I found that this week’s reading, Defining OER-enabled Pedagogy by Wiley, D. & Hilton, J., really made me reflect upon my previous learning in school, and think about my future teaching practices too. In particular, I found the four-part test very interesting. I enjoyed reading through all of the presented examples that fulfilled all four points of the test. As I read through the examples, I reflected upon my time as a student and thought about assignments,, both in elementary and high school, that I have done that could qualify as OER-enabled pedagogy but I couldn’t think of any examples. Some of my high school projects would qualify as meeting the first three points of the test as I created an artifact like a research or art project that was presented to the school or during an event in order to educate others, but none of them were ever made public and openly licensed online. This was probably to protect the privacy of minors. When I consider my post-secondary education prior to taking this course, the only time that an assignment would have met all four points of the test would be during a previous education technology course when the class would learn about a topic and then create a blog post or video to share openly, online, on our WordPress blogs. Other than that, and this current course, I have not experienced OER-enabled pedagogy in my own learning.
I think the four point test is very interesting and I would love to create tasks for my future students that pass all four points. I specifically enjoyed the examples of students creating supplementary learning resources to facilitate learning for future students, and having students create summaries of key course concepts to assist future students with some of the difficult concepts. I like these examples because they facilitate educating others, so learning becomes more meaningful to the students. Although I like the concept of OER-enabled pedagogy and would like to use them in my future teaching, I think it might be difficult to obtain consent from parents and the school for children’s work to be presented openly online. So, when I use OER- enabled ideas in my future teaching, I will have to be content with them not meeting the fourth point in the four point test.
The research question presented in the reading that really stood out to me was:
Do students assigned to create, revise, or remix artifacts find these assignments more valuable,
interesting, motivating, or rewarding than other forms of assessment? Why or why not?
My answer to this research question would probably be yes. An assignment that has students creating, revising, questioning, and remixing would be more interesting, motivating, and rewarding than other forms of assessment. With assignments like these, students are able to create something of their own, giving it more meaning than just regurgitating memorized facts and information in a test or essay format. These types of assignments also allow students to be creative, making learning more interesting and fun.
Resource:
Wiley, D. & Hilton, J. (2018). Defining OER-enabled Pedagogy. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 19(4).
August 23, 2021 at 7:43 pm
Hi Ayden, I really enjoyed your post and found we had many similar feelings regarding OER’s.
I found it interesting that you have not had much experience in OER-enabled pedagogy and wonder why some students have had more opportunities to engage in this type of content than others? Do you or my other pod members think it is because some educators lack the proper education and knowledge relating to OER’s, or do you think it is more of a personal preference? As I enter into my post bachelor at VIU in a few weeks I will be extremely interested to see if open learning and OER’s are discussed in any of my classes. I think OER’s are a very important tool that, if utilized correctly, can further edtech learning for students and allow them to be properly engaged with our constantly advancing technological society.
I agree that protecting minors is of the utmost importance when dealing with open and online learning, and I also agree that many of my future assignments will have to be focused on the first three criteria of the four part text, although Madeline did suggest some great contributions that, if monitored correctly, could allow for students to engage in safe and effective OER-enabled learning. Potentially using something such as WordPress as well that has the option for privacy protection could be a way for students to dip their toes into OER’s without having to publicly share their information…it would be an interesting assignment to use a protected WordPress blog as a almost a time capsule project where students contribute work on their private blog when they are younger, and once they are no longer minors could reuse and edit their work for public consumption? Something like this could be a great way for students to get an early handle working with online content and building blogs while not having to give up their anonymity until they were of age!
Great post 🙂
August 23, 2021 at 9:03 pm
Hi, Ayden!
Great job reflecting on this week’s readings
I think it’s hard to see courses that qualify as OER-enabled pedagogy in non-higher education for a reason you highlighted, protecting minors.
From my experience, it’s even more uncommon in STEM programs. There is also a concern about protecting intellectual property. However, I do see the benefit of designing more courses like EDCI 339 that enables students to learn and contribute to open learning.
Your concerns regarding obtaining consent from schools and parents are very valid. In your opinion, what target age group do you think would benefit from courses that satisfy the 4-part test?
Regarding the research question, I agree with your assertion that students will find assignments in which they are able to create, revise, or remix artifacts more valuable. I have personally experienced this with a handful of project-based assignments. There’s a more valuable learning experience in this kind of assignment when compared to traditional assignments that don’t feel genuine in their attempt to teach.
August 24, 2021 at 7:26 pm
Hi Ayden,
I enjoyed your post. I too reflected on my time as a student and I couldn’t think of any examples where I had assignments that passed all 4 parts of the test either. I always worked in distributed environments and anything I created for an assignment never extended beyond my school community of students, teachers, and families.
Your point about obtaining consent from parents is valid. In the school districts on the island achieving parental consent is necessary prior to any technology use in the classroom, even in distributed environments. The districts all use G Suite for Education rather than public Google accounts. This keeps all student work on their accounts accessible only to other students, and teachers/faculty in the district. G Suite also blocks ads and 3rd party scanning, and allows strict filtering and app control. Of course, both parental and student consent are necessary to create G suite accounts.
One struggle I had during my practicum regarding consent was that some parents did not want their children photographed even if the use was for distributed programs. This made using FreshGrade for assessment a challenge. Anything I made in FreshGrade would have to be reproduced for those families in a physical form.
If you have any questions about technology use in the classroom I encourage you to check out Regulation 1300.3 (Student Acceptable Use of Digital Technology) from the Greater Victoria School District.
July 8, 2023 at 12:22 pm
Hi Ayden, I enjoyed your post.Your reflection on the reading material and your thoughts on the four-point test are well-articulated. It is evident that you find the examples of OER-enabled pedagogy engaging and inspiring. Your desire to create tasks for your future students that fulfill all four points of the test demonstrates your enthusiasm for incorporating open educational resources and learner engagement in your teaching.
Your appreciation for students creating supplementary learning resources and summaries of key course concepts reflects the value of student-generated content in facilitating learning and making it more meaningful. Although you acknowledge the potential challenges of obtaining consent to openly share students’ work online, you express your intention to continue embracing the concept of OER-enabled pedagogy in your future teaching, even if it may not meet the fourth point of the four-point test.