Introduction/Background
During a recent Intensive School, social work students developed a series of group work exercises. Recognising the potential value of these exercises in their workplaces and for industry colleagues, the students and Senior Lecturer Dr Monica Short co-constructed a group work anthology. This anthology has been published as an OER on the University’s Pressbooks platform, with support from Charles Sturt Library.
Aims/Objectives of the presentation
The presentation will discuss this project involving OER-enabled pedagogical practices and the collaboration between students, academic staff, community and library staff. Presenters will also provide insight into the open textbook publishing process including ideation, collaboration, peer-review, and formatting.
Methods
OER, a UNESCO endorsed initiative, are learning and teaching materials that can be freely copied, used, adapted and re-shared. An alternative publishing model, they enhance the student learning experience, ensuring equitable access to learning resources (Cheung, 2019). This is particularly pertinent to Charles Sturt, as many regional students face barriers to education, including access to scholarly resources.
This project leaned into an OER-enabled pedagogical approach by implementing a series of learning and teaching practices in the context of the 5R permissions characteristic of OER. The 5R permissions: retain, reuse, revise, remix and redistribute, enable students to “…engage in a broader range of activities and, therefore, to learn in a broader range of ways” (Wiley & Hilton, 2018).
Results
Principles of authentic and OER-enabled renewable assessment were also incorporated in this project. Students were tasked with designing activities as part of their coursework that have practical and meaningful applications after grading.
Students made their content freely accessible online with a Creative Commons license. This allows other social work practitioners to adapt the activities therein for their clients and circumstances. The OER can be used without restriction for learning and teaching purposes, and industry (and in turn the community) can benefit from future adaptations under the 5R permissions.
Discussion
By embracing OER and engaging with OER-enabled pedagogy we can improve our students’ experience by:
*Co-designing accessible learning resources relevant for industry and academia
*Offering activities to enhance resumes and achieve career goals
*Creating meaningful and authentic assessment opportunities.
This presentation aims to highlight the potential impact of OER at Charles Sturt and further the discussion around rethinking the development of learning resources for the benefit of regional students.
Conclusion
The development of OER contributes to the provision of accessible scholarly learning resources and provides opportunities to develop meaningful learning and assessment experiences for our students. Furthermore, the resultant resource enables engagement and connection with our regional communities by making knowledge more accessible to all.
Cheung, S. K. S. (2019). A study on the university students’ use of open educational resources for learning purposes. Technology in Education: Pedagogical Innovations (pp. 146-155). Springer Singapore.
Wiley, D., & Hilton, J. (2018). Defining OER-Enabled Pedagogy. International Review of Research in Open & Distributed Learning, 19(4), 133–147. https://doi-org.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/10.19173/irrodl.v19i4.3601
