“Most importantly, I chose to implement podcasts so that students could listen in on a conversation regarding race, gender, and class differences (to name a few) as a means to envision how they themselves might participate in similar dialogue... This student-led conversation was a welcomed change to the hesitant dialogue that was previously taking place in class.”⁴

Learning Intention

Use open educational practices (OEP) and specific OER to create a more inclusive, accessible, and global curriculum. A question instructors might ask is, “In relation to OER, the question is: Who has the right to decide on what counts as worthwhile knowledge, who decides on school and university curricula, and who publishes and disseminates textbooks, journals, etc.?”5 How I can remix, revise, or generate OER to redevelop a more inclusive curriculum?

Overview

Instructors and professors can implement specific open education practices as a way to create a more inclusive and accessible curriculum, opening the door to widen student perceptions about the world, and meet the needs of specific learners (like English Language Learners) in their classrooms. “When we talk about OER, we bring two things into focus: that access is critically important to conversations about academic success, and that faculty and other instructional staff can play a critical role in the process of making learning accessible.”

Practices

• Using TED Talks with subtitles for English Language Learners. Many TED Talks have been translated into many other languages and could be viewed by students in their native language. See: https://www.ted.com/participate/translate. TED Talks or podcasts can also be used as a way for students to practice listening skills in English if they are non-native English speakers.^{8, 9}

• Blogging Across Languages. Using the buddy-system3 of English Language Learners, instructors can develop a blog across universities with the intention of using native speaking students at different universities to help each other learn English or other languages.¹

• Replacing Core Texts. Instructors can replace costly textbooks with a variety of open educational resources giving students access to an updated and more diverse group of thinkers in the discipline.²

• Podcasting to Engage in Dialogue. Instructors can use podcasts in class as a way to engage students in thinking critically and thoughtfully around issues of social justice before they enter the classroom and can use the podcasts to open the door to more difficult conversations around privilege and inequity.⁴

Considerations

• Replace a costly textbook with OER to create accessible class for all students including students who cannot afford textbooks.

• Challenge who “holds knowledge” in the classroom and consider that your students hold knowledge including cultural knowledge you do not. Consider using Wikipedia as a way to have students inform the virtual public about the knowledge they hold.⁷

References

1. Asoodar, M., Atai, M. R., & Vaezi, S. (2016). Blog-Integrated Writing with Blog-Buddies: EAP Learners’ Writing Performance. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 54(2), 225–252. https://doi.org/10.1177/0735633115615588

2. Chapman, K. (2019). Reel to Reality: Opening the Curriculum to Teach Beyond Technique in a Modern GUR Class. Innovative Teaching Showcase. Published online by the Center for Instructional Innovation and Assessment, Western Washington University.

3. Cline, Z., & Necochea, J. (2003). Specifically Designed Academic Instruction in English (SDAIE): More Than Just Good Instruction. Multicultural Perspectives, 5(1), 12-24. doi: 10.1207/S15327892MCP0501_4

4. Ferreras-Strone, J. (2019). Using Free Podcasts to Engage Students in Multicultural Discussions. Innovative Teaching Showcase. Published online by Center for Instructional Innovation and Assessment, Western Washington University.

5. Hodgkinson-Williams, C. A., & Trotter, H. (2018). A Social Justice Framework for Understanding Open Educational Resources and Practices in the Global South. Journal of Learning for Development, 5(3), 204-224.

6. Jhangiani, R., & DeRosa, R. (2017). Open Pedagogy and Social Justice. Digital Pedagogy Lab. Retrieved from https://www.digitalpedagogylab.com/open-pedagogy-social-justice/

7. Schmidt, J. P., & Geith, C., Håklev, S., & Thierstein, R. (2009). Peer-to-Peer Recognition of Learning in Open Education. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 10(5). https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v10i5.641

8. Takaesu, A. (2017). TED Talks as an Extensive Listening Resource for EAP Students. Asian-Focused ELT Research and Practice: Voices from the Far Edge. https://doi.org/10.5746/LEiA/13/V4/12/A05/Takaesu

9. Yeh, C.C. (2017). An Investigation of a Podcast Learning Project for Extensive Listening. Asian-Focused ELT Research and Practice: Voices from the Far Edge. https://doi.org/10.5746/LEiA/13/V4/12/A04/Yeh