2021 M.O.S.T. State Summit

Welcome to the 2021 M.O.S.T. State Summit: Using OER to Advance Equity and Inclusion. This session will welcome attendees and describe Maryland's commitment to advancing equity and inclusion through OER. 

Evaluating a Two-Semester Sequence of OER-Based Precalculus Courses
Marianna Gleger, Assistant Professor, Mathematics, Baltimore City Community College and Nataliya Reznichenko, Professor, Mathematics, Baltimore City Community College

In this lightning talk, participants will learn about the evaluation of a two-semester sequence of OER-based precalculus courses. The talk will focus on the following aspects of OER: a) cost in comparison to other resources (Pearson’s MyLab Math, McGraw Hill’s ALEKS); b) student satisfaction using surveys; c) course-level effectiveness, using grades, attendance, persistence, and retention metrics; and d) learning objective effectiveness, using the following student learning outcomes data. In addition, participants will learn about a vision, plan, and commitment to develop an OER pathway across courses.

Social Justice Problems within a Statistics Course using MyOpenMath
Mark Shore, Associate Professor, Mathematics Education, University of DC & JoAnna Shore, Associate Professor, College of Business, Frostburg State University

In this lightning talk, participants will view a Statistics course developed on MyOpenMath, which incorporates recent relevant social issue problems using elementary data analytics procedures. Students use large Excel files to research topics such as police killings and Covid19 deaths for different races, salaries based on gender, and many other topics. Students use real data from Excel files to answer these questions. This course is available to be copied from MyOpenMath.

Recognizing Our Diversity: Scientist Spotlight Features
Dan Ferandez, Professor Physical Sciences, Anne Arundel Community College

A team of Anne Arundel Community College Earth Science instructors participated in a grant project this past semester through the “Supporting & Advancing Geoscience Education for 2-Year Colleges” (SAGE 2YC) program. The project culminated in a workshop and a summary of our discoveries & experiences, of which the “scientist spotlight feature” was a portion. This presentation focuses on that portion, which aimed to have students learn more about scientists from diverse backgrounds. In this lightning talk, participants will a) get introduced to a simple strategy involving diversity, equity, & inclusion; b) explore activities focused on scientist spotlights so students can become more aware of scientists from different backgrounds; c) help students identify with scientists that may share similar backgrounds, situations, & challenges; and d) share insights & any prior experiences with this type of assignment/project.

Using OER for BLM
Forrest Caskey, Professor, Interdisciplinary Studies, Anne Arundel Community College & Kellie McCants-Price, Professor, Psychology, Anne Arundel Community College

After the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, we felt compelled to join the chorus of educators and scholars to create courses centered around anti-racism, specifically institutional racism. Using all OER materials, our course, "Why Black Lives Matters Too," centers around the history of racial injustice and racist ideology in the United States.

Reconceptualizing Internationalization and Diversity in Higher Education through OER and Distance Education
Liliana Meneses, Professor, Business School, University of Maryland Global Campus

This lightning talk will highlight how OER and distance education can help our vision of DEI expand to encompass a more global vision. Distance education is a platform which lends itself to developing global competencies and knowledge through the use of focused OER materials and approaches. Suggestions for practices in OER and distance education that may foster this vision will be presented.

DEI and OERs...Research, Course Design, and Editorial Considerations
Laureece Hymes, Assistant Director, Digital Rights, Course Development, University of Maryland Global Campus & Ray Bossert, Senior Learning Designer, University of Maryland Global Campus

This lightning talk will highlight practices UMGC has employed to ensure that key principles of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are embraced when we select, edit, adopt, and deliver OER in our courses. The focus will be on practical, real-world experiences of the UMGC Course Dev team, with special attention to the research, design, and editorial practices we've implemented related to DEI and OERs. UMGC is uniquely poised to address this topic because of its academic-wide adoption of OER.

Just Google It: Automating Student Textbook Delivery
Erin Nunnally, Assistant Professor, Co-coordinator of INFO 100, Certified Google Instructor, English and World Languages, Howard Community College

This lightning talk will share a process of housing and delivering OER to students using tools in Google Suite, including Forms, Sheets, and Docs. This system allows students to claim a copy of their textbook by filling out a quick survey and allows faculty to gather information from students by creating custom survey questions to include. Once students have their copy of their text, they are able to use highlighting and annotating features to take notes and interact with their text. This system was created and piloted with the Information Literacy and College Success course at Howard Community College. Participants will receive links to a set of YouTube videos detailing the steps to create this system.

