Category Archives: oa.education

Winners of the 2023 Open Education Awards for Excellence – OEGlobal

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“On September 13, 2023, Open Education Global (OEGlobal) announced the winners of the 2023 Open Education Awards for Excellence as an OEG Live webcast. If you missed the excitement, you can watch it anytime….

This year the program received and shared nominations for more than 170 people and projects received from 38 different countries. The 20 member committee consisting of previous award winners and the OEGlobal Board of Directors reviewed the nominations to yield the shortlist of finalists and this collection of 16 Award Winners for 2023….”

 

The Value of Articles Published in Journals Focused on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: A Use of Citations and Altmetrics as Indicators of Value | SpringerLink

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Abstract:  The value of articles published in journals devoted to the scholarship of teaching and learning constitutes a relatively unexplored topic of inquiry within the broader field of inquiry on the scholarship of teaching and learning. This article addresses this topic using citations and four types of altmetrics as indicators of value. We used a sample of 100 articles published in four SOTL focused journals: two high consensus journals (BioScience: Journal of College Biology Teaching and The Journal of Chemical Education) and two low consensus journals (Teaching History and Teaching Sociology). In addition to the level of consensus of the discipline of these journals, we also measured the institutional type of the first authors of these articles and the type of study of the article. We advanced three conclusions from our data analysis with the first one being of particular significance to SOTL work. This conclusion is that the pattern of findings of this study cry out fairly loudly that articles published in SOTL-focused journals hold value to users of the articles as expressed through citations of them, as well as mentions of them through various altmetrics. Moreover the similar magnitudes of this value transpires regardless of the institutional type of the article’s first author and whether the article recommended a practice or recommended content. However, the value ascribed to articles differ according to the level of consensus of the field of the SOTL journal, which show a difference in article views, Twitter mentions and Mendeley uses.

Digitally Established: Educational Resources in U.S. Higher Education, 2023

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“The key takeaways from this year’s survey are: • The return to classroom and in-person instruction post pandemic continues, though a small group of faculty report they only teach blended or online courses. • Faculty regularly incorporate a number student- and instructor-focused tools in their teaching. Every course is different however, as only textbooks, lecture slides, and online homework systems are used by more than half of faculty. • The overall reported use of inclusive access remained steady yearover-year; approximately 25% of respondents report using inclusive access at their institutions. We suspect there may be growing confusion about what inclusive access products are, as levels of awareness decreased in the same period. • There was a slight decline in belief amongst faculty that digital materials are as good of a learning option for students as print materials, and a strong belief that digital offers more flexibility; concerns about the cost of education for students remain high for both faculty and administrators. • OER awareness and use grew to the highest levels ever reported, continuing the trend: in 2022-23, 2 in 3 faculty were aware of OER, and 1 in 3 faculty required OER materials in at least one course …”

Assessing Open Education Resources Programs – Ithaka S+R

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“Today we are excited to announce that Ithaka S+R is embarking on a one-year research project, funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, to assess the impact and implementation of open educational resources (OER) programs at public institutions of higher education. Through the project, we will develop a framework to guide sustainable OER adoption and implementation.

At their core, OER initiatives aim to increase student learning outcomes by reducing costs. Our project aims to explore how OER strategies have evolved to meet the needs of faculty and students. In particular, we will develop a holistic framework to assess the impact of OER programs and the challenges they face, paying particular attention to faculty perspectives, student learning outcomes, and equity and digital equity.

Drawing on lessons from the broader literature on teaching and learning initiatives in higher education, the project is guided by the following research questions:

To what extent are postsecondary higher education institutions concerned with sustaining open education initiatives?
What attributes do successful OER initiatives share?
How can institutions move from pilot to wider adoption?
What factors contribute to or inhibit the sustainability of new initiatives in postsecondary institutions? …”

The Long Shortlist of Finalists for the 2023 OEAwards – OEGlobal

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“Now in its 13th year, the Open Education Awards for Excellence again provides recognition for the people, resources, and practices in Open Education through a community-driven process.

From an open call for nominations that opened in May, we collected 172 nominations across the 16 award categories, representing people and projects from 38 countries. Next, our review committee, which includes 20 former award winners combined with the input of the OEGlobal Board of Directors, gets us to the current stage. It’s time to meet the finalists for the 2023 OEAwards! …”

Vacancy:  Open Science and Education Communication and Engagement Leader. End of play: Sept 15, 2023 | SPARC Europe

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As the SPARC Europe Communication and Engagement Leader, you will work closely with the SPARC Europe Director and with the Open Education Community Manager. You are responsible for effectively communicating and engaging on important Open Science and Open Education to a range of stakeholders to support our change efforts. 

