Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

ISTLD

Home / For Instructors / Seminar Series and Programs / Open Education Grant Program Pilot
Print

Open Education Grant Program Pilot

Open education seeks to advance affordable, accessible, and flexible teaching and learning through the development and use of Open educational resources (OER) and practices (OEP). OER are “teaching, learning, and research resources that, through permissions granted by their creator, allow others to use, distribute, keep, or make changes to them.”(https://open.bccampus.ca/what-is-open-education/); examples include open textbooks, course readings, learning modules, educational games, videos, homework systems, or even entire online courses. OEP (also known as open pedagogy) refers to a series of innovative teaching approaches and practices made possible through the use of OER in the classroom; examples include student projects to publish in open course journals and books, create and share digital exhibits, develop online video tutorials, or adapt and design other kinds of reusable learning objects as well.

OER adoptions are gaining momentum in higher education as a means of making learning more affordable and accessible for students, and creating new opportunities for instructors to adapt and customize flexible learning resources for their courses.

The current pilot program draws on the lessons learned from the past OER grant program funded by the VP Academic in collaboration with SFU Library and the former Teaching & Learning Centre. The current pilot grant is funded by the ISTLD and is a continued collaboration with SFU Library, the Centre for Educational Excellence (CEE), and the ISTLD.
 

Throughout this program, participants will:

  • Build knowledge of how using OER and OEP can enhance the student learning experience, and gain skills for integrating OER and OEP into teaching practice;
  • Receive support for the adoption, adaptation and/or development of OER as primary classroom materials
  • Attend professional development through workshops and consultations focused on open education topics;
  • Develop a project proposal to implement and evaluate the OER/OEP changes
  • Receive up to $5,000 of funding to support the design, implementation, and evaluation of their work. [Note: the amount allocated per grant will be based to the scale of the project for a maximum of $5,000 per project. Applicants are asked to consider budgetary requests accordingly (i.e., developing new OER may involve more time and/or expenses than adopting or adapting existing OER).]
  • Submit a final report and share the outcomes of the project by connecting with other faculty members and colleagues within and outside of the SFU community

Time commitment and workload

  • Participants will attend 5 OER workshop for ~1 hour each between Feb 2022 and August 2022. Topics include:
    • Orientation: Open Educational Resources, Open Educational Practices, and the Licenses Behind Them
    • Adopting/Adapting and Licensing your own OER/OEP & the Tools to Help You Along the Way
    • Assessing and Evaluating OER; How to Make Your Content Open
    • Inquiry & Evidence-Based Teaching
    • Community of Practice Discussion;
  • Participants will present their findings or progress; such as during Open Education Week in 2023;
  • Ongoing meetings and consultations with Library, CEE, or ISTLD staff on an as-needed basis per the scope of the project;
  • Some readings and relevant research articles will be provided.

How to participate

To express interest in this program, please complete the Open Education Grant - Expression of Interest form. Completed forms should be sent to istld@sfu.ca by Sunday, 6 February, 2022 at 11:30pm. 

Eligibility: Principal applicants must hold a continuing or limited term full-time faculty (lecture or tenure track) appointment at SFU (i.e., SFUFA membership) to be eligible for funding. Adjunct professors, sessional instructors, university research associates or SFU staff members may be co-applicants. Limited-term faculty members’ projects must be carried out during the term of their appointment. Participating faculty members must:

  • Agree to attend all workshop sessions.
  • Agree to include curation and/or customization of OER that will be freely and openly shared throughout and beyond SFU within their projects.
  • Agree that all OER developed via this program will be openly licensed (e.g. Creative Commons), made available in an editable format, and shared via an open repository (e.g. SFU Summit) to facilitate discovery, access, reuse, and remixing of this content for educational purposes 
  • Include plans to re-use OER in courses in subsequent semesters.
  • Submit their project proposal to the SFU Research Ethics office for approval, if necessary.
  • Submit a final report upon completion of their project.

Facilitation team

Sessions and support will be facilitated by members of the Library, CEE, and ISTLD. Faculty members presently engaged in OER activities may also facilitate some components of the program. For questions, please contact: Nathan_Roberson@sfu.ca

Resources

The Library, CEE, and ISTLD have agreed to provide in-kind supports for faculty members who receive grants. Examples of in-kind support include:

  • Liaison librarians who can assist with finding and evaluating suitable open textbooks or other subject-based OER;
  • Makerspace librarians or facilitators who can provide assistance in the Media and Maker Commons with prototyping or the use of 3D printing, laser cutting/engraving, or A/V studios;
  • Digital Publishing librarians who can provide software hosting, technical support, and expertise for publishing course-based, online, open access journals and books;
  • Educational media specialists who may assist with finding and adapting open educational media resources (videos, graphics, etc.);
  • Educational Developers who can be consulted on course design and OER assessment;
  • Learning technology specialists who may assist with integrating OER into Canvas, or with instructor or student customization of materials;
  • Copyright librarians and other library staff who can advise on the application of open licenses and sharing final course materials via Summit, SFU’s institutional repository;
  • Research, Inquiry, and administrative support

The deadline for applications (February to June 2022 cohort) is now closed.

 

RESOURCES