Creating Interactive OER
Zachary Townsend, Fitness and Wellness Coordinator School of Health Sciences, Salisbury University

OER provide educators with the opportunity to better engage students in the learning process. This lightning talk will provide a brief overview of different strategies that may be used to stimulate student interaction using OER. Strategies covered in this session will include H5P (a free tool that allows users to create rich interactive content), widgets, and embedded multimedia on the Rebus Press platform.

Acknowledging Educational Gaps while Addressing Diverse Cultural Experiences
Tracy Worley, Adjunct Instructor, Humanities, Coppin State University

This lightning talk will address how to integrate contemporary issues and events into the constructive analysis of rhetoric and discourse by discussing cultural relevance, competence, appropriateness, and sensitivity as strategies for advancing equity and inclusion at postsecondary institutions and statewide. The presenter will offer perspectives on how cultural beliefs influence behaviors and practices as well as on designing culturally competent materials tailored to meet diverse student needs.

Reflections in the Use of OER in Nursing

Reflections in the Use of OER in Health and Wellness

Reflections in Supporting Implementation of OER

Sara Cano, Acting Chair of Nursing Program, The School and Science and Health, College of Southern of Maryland, Melissa Fleming, Instructional Designer, College of Southern Maryland, & Petita Rentz, Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator, College of Southern Maryland

This set of lightning talks will share reflections on the use of OERs in two disciplines, along with an instructional designer expert used for support and collaboration for the development and implementation of OERs in the college’s learning platform. Participants will learn about how OER can impact equity and inclusion in health pathways, the process to develop an OER for the nursing and wellness disciplines, and the importance of instructional support in the implementation of OERs.

Worldwide Representation: The Opportunity of OER
Carolyn Shuttlesworth, Adjunct Lecturer, Dept. of Language, Literature & Cultural Studies, Bowie State University

In vaccines, gold, and the humanities, equity and inclusion must be, not just goals, but operating standards. For this reason, I developed the open educational resource, African American Literature 1619-1926, which seeks to add female voices to the male-dominated canon and present a spectrum of images (five videos produced for the project begin with elders and end with an adolescent). In this lightning talk, participants will learn about the text and the development process, where scholars give context to the messages of the writers, who in turn represent the spirit of African Americans. In this way, OER becomes an opportunity to augment the narrative and increase world communication and understanding.

Link to African American Literature materials on M.O.S.T. Commons

Expository Writing Boot Camp OER
Tracy Worley, Adjunct Instructor, CASE Humanities, Coppin State University

This lightning talk will feature an OER created by the presenter as a means to enhance the learning experience of Coppin first-year students through the use of culturally relevant and appropriate readings and discussion.

Link to Expository Writing Bootcamp OER

Creating Adaptable OER Assignments for Literature Courses
Matthew Marafino, Professor, English, Allegany College of Maryland & Lucy Manley, Associate Dean, Academic Affairs, Garrett College

Most instructors prefer to use literary works that have worked in the past or fit a specific theme for that course. Therefore, designing OER learning resources that deal with specific literary works is challenging. However, in most college introductory literature courses, the learning outcomes regarding essential literary terms are similar. This lightning talk will highlight how faculty from Garrett College and Allegany College of Maryland have collaborated to locate existing OER instructional resources and design a variety of graded assignments that can be adapted by any instructor for any work of literature.

Purpose, People, Process: Building OER Sustainability
Erin Durham, Reference and Instruction Librarian, University of Maryland Baltimore County & Susan Biro, Acting Manager of Online Learning, Division of Instructional Technology, University of Maryland Baltimore County

What are best practices for strategic OER planning? Our presentation focuses on three areas--purpose, people, process--that have been key to our efforts in drafting a 3-year Open Education Strategic Plan. In order to leverage expertise, we organized the research and writing process to take into account each group member’s role on campus as it impacts sustainability. After attending the session, participants will be able to identify and implement best practices for OER strategic planning. Participants will also receive links to templates and resources that aided our information-gathering and strategic plan drafting processes. Sustainability Planning Templates and Resources

Why Do OER Alone? Collaboration across Institutions and Departments
Christa Bowser, Associate Professor, Biology, Garrett College & Peggy Biser, Professor, Chemistry, Frostburg State University

One way to alleviate barriers to OER use is to form great partnerships! This lightning talk will describe the path taken between the biology department of a 2-yr institution and the chemistry department of a 4-yr institution as they created web-based lab activities for use during a pandemic. Participants will learn about the benefits of collaboration; be encouraged to seek content connections outside their own fields and institutions; and realize the value of crosstalk between regional institutions.

