February 2024 Newsletter
Greetings!
As the Open Educational Resources Coordinator and ASCCC OERI Liaison for our college, it is my responsibility to share communications from the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI). Please read on to learn about upcoming events and opportunities that are open to all.
If I can assist you as you consider OER for your classes or answer any OER related questions, please email Dr. Josh Franco, Associate Professor and OER Coordinator, at josue.franco@gcccd.edu or call/text 619-780-5674.
Open Education Week 2024 - March 4-8
As explained by Open Education Global:
An annual celebration, Open Education Week (OE Week) is an opportunity for actively sharing and learning about the latest achievements in Open Education worldwide.
Open Education Week was launched in 2012 by Open Education Global as a collaborative, community-built open forum. Every year OE Week raises awareness and highlights innovative open education successes worldwide. OE Week provides practitioners, educators, and students with an opportunity to build a greater understanding of open educational practices and be inspired by the wonderful work being developed by the community around the world.
Submit your contribution by February 28. Please share your OE Week plans with the OERI and we will get the word out about your participation.
OERI Friday Forums
The OERI Friday Forums will be held from 10:30 am – 11:30 am on the 1st and 3rd Fridays of the month, provided there are no scheduling conflicts (e.g., a holiday). All Friday Forum webinars are archived. The ASCCC OERI will provide automated captioning for all webinars. If you would like to request live human closed-captioning for any of our offerings, please contact us by e-mail at least 10 business days in advance.
OERI Friday Forums are intended for a diverse audience. Please share with your colleagues. We hope you all will join us!
Friday, February 2, 10:30 am - 11:30 am
- Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) Collaboration Cohorts
- In anticipation of the November 15 deadline for submission of ZTC Acceleration Grant applications, the Chancellor’s Office began discussing the need to establish a process to bring college representatives together to avoid duplication of effort. What is a Collaboration Cohort, which disciplines will be collaborating within cohorts, and what is expected of participating colleges? Join us for an overview of all that we know about this process – and to ask your questions.
- Register for the ZTC Collaboration Cohorts Webinar
Friday, February 23, 10:30 am - 11:30 am
- Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Anti-Racism (IDEA), Open Educational Resources (OER), and Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Faculty may find AI a powerful tool when developing OER. However, AI is not always a bias-free resource and faculty must recognize these biases when using AI to create – or adapt – OER. Join us as we explore AI biases and how we might use the IDEA principles to guard against them in our OER work.
OER Basics Series
The OERI is pleased to offer a series of webinars addressing the foundations of using, adapting, and developing OER to support your local ZTC work.
Thursday, February 1, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
- Understanding Open Educational Resources (OER), Copyright, and Fair Use
- Are you new to OER and interested in learning more? This webinar is an introduction to what OER is and the difference between “open" and "free" resources, copyright basics, and the concept of fair use.
Thursday, February 8, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm Introduction to Creative Commons Licensing
- Understanding Creative Commons licensing is critical when working with open educational resources (OER). In this interactive webinar we’ll explore the nuances of the various Creative Commons licenses for when a resource is used, adapted, or created.
Thursday, February 15, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm Searching for Open Educational Resources (OER)
- Looking for OER? This interactive session will cover search strategies for finding OER. Participants will search for resources and leave the webinar with some “go to” sites for locating OER.
Thursday, February 22, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
- Evaluating Open Educational Resources (OER) for Accessibility
- Accessibility is not only a legal and ethical requirement, it is central to creating resources that are inclusive and support the education of all learners. In this webinar, we will provide considerations for accessibility and tools for evaluating content.
Thursday, February 29, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
- Open Educational Resources (OER) Curation and Advanced Licensing
- How do you remix and attribute content with different licenses? How are collections and remixes different and why does it matter? This interactive session is intended for those who are familiar with the Creative Commons licenses and would like to expand their understanding. Bring your questions and licensing challenges.