Track Session Type
Teaching and Learning with Free and Open Educational Resources, Evaluation: Research in OER, Evaluation student engagement, OER Impact and Programmatic Assessment, Sustainability: Grant Acquisition & Management, Sustainability, Engaging Student Leaders, OER for Resilience, OER Community Building, OER and Technology
Presentation Type
Panel Presentation
OER Level of Expertise
Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Audience
Faculty, Librarian, instructional designer, Administrator, Staff, Other
Session Title
Session Abstract
Panelists will discuss their grant Remixing Open Textbooks through an Equity Lens (ROTEL): Culturally Relevant Open Textbooks for High Enrollment General Education Courses and Career and Professional Courses at Six Public Massachusetts Colleges’ goal to create 72 culturally-relevant textbooks to improve student learning outcomes, particularly from underserved communities.
Objectives of the Session
After attending this session, attendees will be able to:
- Determine strategies to identify, engage, and involve key stakeholders
- Identify opportunities to incorporate external collaboration with community members, subject matter experts, and/or institutions of higher education
- Create a process for supporting the many facets of OER design: onboarding faculty to an Open publishing process, locating content, assessing for cultural relevance, building and maintaining in a Content Management System (CMS),
- Discuss Key Performance Indicators and their importance to assessing impact using a COUP Framework (i.e., Cost, Outcome, Usage, and Perceptions)
Full Description of the Session
This panel will speak to the unique structure of the multi-year, multi-institutional Textbook Success Pilot program in Massachusetts: Remixing Open Textbooks through an Equity Lens (ROTEL): Culturally Relevant Open Textbooks for High Enrollment General Education Courses and Career and Professional Courses at Six Public Massachusetts Colleges. Panelists with multiple perspectives will discuss the many moving parts to achieve an ambitious goal of adapting and creating 72 open textbooks within three years. OER users of all levels (beginner, intermediate, advanced) are welcome.
We will begin by giving a brief overview of the grant project, our infrastructure, and our process for establishing cultural and marketplace relevance as a core component of our content creation.
Panelists will speak to the professional development partnerships we have made with Rebus, acquisition of the Pressbooks Content Management System (CMS), construction of an Industry Advisory Board, and our goals in alignment with the COUP framework (Cost, Outcomes, Usage, Perceptions). Panelists will also take a deep dive into the uniqueness of this grant work: centering equity, diversity, and inclusion; building support teams across six institutions; and prioritizing accessibility.
We will share the Key Performance Indicators developed for this project and their importance to assessing impact using a COUP Framework (i.e., Cost, Outcome, Usage, and Perceptions). Attendees will participate in an interactive activity to reflect on potential opportunities for OER at each individual institution.
Presenter Bios
Presenter 1
Name: Millie Gonzalez
Bio:
Millie Gonzalez, MLS, is the Library Dean of the Henry Whittemore Library at Framingham State University. In this role, she oversees all aspects of the Library and leads library initiatives relating to OER, equity and inclusion, and sustainability.
Millie is the co-chair of Framingham States’s OER Taskforce and is the co-chair of the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education’s OER Advisory Council. She is the lead PI of the Department of Education’s Open Textbook Pilot $460,000K federal grant “Remixing Open Textbooks through an Equity Lens (ROTEL). The grant is managed by a consortium of 6 public higher education institutions across Massachusetts.
Email: vgonzalez@framingham.edu
Presenter 2
Name: Sue Tashjian
Sue Tashjian is Coordinator of Instructional Technology and Online Learning at Northern Essex Community College. In this role, she supports faculty with all aspects of online course design and development - as well as their instructional technology needs. She is a certified Quality Matters facilitator. Sue serves as co-chair of NECC’s Textbook Task Force and provides leadership for the campus’ open education initiative - the Adopt Open project.
On a statewide level, she serves as co-chair of the Massachusetts Department of Higher Ed’s OER Advisory Council and was the Coordinator of the Massachusetts Community Colleges Go Open project. She is a member of the New England Board of Higher Ed’s OER Advisory Council and is currently the Co-PI for a Department of Education Open Textbook Pilot federal grant program along with a consortium of six public institutions that is funding faculty to adapt and create inclusive, accessible and culturally relevant open textbooks that align with our marketplace needs. On the national level, Sue served on the Executive Council of the Community College Consortium for Open Educational Resources (CCCOER) as co-President.