You will do this by taking a targeted approach, strategizing and implementing that strategy in various communities, such as OA books, diamond OA, research data management, open infrastructure, open education and, of course, you will help disseminate the work of SPARC Europe and that of our partners to the relevant audience. 

Responsibilities and tasks 

Disseminating the work of SPARC Europe and its projects in a concise, creative, engaging and targeted way. 
Developing strategies to communicate and engage with our stakeholders effectively year on year. 
Developing and implementing knowledge-sharing activities such as community meetings, webinars, and other events, and using social media and other platforms to share news and good practice. 
Developing and implementing information campaigns to mobilise change or raise awareness. 
Progressing and supporting our networks to develop them into thriving communities of practice. 
Writing blog posts and newsletters as well as concise information materials. 
Conducting some stakeholder research 

Education, experience, knowledge, skills and ability 

A Bachelor degree or equivalent. 
At least 5-10 years communications / marketing experience serving the academic community. Experience with academic libraries is preferred. 
Excellent interpersonal communication skills, including strong writing, presentation, social media and meeting facilitation skills. 
Experience with advocating for Open Science and/or Open Education. 
Involvement in managing and growing networks or communities and in building trust in a changing environment. 
Ability to manage multiple projects at the same time, with a result-orientated focus. 
Driven yet empathetic, and flexible. 

In short, if you are interested in using your creativity with your strong communication skills and your passion for Open to support change on an international level for a more Open society, this position is for you. 

Remuneration and conditions of appointment 

We are offering a position of employment in an innovative sector for a respected Open policy and advocacy organisation. We are looking for support for 32-40 hours per week. You must be located in Europe. 

Initially it is a contract for one year with the prospect of an extension and a permanent contract. Salary depends on education and experience. We ask you to propose your expected net remuneration in your application. 

The post holder is required to work remotely 4-5 days a week between Monday to Friday, and may be expected to travel to certain meetings or conferences 2-3 times per year in Europe, although these will be limited. 

Further information and applications 

If you are interested in this position, then apply by sending your CV and please state why you are motivated to work with SPARC Europe and why you’re right for the position. How you communicate this motivation is up to you. 

Please send your application no later than Friday, 15 September 2023 to info@sparceurope.org 

The first round of interviews will take place online in September 2023. 

For questions about the vacancy, please contact: Vanessa Proudman, Director, SPARC Europe, info@sparceurope.org

 

 

UH Students Author Chinese Popular Culture Dictionary through Open Pedagogy Collaboration | University of Houston Libraries

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“Dr. Melody Yunzi Li, assistant professor of Chinese in the University of Houston College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, collaborated with the UH Libraries department of Open Education Services to create the first volume of a student-authored dictionary of Chinese popular culture terms.

Students in the spring 2023 Chinese Popular Culture course each defined three popular culture terms for their midterm assignments and were invited to contribute their work to this digital open educational resource (OER). This was the second successful collaboration with Dr. Li, following the development of another student-authored textbook for her Tales of East Asian Cities course last fall….”

Copyright Law in Academia (Urheberrecht in der Wissenschaft) | German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF)

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Authors: Till Kreutzer and Georg Fischer, iRights.Law;

English abstract (via deepl.com):

The updated and completely revised handout “Urheberrecht in der Wissenschaft” (Copyright in Science) provides practical and comprehensible answers to typical questions on copyright for teaching and research.

These include, for example, the use of third-party materials or the creation and publication of one’s own copyright-protected works.

German original abstract:

Die aktualisierte und vollständig überarbeitete Handreichung “Urheberrecht in der Wissenschaft” beantwortet praxisnah und verständlich typische Fragen zum Urheberrecht für Lehre und Forschung.

Diese umfassen etwa die Verwendung von Materialien Dritter oder die Erstellung und Veröffentlichung eigener urheberrechtlich geschützter Werke.

Openness and Open Education Practices in Distance Education

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“This webinar will explore the multiple dimensions of openness and open education practices, along with their inherent possibilities and challenges, across diverse contexts. It will provide practical examples of how individuals and higher education institutions can foster a culture of openness, collaboration, and innovation, leading to increased adoption of open education practices and the widespread availability of high-quality open educational resources.”

