Open Pedagogy as Open Student Projects
Harnessing the Power of Student-Created Content: Faculty and Librarians Collaborating in the Open Educational Environment
Bryan James McGeary; Ashwini Ganeshan; and Christopher S. Guder
Authors
- Bryan James McGeary, Pennsylvania State University
- Ashwini Ganeshan, Ohio University
- Christopher S. Guder, Ohio University
Project Overview
Institution: Ohio University
Institution Type: public, research, undergraduate, postgraduate
Project Discipline: Hispanic Linguistics
Project Outcome: student-created textbook
Tools Used: Pressbooks, Institutional Repository
Resources Included in Chapter:
- Sample Assignments
- Sample Illustrations
2020 Preface
Reflecting on how devastating national events have affected higher education and U.S. society in 2020, we recognize the continued importance of open education and open pedagogy as a means of ensuring equitable access to education and shedding light on racial, social, and economic inequities in our society. As higher education moved to remote learning in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, open education has gained interest from administrators, faculty, and students who are looking for ways to cope with that shift. Likewise, tragedies, such as the continued killings of black people, the racist and xenophobic violence against people of Asian descent, and the ongoing destruction to Native American lands, lives, and communities, have brought issues of structural racism to the forefront of the national conversation, making it clear that there is an urgent need to design courses and textbooks in ways that foreground and center social justice issues. Open education can respond to these needs in ways that traditional textbooks typically have not by making it possible to revise content to reflect the current moment as well as surface and support marginalized voices. Moreover, the use of open educational practices to provide students with the opportunity to delve into these topics themselves, assess them, and write about them could present a way to demonstrate meaningful, active allyship. We also believe that libraries should continue to engage in this type of work with faculty and students, as it demonstrates the continued relevance of the library profession to the mission of higher education.
—Bryan, Ashwini, & Chris
For several years Ohio University Libraries have attempted to build relationships with faculty interested in using or creating open educational resources (OER). Strategies for this included a workshop series on open textbooks, focus groups on OER creation, and the purchase of an institutional repository. Additionally, two librarians and a faculty member applied for and received an internal Ohio University grant, administered by the Libraries, to support local OER creation on campus, determine the needs of faculty creating OERs, and ascertain how these projects impact the undergraduate experience. The Libraries use this grant to hire student assistants to work on f