Sharing Knowledge Freely: Successful Approaches to OER Publishing
Channel: Open Education Southern Symposium
Date: 2021-09-22

In recent years, the cost of textbooks in higher education has become a prominent issue of concern. Motivated by concern for equity and affordability on one hand and pedagogical affordances and academic freedom on the other, a growing number of educators have become involved in the production and use of open educational resources (OER). Open education practitioners have been addressing affordability and equity issues for a long time, but since the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, their work is all the more critical.

The ongoing transition to open publishing has been accompanied by distinct changes in the role of university publishing units. Many university libraries have taken on the role of publisher and have even been changing the definition of what it means to be a publisher. This panel will provide insight into how four large public universities are engaging with new opportunities to publish, distribute, and preserve the intellectual efforts of their communities. Front-line practitioners in open education and OER publishing from each institution will discuss their experiences managing OER creation and adoption programs and notable educational publishing trends. Additionally, an open publishing specialist from an educational charity will present her expertise working with various institutions and stakeholders in a cohort model to publish high-quality OER and promote cross-institutional collaboration.

Following brief micro-presentations from each of the panelists, the panel moderator will lead a facilitated feedback activity in which attendees will be invited to reflect on their own experiences and situational needs to generate relevant questions for each other and for the panelists. In keeping with the spirit of our topic, our emphasis throughout the panel will be less on ‘teaching’ attendees and more on collaborating with them to adapt ideas and practices to meet their own personal or institutional needs.

Presenters:
Hugh McGuire
Robert Browder
Elaine Thornton
Perry Collins
Apurva Ashok
Kathy Essmiller