How Students Can Document Scientific Phenomena | Edutopia

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“Given that technology plays a larger role in how students collect their facts about a topic, it makes sense to give them more dynamic opportunities to show what they know. One approach could be asking students to make meaningful connections between information learned in class and their “real life” surroundings. Open access to information doesn’t necessarily create more knowledgeable critical thinkers. A limitless supply and convenience of access may often lead to information overwhelm. A key starting point for science teachers is to distinguish the content that can be observed in a concrete and accessible way. 

 

A method I use to build scientific habits of mind is asking learners to document phenomena outside of the classroom with a personal photo. I challenge students to look for examples of what we’re learning in class in the outside world. Students demonstrate their understanding by creating common links between what happens in the confines of the classroom and the unpredictability of the natural world. This activity can inspire deeper analysis, classroom discussion, and broadening of student understanding of the topic….”

The Center for Reimagining Learning, Inc – Open edX Product Manager

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“As the Product Manager for the Open edX team, you’ll regularly engage with internal and external stakeholders to identify, synthesize, and clearly communicate product requirements.  You will focus on delivering value incrementally and optimizing flow.  You will work closely with members of the open-source community including instructors, developers, and firms working with the Open edX platform.  Success in this role  is defined as coordinating efforts to solve the most important customer problems as quickly as possible.  Achieving this will grow and sustain our community of contributors, creating a virtuous circle. …”

Preprints for degree graduation requirements – ASAPbio

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“Different institutions around the world have varying requirements for PhD students to graduate. Some require a thesis whilst others require published papers (or several!). Publishing a paper can take months or even years, delaying the graduation of students in programmes with this requirement. Delays in graduating can have serious consequences for students.

Preprints speed up the dissemination of scientific findings but they can also aid in student graduation requirements. Once submitted to a preprint server, manuscripts are usually available online within 2 days. Preprints also allow the sharing of negative data (see our negative data winners!) and shorter formats that journals would not accept. By utilising preprints instead of published papers as a requirement for graduation, science would still be accelerated forward, students would get invaluable skills in writing in addition to the credit for their findings but without the delay and restrictions of traditional journal publication.

This year, a group of 2023 ASAPbio Fellows are addressing this topic as one of their projects.

 

We need your help to understand the current role (or not) of preprints in the graduation requirements at your institution. Help us by taking part in a short survey (10 minutes) by selecting the appropriate language below.”

Open Massachusetts: A Public Higher Education Repository | OER Commons

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“A platform for sharing open educational resources created and adopted by faculty from Massachusetts Public Higher Education Institutions. Join us here as we collaborate, curate, and create high quality open educational resources that serve the needs of students of Massachusetts Institutions of Public Higher Education.  

New to the Open Massachusetts Repository or just getting started? Visit the Open Massachusetts resource pages including our Instructions for Authoring a Resource, Descriptive Guidelines, and Video Tutorials….”

Open Scholarship in the Education Research Community

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“The Open Scholarship Survey (OSS) was administered to education researchers between Fall 2020-Summer 2022. The figures below summarize these respondents’ attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions about six core open scholarship practices: sharing data, sharing materials, preregistering studies, replication, sharing preprints, and reporting null results. When relevant, the responses from education researchers are shown alongside responses from the broader pool of respondents who have completed the OSS. Results are presented as figures with corresponding tables  included in the appendix.

Education researchers are broadly supportive of open scholarship practices, with over 75% of respondents supporting replication and reporting null results; nearly 70% or more supporting data- and materials-sharing; and 55% supporting sharing preprints. The only behavior where fewer than half of respondents express support is preregistration. Education researchers’ support for these practices slightly trails the broader OSS sample but is still largely comparable – again with the exception of preregistration, where they lag behind their peers by a wider

margin. 

 

While education researchers largely keep pace in their attitudes, they trail their peers more substantially in their behaviors. For example, 34% of education respondents have replicated at least once in their careers, compared to 51% among other OSS respondents. Likewise, 22% shared data in their most recent scholarly work compared to 41% in the broader sample. Education researchers also report being less likely to perform the practices going forward: 46% (compared to 63% in the broader sample) are likely to preregister in the future, and 74% (vs 84%) are

likely to report null results.: