E-Portfolios and Exploring One’s Identity in Teacher Education

Academic faculty in a two-year post-baccalaureate teacher education program at a small research university in British Columbia explored the extended use of e-Portfolios into final practicum over a three-year period. The education technology course offered in Term Three asked teacher candidates to create and design an e-Portfolio as part of the coursework. In this program evaluation, the author investigated the continued use of e-Portfolios into Term Four during final practicum. Faculty in this teacher education program sought ways to improve the program, particularly the practicum experience for teacher candidates. Extending the use of e-Portfolios into Term Four was one of three initiatives that were adopted. The e-Portfolio served as a digital platform for teachercandidates to archive, reflect, and sense-make; italso functioned as a means to develop theirprofessional identities and understanding of theprofessional standards. The final practicumconcluded with a Celebration of Learning and thecapstone presentations referenced e-Portfolios.This paper focuses on how e-Portfolios wereintroduced and implemented with six cohorts, whatwas observed by the faculty member, and whatwas learned from the implementation to inform thefuture use of e-Portfolios in the program andprogram redesign. The extended use of e-Portfolios during the final practicum was found tobe a viable initiative and revealed professionalqualities of teacher candidates that may not havebeen visible otherwise.

Participation in OER Creation: A Trajectory of Values

This paper provides an analysis of interviews with seven faculty members who engaged in creating Open textbooks funded by government grants at a university in Canada in 2018. Using four values—access and equity, community and connection, agency and ownership, and risk and responsibility—identified by Sinkinson (2018), McAndrew (2018), and Keyek-Fransen (2018), we traced the ways in which university faculty members’ understanding of Open changed through the process of Open Educational Resource creation. As a teaching support-focused unit, we explore ways to provide our faculty and instructors with meaningful opportunities to develop their Open pedagogy. These findings reconceive the way that Open Educational Practice can be promoted at our University and others. Instead of focusing solely on OER creation, our faculty started engaging in thinking through the different conceptions of Open educational practice and identifying which concepts resonated with them. By reframing the ways in which faculty thought about Open Educational Practices, we have been better able to address the ways in which we support them.

Connect to Learn: Assemblage of Pedagogies in Higher Education in a Community of Practice

In this paper, we report on the ways in which technology and scholarship of pedagogy emerge as interconnected within a technology-facilitated community of practice (CoP), for educators within various Faculties of Education in North American universities. The goal of the Community of Practice is to connect with and learn from one another, discussing, and reflecting on different types of pedagogical practices among members who teach in both graduate and teacher education programs in the onsite, blended, and online environments. We share analysis of interviews, and notes from CoP members’ feedback; how the CoP members made sense of their diverse teaching and social learning landscapes as well as emergent joint meanings. The results of the study suggest that the assemblage of new ideas and pedagogies can be enhanced by a relational trust. A highlighted role of technology in enabling communication and collaboration among CoP members is also discussed through the lens of connectivism.

Theoretical and Methodological Approaches for Investigating Open Educational Practices

To date, the phenomenon associated with open education in relation to teaching and learning practices remains under-theorized in the literature, which represents both a challenge and opportunity for further research (Bulfin et al., 2013; Howard & Maton, 2011; Knox, 2013; Veletsianos, 2015). There exists an opportunity to develop new theory, as well as to connect the phenomenon to existing theory from education, learning sciences, and pedagogical research. Much of the literature has focused on case studies, strategies for implementation, and broad approaches to institutional change which do not draw upon or develop theory. A significant amount of the empirical work reviewed makes no mention of a theoretical base aside from that of openness as a conceptual framework for considering education. Further, critical studies which examine the pedagogical and educational implications of the use of open educational resources (OER) and engagement in open educational practices (OEP) are even less common (Knox, 2013). In this paper, we share the results of a literature review which investigates both methodological and theoretical approaches used in the available research on open educational practices, with the goal of engaging participants in a critical review of the theoretical and methodological approaches to further advance research in this emerging space.

