It didn’t snow as much as we thought it would, and we were able to go out after a week and a half. Tonight, the Open Ed 2021 session I watched was entitled “OERigin Stories: Women of Color in Open Education” presented by Ursula Pike, Associate Director of DigiTex. This ten-minute pre-recorded session had the goals of sharing “examples of culturally specific approaches to Open Education,” to “Identify advantages to Open Educational Resources beyond cost saving,” and to be able to “have a model for asking people from different backgrounds about their approach to Open Education.” Pike works for the Digital Higher Education Consortium of Texas (DiTex), is a creative writing instructor, an author, is involved with CCCOER’s Equity Diversion and Inclusion committee, and is a Karuk Tribal member. Pike was inspired by a dataset presented at a previous conference by Malina Theide that indicated a lack of diversity in OER. Pike then interviewed six Open Education Leaders from diverse backgrounds and institutions, asking six questions:
- Tell me about yourself and how you came to Open Education
- How do you see your unique identities intersecting with Open (if at all)?
- Tell me about an Open Education project you have been involved with?
- How do you see your role in the future of Open Education?
- What is the biggest benefit of Open Education and what is missing?
- What questions about Open Education are you grapling with?
In response to “how did you come to Open Education?,” the responses included being approached by a department chair, getting involved with a grant, and alignment of OER and teaching philosophy. Pike asked the audience: “who let you in?” and urged us to consider who are the “gatekeepers” and “bouncers.” The next question asked was “how do you see your unique identities intersection with Open? (if at all)” Pike reflected on their own response to this. The question about the biggest benefits of Open Education and what is missing resulted in several questions, including finding a missing balance. The last question Pike asked the interviewees was “what questions about OPen Education are you grappling with?” Pike cited Tara Robertson in Open at the Margins to explain why they felt they were sitting on the margins and wanted to share stories and empower others to reflect. The peaceful music (“Second Nature” by Audioautix and “Serenity” also by Audioautix under Creative Commons 4.0) was relaxing and yet, allowed me to focus on the questions, quotes, and words. The transitions between slides were smooth with Pike appearing in circles or along with work. It was a fun session that made me pause and try to respond to some of the prompts too. Pike mentioned that the book they created with responses will be published on Pressbooks soon.
