In celebration of Open Education (OE) Week (March 4 – 8), NC staff and faculty had the opportunity to learn about Open Education Resources (OER) during an engaging Lunch and Learn session titled “Adopt vs Shop?” held on March 7. This event, hosted by the Libraries and Learning Commons at the Welland Campus, provided attendees the opportunity to explore the world of OER, meet a faculty member who has created an OER for use in their classroom, and network with other like-minded individuals while enjoying a complimentary lunch.
School of Academic Studies Professor Wendy Ward presenting her experience adapting the textbook “Professional Communications” for the Canadian context.
Every March, OE Week celebrates the achievements of fellow open educators while raising awareness about the diverse aspects of Open Education. At Niagara College Libraries and Learning Commons, OE Week is centered around promoting the adoption, adaptation, and creation of OER. These resources include a wide range of learning, teaching, and research materials in any format or medium that reside in the public domain or are under copyright that are freely accessible, customizable, and redistributable under open licenses.
During the Lunch and Learn session, 22 participants had the privilege of hearing from Wendy Ward, a Professor in the School of Academic Studies, as she shared her firsthand experiences with integrating OER into her classrooms. Wendy touched on her experience adapting the textbook “Professional Communications” to suit the Canadian context and discussed her own OER publication: a textbook titled “Communicate with Style: A Handbook for Personal Care Trades,” created specifically for her Communications courses taught to NC Hairstyling students.
A memorable moment from the session involved Wendy introducing five Hairstyling students who shared their personal experiences leveraging OER for their studies. These students highlighted the economic benefits of using OER, such as eliminating the need to purchase traditional textbooks. They also expressed the convenience and flexibility of having access to online textbooks, which could be easily printed for studying purposes without having to carry physical copies to class.
Faculty and staff interested in learning more about OER can reference the Library and Learning Commons’ subject guide here or reach out to Siscoe Boschman, Library Facilitator, Information Literacy (Welland Campus Library) at [email protected] or Matt Bohun, Library Facilitator, Information Literacy (Daniel J. Patterson Campus) at [email protected].
