Key Moments
Open Learning Talks | Open Education, Cultural Collection, and Curation: Focus on HBCUs
MIT OpenCourseWareKey Moments
HBCUs and MIT collaborate on culturally relevant Open Educational Resources.
Key Insights
HBCUs are creating and curating culturally relevant Open Educational Resources (OER) to address a gap in existing materials.
OER initiatives at HBCUs aim to promote educational equity by making knowledge accessible and affordable for students.
Partnerships, like the one between MIT and HBCUs via MERLOT, are crucial for developing and disseminating these resources.
The 'cultural collection' initiative is actively collecting and preserving cultural heritage, exemplified by the immediate response to the situation in Ukraine.
Faculty and student feedback highlights the need for OER training, more culturally relevant content, and accessible digital resources.
Various HBCUs are successfully implementing OER across departments, offering courses and even entire programs with no textbook costs.
THE IMPERATIVE FOR OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
The discussion opens with a powerful analogy comparing knowledge to oxygen, emphasizing its fundamental nature and the crucial need to keep it accessible and free from financial barriers. This sets the stage for the broader open education movement, highlighting the opportunity for institutions like MIT to learn from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in order to foster educational equity. The core idea is to adapt, share, and collectively promote OER, specifically focusing on culturally relevant materials that have been historically underserved in the open education landscape, aiming for national and global impact.
ADDRESSING THE CULTURAL RELEVANCE GAP IN OER
A significant challenge identified is the dearth of culturally relevant content within OER repositories, particularly for underserved and underrepresented populations. Research and surveys conducted with HBCU faculty and students confirm this need, indicating a strong desire for materials that reflect their histories, achievements, and lived experiences. The creation of a dedicated 'cultural collection' aims to rectify this by providing curated resources that celebrate the contributions of HBCUs and broader Black history, aligning with the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
PARTNERSHIPS AND PLATFORMS FOR CURATION AND DISSEMINATION
The initiative heavily relies on strategic partnerships to create and sustain the OER ecosystem. The collaboration between MIT Open Learning and HBCU leaders, facilitated by the Hewlett Foundation, is paramount. MERLOT.org, an open education portal, plays a vital role by providing the technical infrastructure to host and organize these resources, including customized portals and specialized collections like the Africana Culture Collection. This partnership empowers institutions to create, remix, and revise content to meet local needs, thereby closing equity gaps.
IMPACT AND IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES AT HBCUS
Several HBCUs are showcasing successful OER implementation models. Tennessee State University, serving as a national hub, has initiated faculty and student surveys, conducted numerous webinars, and piloted OER adoption. This has already resulted in significant student savings on textbook costs. Other participating institutions like Central State University, Southern University at Shreveport, Edward Waters University, and Bethune-Cookman University are actively integrating OER into their curricula, developing certificate and degree programs, and making entire departments OER-hybrid, thereby ensuring students have access to materials from day one.
EMPOWERING FACULTY AND STUDENTS THROUGH OER
The training and support provided to faculty are crucial for successful OER integration. Workshops focus on using Creative Commons licenses, creating OER, and understanding discipline-specific materials. Similarly, student feedback emphasizes the necessity for OER awareness, workshops, and culturally relevant resources tailored to their specific fields of study. Initiatives like student success coaches and bibliographies of alumni achievements help connect students with relevant knowledge and inspire them to engage with OER as a valuable learning tool.
GLOBAL REACH AND RESPONSIVENESS TO SOCIETAL NEEDS
The OER movement extends beyond domestic needs, with aspirations to support global communities. There's a specific focus on extending these resources to developing countries, such as Haiti, where higher education is a luxury. Demonstrating the agility and humanitarian spirit of the open education community, the group immediately pivoted to create a cultural collection for Ukraine in response to current events, capturing its history and culture to ensure it is not lost. This proactive approach highlights the collective power of OER to address urgent global challenges.
