Application Open: Building Infrastructure for OER

Posted on by Marisa Petrich


Thanks to a UW Tacoma Strategic Initiative Fund grant, the UW Tacoma Library will be coordinating two options to help faculty learn about and implement Open Educational Resources (OER) this summer. The application (linked at the bottom of this post) is open now through May 10, 2019.

Each of the options will provide participants a $500 stipend. Faculty are welcome to apply to participate in only one or both of the two options, though preference may be given to applicants who are able to participate in both parts of the program.

Please review each option’s expectations and deliverables (below) before applying. It may also be helpful to read SPARC’s OER Mythbusting resource.

Option 1: OER Workshop

Description:

This two day, in-person workshop series will help faculty understand different OER licenses, find high-quality OER in their discipline, and identify resources for adapting and adopting OER at UW Tacoma.

An additional online tutorial will also be released before the workshop begins to cover introductory information and define common terms. We expect this optional tutorial will take no more than 30 minutes to complete.

Dates:

  • Week of June 10: Optional online tutorial available.
  • June 19: Required, full-day workshop session, exact times and locations TBD.
  • June 20: Required, half-day workshop session, exact times and locations TBD.
  • Fall Quarter (date TBD): Optional lightning talk or panel discussion.

Expectations and Deliverables:

  • Attendance at both of the face-to-face workshop sessions in June is required.
  • The workshops may include brief, reflective tasks or readings to be completed prior to or between workshop sessions. These tasks will be minimally used and designed to take only a short amount of time. There will be no other deliverables.

Option 2: Implementation Summary

Description:

This short report will outline a plan to implement an OER text in a class of your choice, as well as assess textbook adoption practices in your unit and explore OER availability in your discipline. We expect this document to be no more than three to five pages in length and to include information about the potential cost savings replacing or supplementing your current texts with OER will provide to UW Tacoma students.

Much of the work for this option can be done remotely. Applicants from the same unit are encouraged to collaborate.

The intent of the implementation summary is to help you begin using OER in your courses. It will also allow the Library to identify areas where further OER support and resources are needed on campus and to begin collecting information critical to competitive funding opportunities.

Dates:

  • June 21: Implementation summary prompt to participants.
  • Late July: First check-in (in person or remote).
  • Late August: Second check-in (in person or remote).
  • September 13: Implementation summary due.
  • Fall Quarter (date TBD): Optional lightning talk or panel discussion.

Expectations and Deliverables:

  • Participants are required to produce a three to five page report addressing the topics described above, due by September 13, 2019. A prompt outlining the full requirements will be provided.
  • Two check-ins with the Library’s OER team are required over the course of the summer. These meetings may be in person or via phone or web conference. They are expected to be brief, likely 20 or 30 minutes.

Final Event

Participants from both options and the campus community will be invited to a culminating event in Fall Quarter where we’ll share what we’ve learned and our hopes for further developing OER support and practices at UW Tacoma.

We encourage faculty to consider contributing a lightning talk or participating in a panel discussion for this event. Full details (including prompts) TBD.

Application

Applications are due by May 10, 2019 at 11:00 pm. We will contact applicants by May 15 with a participation status. Click the link below to get started!

Contact

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have questions!