With support from BMCC’s Office of Academic Affairs, the A. Philip Randolph Library and CETLS coordinate BMCC’s OER/ZTC and Open Pedagogy initiatives, partnering with faculty interested in redesigning their courses and replacing commercial textbooks with open educational resources (OER) and other no-cost materials (e.g., library resources, websites), as well as incorporating open pedagogy. Since 2015, close to 300 faculty across 16 of BMCC’s 17 departments have completed the OER seminar series and implemented zero textbook cost (ZTC) courses.
Beginning in 2017, BMCC has received funding for our OER/ZTC and Open Pedagogy initiative as part of the New York State Department of Education’s support of this work at both CUNY and SUNY.
We invite applications from BMCC faculty for two online seminars to be offered in June 2021:
- Open Educational Resources (OER)/Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) course redesign and
- Open Pedagogy on the OpenLab
As many in the BMCC community are aware, with limited access to the Library’s physical textbook collections, access to course materials has been a significant barrier to our students’ learning since we transitioned to remote teaching and learning a year ago. Redesigning courses with ZTC and OER materials is an important contribution to BMCC’s efforts to address the inequities so many of our students face.
This introductory seminar provides a foundation for redesigning courses with OER and other no-cost materials that provide significant pedagogical and financial benefits to our students. The seminar is grounded in pedagogical conversations, and past participants have found the experience transformational and liberating.
- The seminar will be conducted online from June 1-24, with Zoom sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10am-11:30am, each week. Participants will also engage with readings and activities between the live sessions.
- Apply by Sunday, April 25, using this application form. Faculty selected to participate receive a $1,000 stipend for redesigning a course section with OER/ZTC materials. Priority will be given to faculty redesigning high enrollment and gateway courses.
**This seminar is open to faculty who have completed or will be concurrently participating in the June introductory OER/ZTC Course Redesign seminar, or who are currently teaching with OER/ZTC materials.**
Building on the open educational resources (OER) movement, open pedagogy engages students as knowledge creators, often in open, public venues, creating spaces for students to enact their agency in learning and co-create the learning community with instructors. Student work moves from “disposable assignments” with an audience of one, the instructor, to meaningful assignments with a broader audience. Examples include students editing Wikipedia articles, writing for public blogs or on Twitter or Facebook, or creating and contributing to OER.
- Faculty who are selected to participate will be guided in developing activities and assignments that draw on open pedagogy and to create a course website on the OpenLab to support these activities in their AY 2021-22 courses. The open pedagogy activities should be incorporated in a course being taught with OER/ZTC.
- The seminar will be conducted online from June 1-24, with Zoom sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1pm-2:30pm, each week. Participants will also engage with readings and activities between the live sessions.
- Apply by Sunday, April 25, using this application form. Faculty who participate in both open pedagogy and WordPress activities will receive a $2000 stipend. Faculty also have the option to participate in only the open pedagogy activities for which they will receive a $500 stipend.
For questions, contact oer@bmcc.cuny.edu.
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