Conclusion
We have deeply enjoyed our time at the library so far and are so excited to see what the next few years will bring!
To wrap up our book, we just wanted to share our key takeaways and tips that we’ve learned on this journey, from a strictly student perspective. I’m sure we’ll learn more throughout the rest of our time at the library, but this is what we have found so far:
Our first one is to talk to students, because while we were passionate about and personally invested in this endeavor, it wasn’t until we tabled and heard students stories that we got super invested in the importance of this project. We both believe that if students speak up and demand their voices to be heard, other people will join our fight for OER. This issue needs to come from the ground up for any progress to be made.
Another takeaway was the benefits of collaborating and connecting with other people who are interested in using OERs. We learned a lot from making our own OER, but we learned even more from seeing how they’re being used in other contexts. Working with different departments around campus and developing OERs for their needs helped us see the full range for how Open resources can be utilized, making us excited to continue this work!
Our third takeaway is about canvas and H5P. Throughout this process, we really learned that educators and people at our university are more likely to use OERs and pressbooks when they are used in tandem with canvas, providing an interactive element for students. Doing so makes OERs more palatable because they’re in a familiar and helpful format. This engagement shows both students and faculty the benefits of OER.
There are so many different OERs online that you can access. And we found it really beneficial to see what’s worked for other people and see how other people have used OER. We believe that the OER community needs to be a community that collaborates and shares and we learned so much from other creators in our journey by embracing the (somewhat) overwhelming OER libraries. One thing we have really loved about working on this initiative, is that the Open Educational world is so supportive and authors of OERs make themselves accessible. We have made friends, been inspired, and truly feel like a part of this community working for the betterment of students and learners everywhere.
Our fifth and final takeaway is that we need to be patient. This goes back to the political element at our university. We know that our goals are not everyone else’s goals, but we are hopeful that the future is moving towards more open educational opportunities.