MIT OPEN COURSEWARE'S ENDURING COMMITMENT
MIT Open Courseware, with over 20 years of experience, continues to share its teaching materials globally, reaching millions of learners and educators. Their platform offers a wide range of content, from introductory STEM courses to specialized seminars, including culturally significant publications like 'Black Feminist Health Science Studies.' MIT is investing in a next-generation platform to improve accessibility on mobile devices and enhance content discovery, further solidifying its commitment to collaborations that center equity and cultural relevance in the open education ecosystem.
Mentioned in This Episode
●Software & Apps
●Companies
●Organizations
●Books
●People Referenced
Common Questions
The primary goal is to capture, curate, and share the history, achievements, and contributions of HBCUs and their faculty, making this rich resource accessible to the world, especially for underserved populations.
Topics
Mentioned in this video
Jerry Hanley's affiliation, where Merlot Skills Commons is based.
Provided inspiration for the ongoing conversations around open education.
Partner institution collaborating to infuse OER into undergraduate and graduate courses, focusing on general education and online programs.
Has curated materials for the HBCU cultural collection.
Partner institution focusing on making college education attainable and accessible through OER, with international reach potential.
Serves as the national hub for HBCU OER coordination, training, and the cultural collection.
Provided support and facilitated the introduction between MIT Open Learning and HBCU leaders.
Partner institution with Morehouse College in OER efforts.
Historically Black Colleges and Universities, whose leaders are collaborating with MIT to promote educational equity through OER.
Dr. Jacqueline McGee's institution.
Partner institution offering certificate and degree programs using 100% OER.
External partner collaborating with Bethune-Cookman University on OER initiatives.
A platform sharing MIT faculty's teaching materials globally for 20 years, increasingly focusing on equity and cultural relevance.
Newest partner institution with Morehouse College in OER efforts.
External partner collaborating with Bethune-Cookman University on OER initiatives.
Partner institution with a mission-driven approach to OER, focusing on advancing knowledge of Black life, history, and culture.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where the program originates and where faculty are encouraged to adopt OER.
Provided support for the creation of the HBCU cultural collection.
Partner institution developing 100% online programs in criminal justice, psychology, biology, and chemistry using OER.
Partner institution with Morehouse College in OER efforts.
Previous institution where Dr. Earl Lewis used OER.
University where Dr. Kevin Coakley is affiliated.
Responds to a question about key coursework in HBCUs, emphasizing social justice, inclusion, equity, and culturally relevant pedagogy.
Mentioned for listening to the need and supporting the Hewlett Foundation's involvement.
Represents Southern University at Shreveport, discussing their OER program development and faculty integration.
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Morehouse College, mentioned in the context of the college's OER program.
Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT and Vice President for Open Learning.
TSU Learning Support Staff and OER Student Success Consultant Coordinator, highlighting student initiatives and alumni.
From MIT, facilitates the Q&A and discussion, reflecting on MIT OpenCourseware's 20-year history.
Asked a question about connecting students in Africa with students at HBCUs.
Director of HBCU OER at Tennessee State University, discussing OER webinars, surveys, and faculty outreach.
Created an open-source, culturally relevant text 'Making Black Lives Matter'.
12th President of Morehouse College, mentioned in the context of the college's OER program.
Library Director at Arkansas Baptist College and HBCU OER Librarian Curator, coordinating strategies and curated resources for librarians.
Partner from Merlot.org, instrumental in developing the open education portal and cultural collection.
Key presenter and advocate for the HBCU cultural collection and open education.
From merlot.org, discusses Merlot's role in providing technical infrastructure and enabling the remixing of OER content.
Executive Director for OER at Tennessee State University, introducing the TSU hub's initiatives.
Associated with Central State University's OER efforts.
Represents Edward Waters University, highlighting their commitment to OER and its potential impact in countries like Haiti.
Founder of Bethune-Cookman University, whose spirit guides the university's collaborative approach to OER.
Chair of the Division of Humanities at Morehouse College, mentioned in the context of the college's OER program.
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