Email: stashjian@necc.mass.edu
Presenter 3
Name: Bob Awkward
Bio:
Dr. Robert J. Awkward is the Assistant Commissioner for Academic Effectiveness. In this role, he directs two statewide programs for public higher education: a) advancing and deepening the culture of learning outcomes assessment in order to increase student learning, and b) increasing the adoption, adaptation, and creation of open educational resources that serve to lower the costs of textbooks and ancillaries and increase student learning, persistence and completion.
Robert is a tenured professor of business administration (currently on leave) at Middlesex Community College. He also serves as a visiting professor and program coordinator for the Masters in Human Resources program at Framingham State University. Finally, Bob graduated with B.A. in Political Science and a M.S. in Economic Policy & Planning from Northeastern University; a M.Ed. in Human Resources Development from Boston University; and a Ph.D. in Higher Education from the University of Massachusetts Boston.
Email: RAwkward@dhe.mass.edu
Presenter 4
Name: Jess Egan
Bio: Jess Egan currently serves as Coordinator of Instructional Design at Holyoke Community College (HCC). In this role, she supports 300 faculty members, offers professional development and training opportunities, and enthusiastically supports OER creation. Jess has a deep commitment to supporting vulnerable populations with culturally responsive OER and experience in authoring and supporting the design of OER textbooks with an equity lens. Over the past five years, Jess has supported the design and delivery of over 100 courses with OER components. In 2021, Jess launched the inaugural HCC OER Faculty Champions program, which is projected to save students $97,000 within one academic year.
Jess is also a member of the statewide MA OER Advisory Council and serves as the co-chair of the marketing and education sub-committee. Her involvement with the Advisory Council and as a member of the ROTEL Open Textbook Coordinating Council (OTCC) has contributed to the creation of OER textbooks aligned to HCC’s goal of better supporting the diverse population.
Email: jegan@hcc.edu
Phone:
Presenter 5
Name: Jackie Kremer
Bio: Jacalyn Kremer, MLS, is the Dean of Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library at Fitchburg State
University. Ms. Kremer oversees all aspects of the library and archives services. She leads the
OER initiatives on campus and is chair of Fitchburg's Open and Affordable Education Committee. She co-led an OER community of practice of Fitchburg faculty. She also co-created the development of the state-wide assessment key performance indicators for Massachusetts public higher education. Ms. Kremer was the lead investigator on a 2020 Davis Foundation Presidential Grant of $25,000 to fund OER initiatives.She serves on the ROTEL Open Textbook Coordinating Council (OTCC).
Email: jkremer@fitchburgstate.edu
Publishing Permission
1
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Start Date
27-5-2022 10:00 AM
End Date
27-5-2022 11:00 AM
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion-centered OER creation: A collaboration across six public higher education institutions
This panel will speak to the unique structure of the multi-year, multi-institutional Textbook Success Pilot program in Massachusetts: Remixing Open Textbooks through an Equity Lens (ROTEL): Culturally Relevant Open Textbooks for High Enrollment General Education Courses and Career and Professional Courses at Six Public Massachusetts Colleges. Panelists with multiple perspectives will discuss the many moving parts to achieve an ambitious goal of adapting and creating 72 open textbooks within three years. OER users of all levels (beginner, intermediate, advanced) are welcome.
We will begin by giving a brief overview of the grant project, our infrastructure, and our process for establishing cultural and marketplace relevance as a core component of our content creation.
Panelists will speak to the professional development partnerships we have made with Rebus, acquisition of the Pressbooks Content Management System (CMS), construction of an Industry Advisory Board, and our goals in alignment with the COUP framework (Cost, Outcomes, Usage, Perceptions). Panelists will also take a deep dive into the uniqueness of this grant work: centering equity, diversity, and inclusion; building support teams across six institutions; and prioritizing accessibility.
We will share the Key Performance Indicators developed for this project and their importance to assessing impact using a COUP Framework (i.e., Cost, Outcome, Usage, and Perceptions). Attendees will participate in an interactive activity to reflect on potential opportunities for OER at each individual institution.