We finished the semester! I submitted grades and was able to get into the lab, extract genomic DNA from compost samples, and start a sequencing run after doing a session at OERcamp 2021! Tonight we watched an Open Ed 2021 session entitled “Open Education Through an Ethics of Care & Justice” presented by Kristin Lansdown, a Diversity Resident Librarian for OER at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Lansdown spoke about the history of black feminism. Citing bell hooks talking back, Lansdown emphasized ways of knowing the ways of privilege and power. Lansdown also has a background in counseling and used the ways paradigm for open education. Open Education was defined using SPARC’s definition, information from the Open Education Consortium, and the Office of Educational Technology. According to Lansdown, the Emergent Strategy from Adrienne Maree Brown has the principles of:
- Small is good, small is all;
- Change is constant;
- There is always enough time for the right work;
- There is a conversation in the room that only these people at this moment can have. Find it;
- Never a failure, always a lesson;
- Trust the people, if you trust the people, they become trustworthy;
- Move at the speed of trust;
- Less prep, more presence; and
- What you pay attention to grows.
I loved the Emergent Strategy that was shared and several of the bullet points resonate with me. Lansdown believes that the quotes she shared about abolitionists can apply to open education. Lansdown shared several quotes from different authors. Care work was addressed, and Lansdown urged us to slow down and think about our goals. “What types of knowledge are privileged?” Lansdown spoke about restorative justice and thinking about collective problem-solving. Lansdown used numerous resources to create a framework upon which she analyzes open education. During the question and answer session, Lansdown spoke about compensating and valuing the time and intellectual labor of students AND offering professional development opportunities to students involved in projects. I love how compensation and training are both emphasized for rewarded for students doing the intellectual work and sharing their time. This session was full of information and data. It was good to learn about different frameworks and authors through the work of Lansdown.
