In this activity, please take a moment to reflect on Open Education and think about some different ways it could be applied to your work. This activity should take 15 minutes.
Step 1: Brainstorm!
Take three minutes and think about a recent teaching and learning practice, assignment, or resource that is not currently open. How could you change that practice or project to make it open? Write down as many ideas as you can generate in three minutes.
Examples:
- I currently use a textbook that costs $100. Could I replace that with OER?
- My mid-term is a five page paper and I’m pretty sure that after I mark it, my students never look at it again. Could I change the assignment so that the student work has value beyond the course?
- At our university, students never know the full price of their course materials until after they enroll in their courses. Would it be possible to provide them info about the cost of course materials (and any OER being used) before they register?
Now choose one of your above ideas and write down two or three practical steps that you could accomplish in a couple of hours that would help you begin to meet your idea.
Example:
- Transform a traditional essay assignment into an open pedagogy project where students edit Wikipedia so their efforts have value beyond the course.
- Research examples from other courses or instructors that have done Wikipedia assignments.
- Think about what support I would need to take on this assignment.
- Think about what support and scaffolding my students would need. Think about any risk or privacy aspects that may need to be addressed.
- Sign up for a Wikipedia account and make some edits so I have a better understanding of the processes.
Step 2: Share!
Take your ideas and getting started steps and share them with the group. To do so, we’ll be using a padlet, which is a form of an online sticky note board. To get started, click on the + symbol in the bottom right of the below padlet to start a blank note and then write or paste your idea into the new note.
Add your reflections to the padlet below.
