Welcome to the second issue this year of “Innovatus,” a special issue of YFile dedicated to teaching and learning innovation at 91ɫ. This issue of our monthly newsletter focuses on Open Educational Resources, or OERs.
OERs represent an extraordinary opportunity for 91ɫ. These educational resources help to remove barriers that limit access to education. OERs also serve to expand what instructors can offer students as these freely available materials can be accessed, adapted, and modified with few or no restrictions. These materials in turn can serve to enhance student access to learning while possibly reducing costs, something that is particularly important as we navigate the new economic challenges posed by this post-pandemic world.
Together with Joy Kirchner, dean of University Libraries, I co-chair 91ɫ’s open education steering committee. I invite you to join us on this fascinating journey. You can keep up to date by subscribing to the Open Education listserv, details on how to access the listserv are available on the .
In this issue of “Innovatus,” the articles recount some of the experiences our colleagues have had with OERs and offer resources for instructors interested in learning more.
I hope the ideas presented in this issue are both informative and inspiring.
Sincerely,
Will Gage
Associate Vice-President, Teaching and Learning
Faculty, course directors and staff are invited to share their experiences in teaching, learning, internationalization and the student experience through the “Innovatus” story form, which is available at .
In this issue:
"The decision to devote this issue of 'Innovatus' to Open Educational Resources (OER) is a deliberate one," writes Joy Kirchner, dean of Libraries at 91ɫ, in her letter to the community. "Across Canada, there is a national conversation happening about how academic institutions use OER, support OER adoption and creation in the classroom, and how OER facilitate innovative pedagogy."
The Open Educational Resources mini-course provides instructors with the necessary background knowledge and skills to engage with innovative, open pedagogical tools.
As part of the larger goal of building a unified, intersectoral community of practice among French as a second language (FSL) educators, Professors Muriel Péguret and Dominique Scheffel-Dunand are building a multilingual hub that includes a repository of Open Educational Resources (OER), such as textbooks, articles and videos.
Faculty develop innovative Open Educational Resources (OER) that are aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) and reveal the positive impact on teaching and learning.
91ɫ, through its talented faculty, contribute to eCampusOntario's virtual learning strategy Open Educational Resources (OER) collection.