Open Educational Resources in the Time of COVID-19

Shannon Lucky,Joseph Rubin,Carolyn Doi

doi:10.18357/kula.218

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic caused many post-secondary institutions to close abruptly in early 2020, and instructors were expected to transition to remote online instruction with little notice. For many instructors, hastily recorded lecture-capture videos alongside digital slides became the default mode of sharing instructional content. This sudden shift to video-based instruction was a significant challenge but also presented an opportunity to develop some instructional videos as open educational resources (OER). This paper outlines two case studies from the University of Saskatchewan in which a mix of OER and class-specific, closed-content videos were designed and integrated into remote learning environments. In designing these videos, we focused on technical design elements and accessibility, ability to reuse and share, and student engagement. Both cases, one in veterinary microbiology and the other in music research methods, followed similar strategies for creating multiple types of video content for the course, focusing on four distinct types (labs and demonstrations, guest interviews, lectures, and course information). Choosing to develop and share some of this video content as OER allowed us to expand the use of these learning objects beyond the online classroom. We discuss our considerations for making some videos open, including novelty of the content, reusability, copyright, privacy, and demands on instructor time. We also provide an introduction to our production process and practical tips, including planning, audiovisual production, editing, accessibility, and sharing platforms. The COVID-19 closures made 2020 an unexpectedly challenging year for students and instructors, but the necessity of moving instruction online prompted us to focus on supporting students in this new environment and helped us contribute to the growing body of OER.

Highlights

In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced many post-secondary institutions, including the University of Saskatchewan (USask),1 to close abruptly and transition to remote online instruction (Fontaine 2020). page 2 of 15Doi, Carolyn et al.: Open Educational Resources in the Time of COVID-19Instructors who were teaching in person were suddenly expected to move course content to online learning spaces with little preparation or training, a phenomenon known as “emergency remote teaching” (Adedoyin and Soykan 2020; Thurab-Nkhosi, Maharaj, and Ramadhar 2021)
This paper describes our experiences—as three colleagues working at USask with diverse instructional and technical roles who share an interest and engagement in OERs and online instructional strategies—developing video open educational resources (OER) for remote instruction in two separate courses at USask
This section is followed by considerations for sharing and discoverability that discuss ways to make OER video content accessible for reuse, which may be applicable to other post-secondary instructors who are considering developing their own instructional videos with a mind to sustainability and shareability

Summary

Introduction

In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced many post-secondary institutions, including the University of Saskatchewan (USask), to close abruptly and transition to remote online instruction (Fontaine 2020). We focused on ways to design reusable, remixable, concise, and modular videos that could be shared with students and colleagues as OER, generating a rich collection of digital content that will enhance our future teaching (online and in person). Making these resources available to other instructors has helped broaden the impact of our work and, in some instances, avoided the need to duplicate teaching efforts within our institution. This section is followed by considerations for sharing and discoverability that discuss ways to make OER video content accessible for reuse, which may be applicable to other post-secondary instructors who are considering developing their own instructional videos with a mind to sustainability and shareability

Literature Review

Discussion and Recommendations

Privacy

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Conclusions