A national strategy for Open Education Practices is needed to address current and future access and equity issues in the Irish higher education sector. That’s according to the N-TUTORR programme, a collaboration across the Technological Higher Education sector focused on transforming the student experience and fostering more inclusive and sustainable learning environments for all. The call for a national strategy came at OER24, the 15th annual Association of Learning Technology conference for Open Education Research, Practice and Policy. The event is taking place in Munster Technological University’s Bishopstown Campus in Cork today and tomorrow.
Open education seeks to widen access to and participation in education by removing barriers and making learning accessible through the likes of digital technologies and modern education practices.
At the event’s opening reception, N-TUTORR published a sectoral white paper on Open Educational Practices outlining a number of recommendations and actions which will diminish barriers to accessing education, and foster equity and inclusion across the technological higher education sector.
Speaking today, Dr Gearóid Ó Súilleabháin, Head of the Department of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL), MTU and Co-Chair of OER24, said: “While there is no official national policy document on open education in Ireland, numerous reports and initiatives have highlighted the importance of developing open education principles and institutional repositories for research outputs and teaching resources.
“We are urging the Government to prioritise developing a National OEP Strategy aligned with UNESCO’s Recommendation on Open Educational Resources. OEP can have a transformative impact on the technological higher education sector, enhancing accessibility and data privacy, promoting participatory learning and student engagement, and supporting pedagogical flexibility and innovation.”
Topics discussed at OER24 will include:
- Ethical considerations surrounding the use of generative AI for open education resources, and its potential in making educational content more accessible;
- The connection between Open Education, Open Data, the Open-Source movement, and digital scholarship/librarianship
- The role of Open Educational Resources (OER) in serving marginalised groups and in promoting inclusivity, diversity and equity in open education.
Keynote speakers include:
- Dr. Rajiv Jhangiani, Vice Provost, Teaching and Learning at Brock University in Ontario, Canada. The architect of Canada’s first zero textbook cost degree programs, his work focuses on open educational practices, student-centred pedagogies, and ethical approaches to educational technology.
- Dr. Catherine Cronin, an independent scholar focusing on critical and social justice approaches in open, digital and higher education. Catherine actively interweaves work in the higher education and community education sectors.
- Laura Czerniewicz, Professor Emerita at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, previously the founding director of its Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching. Her professional life has engaged in education from many perspectives including researcher, teacher, publisher and open education advocate, with a consistent focus on equity, digital inequality and justice.
Further information on OER24 is available here: https://www.oer2024.co.uk/; and information on the N-TUTORR project is available here: https://www.