Assessing Learning Outcomes in OER Courses
Audra Butler, Associate Professor and Director of Assessment and Instructional Innovation Office of Planning, Research and Institutional Assessment, Anne Arundel Community College

Faculty and staff from five courses have been engaged in adopting, adapting, and creating OER at Anne Arundel Community College this academic year. This lightning talk will focus on the methodology used to assess learning outcomes in terms of course success rates. A collaborative approach to using an equity, diversity, and inclusion framework for data analysis will be discussed. The presentation is appropriate for all educators and administrators involved in the implementation of OER.

This workshop will demonstrate the many features of the free learning management system, MyOpenMath (MOM). These features include those in top selling math learning management systems, such as MyLab Math. While both MyOpenMath and MyLab Math have homework questions that are algorithmically generated (allowing infinite versions of problems), MOM has additional features. The presenters will show how any teacher can have their entire course on MOM and the amazing features that even expensive learning management systems do not have. Participants will also have a chance to learn how they can write their own problems in MOM.

Panelists from the University of Baltimore will discuss collaboration across several departments that created the flexibility required to address different types of needs faculty have when creating their own OER. The panel will discuss the use of Open Pedagogy in the content creation process and how panelists are realizing their role and involvement in the larger OER community.

This moderated panel discussion will feature faculty/student partnerships focusing on open pedagogy and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Those attending the session will be able to a) describe open pedagogy and the concept of renewable assignments, b) employ open pedagogy into their own classrooms, and c) determine the best way to engage students in the learning process through open pedagogy and the Sustainable Development Goals.

This workshop will address Librarians interested in supporting OER efforts at their institutions. The M.O.S.T. Commons is a customizable, interactive online platform built to support the creation, collection, and sharing of OERs within Maryland Higher Education. This workshop will demonstrate how the M.O.S.T. Commons can be used by institutions to support DEI and OER initiatives, the tools available to help share resources and collaborate within and across institutions, and the opportunity to connect with other Librarians working on similar projects.

In this session, participants will examine what it means to take action to address equity in open education. The session will explore questions such as: How can learning experiences look and feel different? How can we work collectively to change educational systems? What can we each be doing on a personal level to prepare ourselves for deeper work on equity and inclusion?

Learn from the 2020 M.O.S.T. OER Grantees across Maryland postsecondary institutions who have successfully adopted, adapted, created, evaluated, and advanced OER at their institutions.

Humanities

• General Psychology: Jennifer Hawley, Chesapeake College (Adopt/Adapt Grant) [Access Virtual Presentation]
• General Psychology: Patsy McKenzie, Allegany College of Maryland (Adopt/Adapt Grant)
• Cognitive Psychology: Bob Slevc, University of Maryland, College Park (Adopt/Adapt Grant)
• Psychology Statistics: Paul Bernhardt, Frostburg State University (Adopt/Adapt Grant)
• Research Methods in Psychology: Fabio Chacon and Tolulope Oladipo (Adopt/Adapt Grant)
• Introduction to Sociology: John McMullen, Frostburg State University (Adopt/Adapt Grant)
• Introduction to the Study of Religion: Emily Bailey, Towson University (Adopt/Adapt Grant)

STEM

• Quantitative Literacy through Social Justice: Mark Branson, Stevenson University (Create Grant)
• Meteorology: Dan Ferandez, Anne Arundel Community College (Institutional Grant)
• Introduction to Information Technology: Tammy Cameron-Allen, Prince George's Community College (Evaluate Grant)
• Finite Mathematics: Elena Klimova, Bowie State University (Adopt/Adapt Grant)
• Anatomy and Physiology for Allied Health: Christine Dubowy, Cindy Blank, Kathleen D’Ambrisi, and Laurie Montgomery, Hagerstown Community College (Adopt/Adapt Grant)
• College Algebra and Precalculus II Trigonometry: Nataliya Reznichenko and Marianna Gleger, Baltimore City Community College (Evaluate Grant)

Education

• Reading Theory: Barbara Maestas, Howard Community College (Evaluate Grant) [Access Virtual Presentation]

Arts and Languages

• Global Music: Robin Armstrong, Carroll Community College (Create Grant)
• Elementary Spanish: Maria Manni, University of Maryland Baltimore County (Evaluate Grant) [Access Virtual Presentation]
• Art History: Katharine Fernstrom, Towson University (Adopt/Adapt Grant)

English and Composition

• Expository Writing Bootcamp: Tracy Worley, Coppin State University (Evaluate Grant) [Access Virtual Presentation]
• Principles of Composition: Mari-jo Ulbricht, University of Maryland Eastern Shore (Adopt/Adapt Grant)
• Technical Editing: Mary Robinson, Montgomery College (Adopt/Adapt Grant) [Access Virtual Presentation]

Business and Communications

• Media Criticism: Pallavi Guha and Joyce Garczynski, Towson University (Adopt/Adapt Grant)
• Introduction to Business Fashion: LaPortia Davis, Morgan State University (Adopt/Adapt Grant)
• Business Ethics and Society: Felix Afolabi, Morgan State University (Adopt/Adapt Grant)

Health and Wellness

• Lifelong Fitness and Wellness: Zachary Townsend, Salisbury University (Create Grant) 

Instructional Design

• Selecting an Accessible OER: Nancy Edmonds, Instructional Designer, Anne Arundel Community College (Institutional Grant)

Informal networking time for instructional designers/ technologists to talk about their work in OER/ challenges, etc.

