Skyline College joined hundreds of higher education institutions around the world in celebrating Open Education Week which took place from March 5 to March 9.
At Skyline College, our goal for celebrating Open Education Week was to:
o Increase focus on textbook affordability as a social justice issue.
o Encourage faculty to choose low-cost course materials
o Educate students & faculty on the benefits of Open Educational Resources (OER)
Coordinated by the Academic Support & Learning Technology (ASLT) Division, Open Education Week included activities for both faculty and students. Students participated in a textbook affordability survey, interactive whiteboards, “Instead of textbooks, I could have bought…”, and button making highlighting awareness around rising textbook costs and how the open education movement seeks to provide students with low-cost or free materials for courses.
Several faculty, staff, and administrators participated in an all-college panel, “Introduction to Open Educational Resources and the Faculty Perspective” featuring a keynote from Director of the CCCOER Consortium Una Daly, and Skyline Faculty Panelists: Bridget Fischer, Art; Adam Windham, Physics; Rick Hough, Math; Dr. John Calavitta, English; Krista McClain, Psychology.
Faculty panelists shared insights on their journey toward adopting open education resources (OER) as well as successes and challenges. All panelists agreed that the benefit to students outweighed the challenges with finding relevant, current, and engaging OER materials.
Skyline College recognizes the continued high cost of textbooks as a barrier that impacts student success. Inability to afford textbooks and course materials is an equity issue and it can be addressed through OER adoption. Through the support of the Skyline College Library and Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning (CTTL) the Skyline College community will continue to promote OER awareness, faculty professional development, and ongoing support for OER adoption.
Want to get involved with the Skyline College Open Education Movement?
Visit our new webpage at: http://skylinecollege.edu/oer/ to learn more about where to get started and upcoming professional development opportunities.
Article by Bianca Rowden-Quince & Pia Walawakar | Photo by Zaw Min Khant
