Student-driven projects offer ample opportunities for enacting more inclusive and accessible OER processes. Assignments designed so students can contribute to open knowledge beyond their own private learning—an approach to assignments often called "renewable assignments"—empower students and help reinforce that they truly belong in higher education. For community college students, who are often first-generation students, this feeling of belonging can profoundly influence persistence and completion rates. It can more broadly contribute to their sense of agency, as well as to their perceived connection to their peers, the material, and to newly-acquired ways of knowing and habits of mind.
This presentation will showcase two ongoing student-driven projects: a college-wide interdisciplinary undergraduate journal and a collection of literary analysis created by multiple sections of an English course.
The librarian facilitator, a student editor, and the faculty designer of these two projects will share their perspectives and processes, in hopes of preparing others to create similar works. The librarian will share a brief "digital icebreaker" training designed to quickly help students begin authoring accessible texts in Pressbooks (which could be adapted for other platforms as well). The student will share personal experiences of being more aware of the ethics of consuming and producing information. The faculty member will share about observing students simultaneously building critical thinking and project management skills.
This session will begin with an overview of renewable assignments and student-driven OER, during which time attendees can submit questions through a Google Jamboard. Then the student, the librarian, and the faculty member will each distill their perspectives on the projects. They will provide suggestions for others in their roles and address the initial audience-submitted questions. After the presentation, we will reserve time for additional questions at the end.
By attending this session, attendees will be able to:- Recognize and design renewable assignments
- Perceive multiple benefits of student-led OER
- Access an example student author training they may adopt or adapt
- Better understand or relate to student perspectives on inclusion and accessibility
- Generate potential ideas for use of OER platforms beyond textbook-style resources