Exploring Curation as a Path Towards Decolonizing Education

As part of my Doctor of Education program, I was asked to study Dr. Marie Battiste’s (2017) book Decolonizing Education: Nourishing the Learning Spirit. In response to that assignment, I built a WordPress site as a way to experiment with crossing boundaries of physical and digital places, between different Indigenous knowledges and notions of teaching and learning. While building the site, I looked for localized examples of Battiste’s concepts and ideas among the Inuvialuit, the Indigenous group with which I am the most familiar, in what became an exploration of the wonderful work being done in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region to preserve the culture and decolonize ways of thinking. I knew some of these resources existed, but was surprised by the depth and variety of materials available. In this paper, I present that website as an experimental example of digital curation that stitches together the book, a series of digital artefacts found via Internet searches and my own reflections on those artefacts. While building it, I did not seek out answers but instead explored the possibilities of curation as a path to decolonization education. The resulting site design is both personal and incomplete. Through this process, I hope to open generative cracks that provoke new ways of thinking about digital curation as a means of supporting active engagement in the complicated and necessary conversations regarding decolonization.

Reconsidering the Mandatory in Ontario Online Learning Policies

In March 2019, the Ontario government announced that commencing in 2023-24, secondary school students (Grades 9-12) would be required to gain four of 30 graduation credits through online courses. At the time of the policy pronouncement, these four credits (or courses) would become the first mandatory online courses in Canadian K-12 education. The policy decision and process were challenged publicly, and the educational context changed quickly with the ensuing contingencies of the global pandemic. The policy was subsequently revised and, at present, Ontario requires two mandatory online secondary school credits for graduation, which is twice the requirement of any other North American jurisdiction. In this study, the researchers employ a critical policy analysis framework to examine the concept of mandatory online learning in Ontario through multiple temporal contexts. First, they examine Ontario’s mandatory online learning policy prior to the shutdown of Ontario schools during the 2020-2021 global pandemic. Next, they examine aspects of Ontario’s mandatory online learning policy in K-12 during the emergency remote learning phase of the pandemic. In the final section, the authors provide a retrospective analysis of the decisions around mandatory e-learning policy and explore policy options going forward for mandatory e-learning in the K-12 sector post-pandemic.

Planning, Implementing, and Assessing an OER Faculty Learning Community: A Facilitator’s Lens

A librarian-led Faculty Learning Community (FLC) focused on Open Educational Resources (OER) can be a practical, low risk way to sustain campus-based OER programs during and after initial start-up. Creating a space for sharing teaching successes and challenges is an important goal in the iterative journey toward open. The experiences and trust fostered in an FLC can help grow awareness of and commitment to adopting, deepening, and expanding a culture of openness. FLCs provide an opportunity to lean into open that enhances cross-campus relationships, identifies gaps, and emphasizes collegiality while moving toward enriched teaching and learning. They provide a launching point for sharing pedagogical practice, and a valuable venue for new ideas. Key strategies for planning, implementing, and assessing a multidisciplinary OER faculty learning community are highlighted. Practical advice is emphasized to support successful outcomes that can be easily replicated. Ten top takeaways are summarized from a year spent facilitating an OER FLC in a four-year, public, comprehensive college that included the shift to online courses during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it concludes with suggested next steps for continuing the OER conversation among faculty, students, librarians, instructional designers, teaching and learning center staff, administration, and other stakeholders.

OTESSA's Submission for the Government of Canada's Federal Pre-Budget Consultations

Governments have the opportunity to influence policy in education and to facilitate funding to support its implementation. This document contains seven recommendations made to the Government of Canada as part of its public consultation in developing its federal budget. It was developed with input from both members and public contributors involved with the Open/Technology in Education, Society, and Scholarship Association (OTESSA), then submitted to the Canadian federal government in August of 2021. The document was originally posted on a blog post on the OTESSA website at https://otessa.org