Free access to materials is not the only benefit of using OER. Another aspect of OER that is commonly commended by instructors is the academic freedom that using openly licensed content affords them in taking control of their classroom and engaging students in learning.

Definitions

The open education movement is still discussing and debating what it means to think about teaching and learning practices in a more inclusive, diverse, and open manner. Some definitions have emerged from this discussion.

Attribution: “Open Dialogues: How to engage and support students in open pedagogies” by Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology, University of British Columbia is licensed CC BY 3.0.

Renewable Assignments

One method of engaging in open pedagogy is the development of renewable assignments, assignments which students create for the purpose of sharing and releasing as OER. These can range in content from individual writing assignments in Wikipedia to collaboratively written textbooks.^[1][2] Wiley & Hilton compiled the criteria in Table 2 to distinguish between different kinds of assignments, from least to most open.^[3] You can explore more examples of open pedagogy in action in the Open Pedagogy Notebook.

When applied to assignments, open pedagogy tends to display five different characteristics:

1. Incorporating feedback.
2. Providing options.
3. Encouraging ownership.
4. Having value beyond knowledge.
5. Being shared with others.

These characteristics can appear singly, be used together, or have significant overlap. Renewability is a spectrum depending on how many of the characteristics are present, which provides room to choose which ones align best with the learning objectives of a course and classroom culture.^[4]

From: “Building-in Student Buy-in: Disposable vs Renewable Assignments” (Amanda Grey, 2023) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Tools for Implementing Renewable Assignments

• Hypothes.is: One of the tools commonly used for open pedagogy projects is Hypothes.is. Hypothes.is allows users to annotate websites and online readings easily. Using Hypothes.is can let students engage with your course readings and each other in a more interactive way than discussion boards might allow. UVA offers Hypothes.is as one of the Canvas-integrated tools. More information/access can be found at the the University of Virginia’s Learning Tech.
• Wikibooks: Wikibooks and WikiEdu are both excellent tools for working with students to create a text. Alternatively, short student projects, such as annotated bibliographies, can be done via Wikipedia by adding context and citations to short or underdeveloped articles. This not only gives students the opportunity to get experience explaining concepts for a public audience, but it also increases the available public knowledge on your course’s topic!
  
• Google Drive: Google Drive provides a variety of tools that can be used for collaboration on text-based projects as well as slideshows and spreadsheets.
• Youtube: Student-made instructional videos or class projects can be incredibly useful to showcase for future students in the class or to use as supplemental materials for explaining difficult concepts.

Additional tools can be found on WSU’s Software Catalog webpage.

Educate Students about Copyright

It’s important that students who are creating items that might be published and shared openly understand what that means. Help students understand their rights involving their intellectual property. If you’re uncomfortable discussing copyright with your students, university librarians can visit your class to make this process easier.

Be Considerate of Student Privacy

Some students will be energized by the idea that their work can be seen, used, or even improved upon by future students in the class. Others may feel uncomfortable with this step. There can be many reasons why students may not want to contribute their own voices or share their work publicly, particularly for students from marginalized groups. To offer students greater agency and respect their privacy, allow them the choice to opt in to making their materials public. If students choose to publish their work, give them the option to remove their name from public documents.

An interesting read is^[5] by Matthew Cheney where he explores some of the potential pitfalls of open assignments. Preparing your students for the ‘why’ of open assignments is a critical step in effective Open Pedagogy implementation. The considerations listed below are solid steps towards solidifying the ‘why.’

These are only a few concepts to keep in mind when exploring Open Pedagogy in your course. You can learn more about this topic in the Additional Resources listed below.

Examples of Open Educational Practices

OEP, or Open Educational Practices, can be defined as the set of practices that accompany either the use of OERs or, more to our point, the adoption of Open Pedagogy. Here are some simple but profoundly transformative examples of OEPs:

• Adapt or remix OERs with your students.
• Create OERs with your students.
• Teach your students how to edit Wikipedia articles.
• Facilitate student-created and student-controlled learning environments.
• Encourage students to apply their experience to serve their community.
• Engage students in public chats with authors or experts.
• Build the course collaboratively with students.
• Let students curate course content.
• Utilize renewable assignments that can be shared with other students and professionals in the field.

These are just a few ideas for getting started with Open Pedagogy. Most importantly, find people to talk with about your ideas. Ask questions about how OERs and the 5 Rs (retain, reuse, revise, remix, redistribute) change the nature of a course or the relationships that students have to their learning materials. Look to programs and colleges that are widely accessible and which serve a broad variety of learners to ask questions about how their course designs are distinct or compelling. Ask your students about meaningful academic contributions they have made and what structures were in place that facilitated those contributions. Try, explore, fail, share, and revise.

Open Pedagogy is not a magical solution for the crises that currently challenge higher education. That being said, we feel that Open Pedagogy offers a set of dynamic commitments that could help faculty and students articulate a sustainable, vibrant, and inclusive future for our educational institutions. By focusing on access, agency, and a commons-oriented approach to education, we can clarify our challenges and firmly assert a learner-centered vision for higher education.

For additional reading and inspiration, check out The Open Pedagogy Notebook. 

Additional Resources

• Open Pedagogy Portal
• Tools to Promote Open Pedagogy in the Classroom
• Renewable Assignments: Examples
• Faculty Guide to Open Pedagogy
• Open Pedagogy Project Roadmap
• Digital Storytelling as OER-enabled Pedagogy: Sustainable Teaching in a Digital World