a hybrid text-software.

Open educational practices (OEP) offer many benefits, including increased faculty teaching flexibility and opportunities for students to contribute their own perspectives to course material. However, instructors in higher education face barriers to work that isn’t explicitly valued in the promotion and tenure process, including OEP. Faculty agency, as defined by O'Meara et al. (2011), is the capacity of faculty members to actively shape and influence their work environments, professional identities, and career trajectories. OEP is often pursued because of instructors’ personal interest in open values, and while OEP benefits the university, it’s not often valued in the promotion and tenure process. In this lightning talk, the presenters will describe the preliminary data for a qualitative study they are conducting to explore faculty agency, particularly for first-year-writing and composition instructors, and how it influences instructors’ ability to pursue open educational practices.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Define faculty agency and describe its relationship to open educational practices.
• Evaluate the institutional and societal factors that might influence faculty agency at their own institution.

This presentation proposes an innovative approach to the redesign of a global survey course covering the period c. 400 – 1750 CE, aiming to challenge and expand traditional educational boundaries through the integration of Open Educational Resources (OER). By merging Western and non-Western art within a unified timeline, this course offers a more holistic view of global cultures and artistic expressions. The course structure emphasizes thematic lessons that transcend regional and chronological divisions, such as the Spanish conquest of the Americas and the repatriation of African art, highlighting the interconnectedness and consequences of colonization. This session will explore the pedagogical strategies, challenges, and successes of creating a more inclusive, engaging, and comprehensive educational experience through the thoughtful application of open resources.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Understand the benefits and challenges of integrating Western and non-Western art within a unified timeline to provide a comprehensive global perspective.
• Gain insights into the development and implementation of thematic lessons that address significant global issues within the context of a survey course.
• Explore the impact of utilizing Open Educational Resources to enhance accessibility, diversity of content, and student engagement in the learning process.
• Recognize the potential of OER in encouraging critical thinking, collaboration, and innovation among students.

While many academics express a desire to create open educational resources (OERs), few do. A key barrier academics report preventing them from engaging in OER creation is a lack of in-depth understanding of the development process at an individual level. This presentation outlines individual level lessons learned about OER development from a case study of one early career academic’s experience creating OER for the first time. Analysis of the academic’s journals, critical friend meetings, and stakeholder evaluation of the OER she created, reveal barriers and facilitators encountered. Examples include: (mis)understandings about OER and how to learn about them; technology options, costs, and decisions; institutional supports; and tensions with other academic priorities. While some generic ‘how-to’ guides and macro-level analyses of OER issues exist, these contextualized first-hand lessons offer novel individual-level support for educators navigating OER creation for the first-time.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Understand the barriers and facilitators they may likely encounter as individuals developing OER for the first time.
• Develop a detailed and realistic plan for the development of their first OER.

Climate change is one of the most pressing challenges of our time, It is therefore “about time” we transformed legal education to ensure the next generation of lawyers is provided training to be ‘climate conscious’ legal practitioners. Climate conscious pedagogy will require challenging conventional boundaries and ways of doing things. The development of open educational resources is crucial for equipping students to navigate a fast-paced and rapidly changing legal environment. Drawing on a survey of subject coordinators and teachers from across all Australian law schools, this presentation will shine a light on the extent to which climate change is currently being incorporated into the teaching of both compulsory law subjects and electives. The presentation will identify opportunities for developing responsive and open-access pedagogical materials and teaching practices to prepare students for their professional lives in light of the global challenge of climate change.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Understand the current barriers to and opportunities for open-access legal education
• Appreciate of the intersection between open-access legal education and climate justice
• Articulate the role of responsive and accessible pedagogical materials and teaching practices in preparing students for their professional lives in light of the global challenge of climate change

Join our short communication session to delve into the findings from our research paper exploring the role of open-learning design (OLD) in advancing medical student learning and motivation. Discover how OLD empowers learners as co-creators of knowledge, fostering active engagement and deeper understanding. We'll discuss the strategies, benefits and challenges uncovered in implementing OLD principles in health professions education. Gain insights into the positive impact of OLD on learner engagement, satisfaction, and learning outcomes, while identifying key areas for further research and development. Unlock the power of open in medical education with us.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Analyze the impact of OLD on learner engagement, satisfaction, and learning outcomes.
• Discuss strategies for incorporating OLD principles into educational settings effectively.
• Recognize the importance of further research and development in enhancing OLD interventions in health professions education.