For the Joy of It All: The Case for Collaboratively Building and Sharing Open Educational Resources (OER)

Abstract

The presentation delivers case studies of multiple models of open educational resource (OER) collaboration, including sprints, long-term projects, testbank development, come-alongside, small-scale projects, and collaborations in and across multiple-institutions. Teamwork, student hands-on learning, faculty and staff development, and uplifting others are presented as integral and rewarding parts of OER creation and renewal work. Participants will have the opportunity to share their navigation of tensions and challenges in OER work. Librarians are increasingly involved in providing access to course-related materials. Some feel various tensions 1) Between investing in shorter term gains from closed-access ebooks versus long term engagement and benefits that come from using, creating, collaborating around, and renewing of open educational resources. 2) Librarians at smaller institutions need encouragement that they can do OER in small ways too. 3) With inadequate support, knowledge, time, or resources, and 4) With rhetoric that diminishes the significant contributions and effort of OER creation as part of open education. Participants are asked to reflect on these (and other) tensions, how they have navigated these, and/or what suggestions they would have for others experiencing these tensions. Session objectives:

Participants will be able to describe basic elements of a collaborative OER creation, adaptation, or ancillary-development process. Participants will develop a sense of empathy and willingness to talk with others/each other regarding rewards and challenges present in OER work; Participants will remember some “sticky” stories regarding OER projects and the joy of collaboration around OER on behalf of others.

This presentation was delivered at the Virginia Library Association 2021 annual conference.