Open Education Week at the University of Manitoba
Libraries will be celebrating by launching new ways for UM faculty to engage with OER.
The week of March 7-11 the University of Manitoba will celebrate Open Education Week for the first time, with a focus on Open Educational Resources (OER).
OER are teaching and learning resources which are free to use and come with licenses which allow them to be adapted and redistributed. The result can look like free textbooks and supplementary materials which can be customized for local relevance.
Libraries will be celebrating by launching new ways for UM faculty to engage with OER.
- Pressbooks is software that facilitates the adaptation and creation of OER. It has features which help with formatting work, creating interactivity, collaborating, and even importing and editing existing OER. UM has partnered with Campus Manitoba to expand on the access they provide to Manitoba’s postsecondary institutions so that UM instructors can have unlimited access.
- The OER by Discipline Guide, which has been developed by UM librarians, gathers major OERs for most UM departments on campus in order to facilitate the easy identification of relevant open textbooks. This guide will become available Monday, March 7th and can be access through the Open Educational Resources web page.
Your subject librarian is available to support your work with OER.
Upcoming event: Using Free and Affordable Course Materials at UM
The Libraries will be hosting a panel discussion on OER at UM on Wednesday March 9 from 12-1 p.m., featuring:
- Nicholas Harland, an instructor in the department of Mathematics, who regularly teaches with OER
- Carley McDougall from Campus Manitoba who supports OER use in postsecondary institutions throughout the province
- Mark Meagher, an educational developer at the Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning
- Brianne Collins, an educational developer at the Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning;
Next Steps
Sign up to receive occasional updates on OER at the UM.
In March, the Libraries will begin to host a discussion series on the last Wednesday of each month, where participants can go to ask questions and share ideas.
Register to attend for March or April.
Finally, throughout OE Week, follow the Libraries on Instagram or Twitter to learn more about OER and textbook affordability.