Dear colleagues,
I am delighted to share the news that KPU has been approved for institutional membership by both the Open Education Consortium (https://www.oeconsortium.org/) and the International Council for Open & Distance Education (https://www.icde.org/). These are the premier global organizations that promote and support open education by providing resources and training, hosting events, and bringing together like-minded institutions to help widen equitable access to education.
Both organizations hold an annual conference in the Fall, the Open Education Global Conference and the World Conference on Online Learning, for which KPU faculty, staff, and students can now receive reduced registration fees. For more information about this year’s conferences please see: https://conference.oeconsortium.org/2019/ and https://wcol2019.ie/
Cheers,
Rajiv
Dear colleagues,
As you may know, our Zed Cred initiative<https://www.kpu.ca/open/zedcred> enables students to take courses and even earn credentials at KPU while incurring zero required textbook costs (thanks to the use of open educational resources or library resources). Over the past two years we have launched Canada’s first such programs, the most recent of which are the Associate of Arts Degree in General Studies, the A. A. in Sociology, and the Diploma in General Studies. Across the four semesters that this initiative has been running, KPU students have saved approximately $1.8 million in textbook costs.
However, over this same period we have received feedback from several students, instructors, and staff about the name of the initiative. The issue has been a lack of clarity: the term “Zed Cred” always needs to be explained so that it is not confused as meaning zero credit courses or even zero credibility courses. Indeed, as a result of this confusion we have heard that there have been some cases of students not registering for these sections. In order to resolve this problem, the Open Education Working Group has worked with our colleagues in Marketing to look at alternative names. We are proposing a rebranding of the initiative, from Zed Cred to Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC for short). The term “Zero Textbook Cost” has several advantages, including that it is already being used by several U.S. institutions that offer similar programs, it is self-explanatory, and it is flexible (could be used for courses, programs, or degrees).
But before we consider adopting the new term we wanted to reach out to solicit feedback on the proposed rebranding. Do you see any issues with it? If so, please share your thoughts by sending an email to open(a)kpu.ca<mailto:open@kpu.ca>
Thank you very much,
Rajiv
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Rajiv Jhangiani, Ph.D.
Associate Vice Provost, Open Education
Kwantlen Polytechnic University
t 604.599.3253 e rajiv.jhangiani(a)kpu.ca<mailto:rajiv.jhangiani@kpu.ca>
www.kpu.ca/open<http://www.kpu.ca/open>
This e-mail and any attachments may be confidential or legally privileged. If you received this message in error or are not the intended recipient, please destroy the e-mail message and any attachments or copies.
At KPU, we work, study, and live in a region south of the Fraser River which overlaps with the unceded traditional and ancestral lands of the Kwantlen, Musqueam, Katzie, Semihamoo, Tsawwassen, Qayqayt, and Kwikwetlen peoples.
Dear colleagues,
BCcampus has posted a wonderful opportunity to be one of three Open Education Advocacy and Research Fellows. This is a terrific opportunity to engage in research on open educational practices and includes some funding to supporting attending and presenting at conferences on this work. For more information about the opportunity and the application see: https://bccampus.ca/grants-calls-for-proposals/faculty-fellows/
The application deadline is coming up quick, on Monday July 8. If you are considering applying please reach out and I would be delighted to give you feedback on your application (I have held this position in the past).
Cheers,
Rajiv
Dear Colleagues,
BCcampus Open Education has just posted a NEW grant opportunity: the Open Education Sustainability Grant for Institutions<https://open.bccampus.ca/call-for-proposals/open-education-sustainability-g…>.
This call for proposals is for institutional open education working groups in British Columbia to provide small open educational grants, funded by BCcampus and matched by the institution, in order to improve the sustainability of open education. The Open Education Resource Sustainability Grant for Institutions may also be used for, but is not limited to, workshops, training, and institutional support for OER and open education infrastructure. The proposal deadline is August 22nd.
