For a number of years now, the transition to open science has been an integral part of academia. Open science encourages opening up research and educational processes, from unlocking data to freely accessible publications (UNESCO, 2022). For example, more and more institutions and journals are providing opportunities for researchers to publish open access (freely accessible articles) and host platforms to share research data openly.
Part of open science is open education. Open education encourages educators to find, (re)use, and share educational resources that are publicly accessible. At VU Amsterdam, Stijn Bos shares open medical education via Project Tulip, for example. Samantha Hughes, in collaboration with Slovak colleagues, shared an English translation of the book Genetics for Everyone. In addition to the use of open learning materials, open education is a pedagogy that pictures an educational space in which students actively contribute to knowledge sharing. For example, by having them create their own OERs or by giving their student perspectives a central role in education. This open pedagogy strongly aligns with VU Amsterdam's core values, in which we prioritize openness and accountability. In addition, open education can play an important role in the recognition and appreciation of teachers, because their educational resources are more likely to be found and (re)used through open sharing.
Open education and the use of OERs has the potential to make your teaching more accessible and efficient. But not every lecturer knows how to apply this. Read the four tips below on how you can use open education to make your educational resources more accessible and give student perspectives an important place in your teaching.
Tip 1: use the resources of your colleagues and adapt them to your needs
Perhaps you are already (re)using educational resources from your colleagues, but did you know that there is a tremendous number of resources openly shared online, from short documents to complete MOOCs (Massive Online Open Courses)? You can copy, use and adapt these resources yourself. Edusources, for example, collects Dutch OERs and checks their quality. International and subject-specific databases can be found via the knowledge article open educational resources. Looking for specific content? Search the Merlot platform, for example, by ISBN. The platform will suggest open alternatives based on this number. Or search online for “open educational resources + subject”. The University Library can always point you in the right direction.
When you're building on the educational resources of colleagues, this ensures high-quality materials that can be reused and adapted continuously. In fact, collaborating on OERs allows more time for optimizing these materials. The hours you normally spend creating new resources can now be used for this optimization.
Tip 2: share your own work openly
In addition to using the educational resources of your colleagues, you can also share your own resources openly. For example, by easily uploading your work in Surfsharekit and sharing at edusources. VU Amsterdam has a licence for both tools, so you can easily log in with your institution account. Be sure not to use copyrighted work in your resources without permission. Only use images or videos that are shared openly. There are some large databases of openly available material that you can use, such as Pixabay and Wikimedia Commons. You can also filter for images with a “creative commons” licence in a Google search.
When sharing OERs, it is important to choose the right licence. For example, a CC-BY license means that others can use and modify your material as long as they credit you. With a CC-BY-NC licence, the same conditions apply and the material may only be used for non-commercial purposes. On the Creative Commons website, you can find a licence guide to help you decide the right open licence. Need more advice about licensing or copyright? Ask your questions at the copyright information point of the University Library.
Tip 3: collaborate with colleagues outside your institution
Another possibility is to co-develop OERs with peers from other institutions. For example, the Environmental Toxicology open textbook, which was developed and used by five different institutions. Initiator Kees van Gestel, VU Amsterdam emeritus professor of ecotoxicology, says it can just as easily be used by people outside these institutions. Students always have access to the resource, which can be modified and updated at all times. This makes using the resource both efficient for the lecturers who use the book and makes the education in which it is used more accessible. Students no longer have to purchase an expensive textbook but can use the open textbook at any given time. Would you like to initiate such a collaboration yourself? SURF has developed a starter kit on how to go about this.
Tip 4: let students develop their own OERs
Teachers are not the only ones who can develop educational resources. Students learn a lot when they actively engage with OERs of others or when they develop their own. This concept is called open pedagogy. It can be as simple as having students write Wikipedia entries.
More elaborate examples of this are the Thingsthattalk platform of Leiden University, and the interactive maps with stories written by, among others, students of the minor Religious Heritage Amsterdam. Within this minor, students create stories about the religious heritage in Amsterdam and link these to a location on the map. This way, their role transforms from passive receivers of information to active participants in the process of knowledge sharing. This promotes the variety of perspectives that emerge in this process and in your teaching. At the University of Edinburgh, for example, many students are already creating open learning materials as part of their course, such as on behalf of an external company. These OERs contribute to the recognition and reward of students' work. Their resources are no longer judged solely by their lecturer, but are now findable and shareable by the rest of the world.