Student Panel on OER Advocacy in Canada

We have had fantastic student panels as part of RLOE Cohort 2! I also had the opportunity to talk to NC State students this evening. Tonight, I watched the Open Ed 2021 recorded student panel entitled “Ask Student OER Champions: Advocacy and Allyship.” Several students from across Canada spoke about their work with OER. After introductions, the eight student leaders responded to questions Lydia Houck delivered. At Arcadia, Houck surveyed students about OER needs and awareness. Logan Collins explained the financial challenges of students and shared research from a faculty member at their institution. Students at their institution can check whether a c course has OER options. Meredith CudmoreKeating from StFX Students’ Union addressed student advocacy. Emma Drake is now a Member Relations Officer at the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations. I thought that Emma’s response to the challenges they have encountered as an ally for OER was interesting: while students have Library and faculty advocates, sometimes they don’t know how to navigate the jurisdiction challenges. Emma spoke about sharing a platform for administration, students, and faculty to explore the hesitation of the adoption of OER. Chaten Jessel talked about the kindness from all groups of people upon reaching out. Collins talked about the institutional support and working with their student representatives to find stable funding. Semhar Abraha talked about reaching faculty of all ages and addressing OER by explaining how it should be incorporated into the tenure and promotion process. I thought it was good to learn that for many of these student leaders, awareness of what is OER beyond “free textbooks” was an initial barrier.

Woman working on desktop Mac computer with "Identify your topic" on screen.
What are Canadian student OER leaders sharing and doing to promote the implementation of OER? Photo by fauxels on Pexels.com