If you have any questions regarding this call, please email opentext(a)bccampus.ca
Regards,
Lauri Aesoph
Manager, Open Education
[https://bccampus.ca/files/2018/10/dotted-line.jpg]
Cell: 250-893-0258 • Email: laesoph(a)bccampus.ca<mailto:laesoph@bccampus.ca>
Twitter: @lauriaesoph<https://twitter.com/lauriaesoph> • Skype: lauri.aesoph • LinkedIn: lauri.aesoph<https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauri.aesoph/>
BCcampus.ca<https://bccampus.ca/> • @BCcampus<https://twitter.com/BCcampus> • #BCcampus<https://twitter.com/hashtag/BCcampus?src=hash>
I acknowledge that the land on which I work and live is the traditional
territory of the Lkwungen-speaking people.
Hello everyone,
Many of you are familiar with Creative Commons licenses<https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/licensing-types-examples/>, which provide the legal mechanism for creating and sharing open educational resources. Two years ago Creative Commons launched an open education platform, which brings together people from around the world interested in open education in order to stay abreast of new developments, explore opportunities to collaborate, and contribute to global perspectives on open education to strengthen advocacy worldwide.
The platform has an email list, a Slack channel, and optional monthly meetings. If you are interested in joining the platform, please visit: https://creativecommons.org/2017/09/05/invitation-join-cc-open-education-pl…
Cheers,
Rajiv
Dear colleagues,
Two months ago I shared information about how to apply for the international OER Research Fellowship program coordinated out of Brigham Young University. Today it is my pleasure to inform you that Dr. Alena Buis, our colleague from Art History/Fine Arts, has been selected to be an 2019-2020 OER Research Fellow. Please join me in congratulating Alena!
Cheers,
Rajiv
From: Rajiv Jhangiani <rajiv.jhangiani(a)kpu.ca>
Date: Friday, April 19, 2019 at 7:34 AM
To: KPU Open Education listserv <openkpu(a)mail.bccampus.ca>
Subject: External Opportunity: Apply to be an OER Research Fellow (deadline May 15)
Dear colleagues,
The US-based Open Education Group (http://openedgroup.org/) is an interdisciplinary research group that supports and conducts original, rigorous, empirical research on the impact of OER adoption on a range of educational outcomes. They have just put out their latest call for OER Research Fellows; see: https://www.formpl.us/form/267776001
Both Farhad Dastur and I have benefited from terms as OER Research Fellows and I would be happy to discuss this opportunity with you and serve as a reference.
More information about the program:
Successful candidates will publish papers relating to the educational outcomes that take place when OER and/or open pedagogy are substituted for traditional learning materials and approaches. OER Research Fellows will receive funding to attend two conferences, one of which will be the Open Education Conference in Phoenix, AZ, October 30 - Nov. 1, 2019. The second conference will be the 2020 OpenEd conference (date and place to be determined). In addition, Fellows will receive mentoring in OER research and guidance in identifying, researching, and writing specific OER projects. Small stipends will be made available to OER Research Fellows who successfully complete the program; the overall funding support for Fellows will be approximately $5,000 (including conference costs and stipend).
Thank you,
Rajiv
[logo gif]
Rajiv Jhangiani, Ph.D.
Associate Vice Provost, Open Education
Kwantlen Polytechnic University
t 604.599.3253 e rajiv.jhangiani(a)kpu.ca<mailto:rajiv.jhangiani@kpu.ca>
www.kpu.ca/open<http://www.kpu.ca/open>
This e-mail and any attachments may be confidential or legally privileged. If you received this message in error or are not the intended recipient, please destroy the e-mail message and any attachments or copies.
At KPU, we work, study, and live in a region south of the Fraser River which overlaps with the unceded traditional and ancestral lands of the Kwantlen, Musqueam, Katzie, Semihamoo, Tsawwassen, Qayqayt, and Kwikwetlen peoples.