Informal networking time for librarians to talk about their work in OER, successes, and challenges.

The Maryland Open Source Textbook (M.O.S.T.) Commons is an easy-to-use digital platform, designed to support Maryland faculty and staff in adopting, adapting, creating, and sharing open educational resources (OER). During this session, Colleen McKnight, M.O.S.T. Commons Fellow, will provide participants with an overview of the M.O.S.T. Commons functionality and answer participants’ questions.

New to open educational resources? Learn the basics of OER including what they are, where to find them, and how to use them for teaching and learning. This session will also introduce Creative Commons licenses and how to search for openly licensed materials.

In this workshop, Librarians from five community colleges in Maryland will discuss how they support open educational resources at their institutions. Participants will learn about strategies to help faculty find and evaluate open textbooks and other open resources for use in courses, promote the use of open materials in their institutions, take part in grant writing and grant administration, address copyright and licensing questions, and more.

Participants in this panel session will learn about planning and design for assessments of OER pedagogy in the context of equity and inclusion. The panel will present a mixed-methods assessment plan for courses participating Towson University’s in OER Teaching and Research Initiative. The assessment aims to measure the influence of OER on pedagogy and student success. This panel will focus on specific measures for a) accessibility and cultural relevancy of texts and pedagogies and b) success of nontraditional students.

Adopting OER materials is more than just replacing a textbook with comparable material. It gives faculty an opportunity to make the course materials more meaningful to students. Four faculty members on this panel will discuss their strategies to add additional resources that extend the relevance of OER materials, including two faculty from very different disciplines--Communication and Mathematics--who are working together to add a social justice component to their respective courses.

The OER initiative at Prince George's Community College has been a work-in-process for two years. In this panel presentation, participants will learn about the strategies incorporated at Prince George's Community College to engage faculty in the creation of OER courses. The presenters will talk about the barriers they encountered and outline the steps put in place to address barriers for a successful OER initiative. Some of the barriers that will be addressed include lack of time, lack of knowledge regarding OER, lack of resources, and concerns about the quality of OER and their impact on student success. The panel will also identify key stakeholders to involve in a successful OER initiative.

Verna Myers stated that “Diversity is being invited to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance.” The use of OER provides our students with many benefits and promise. The promise of OER, however, can only be achieved if every student is able to fully engage with the content. An inclusive digital environment enhances the learning opportunities for everyone. This session will explore strategies and tools for embracing digital accessibility when using OERs.

Here’s the link to my presentation: http://tinyurl.com/MOST2021
Here’s the text link to the presentation: http://tinyurl.com/MOST2021Text

While many open educational resources are available at no cost, faculty continue to choose published textbooks via First Day (automatic billing program). One big reason is the availability of ancillary material with the traditionally copyrighted textbooks. The purpose of this workshop is to present a variety of ancillary OER materials in hopes of attracting more faculty to the decision to use OER. Examples include self-check quizzes, short videos, test banks, interactive content, and library links. The presenter will be using software like H5P, softchalk, google forms, etc. to showcase interactive media.

This panel session will introduce an inter-institutional OER collaborative model formed by three higher education institutions in western Maryland. The purpose of the model is to strengthen use of OER both in and across institutions, and to maximize impact, we focused on OER for faculty development as well as for Math, Bio-Chem, and English general education courses. Session takeaways will include ideas related to structuring an OER partnership and benefits and challenges met by the project teams: faculty, library, instructional design/technology, and administrators.

This workshop will address the use of OER in Cybersecurity and IT disciplines. The workshop presenters will: a) discuss how the fast pace of technology would benefit from OERs; b) demonstrate how to use course objectives to drive modules, not chapters; c) provide ideas on creating cybersecurity-related assignments using OER resources; and d) examine the use of open source software and other cyber-specific tools to help educators create unique and innovative hands-on experiences in both virtual and physical environments.

In this session, participants will explore the different dimensions of social justice: economic, cultural and political, and how a variety of open educational practices can help promote various dimensions of social justice. This will also be an exercise in imagination: in what ways can we tweak our current practices so that they promote social justice more transformatively within our context and for our marginalized communities.

Presentation Slides