Since 2019, Ontario learners have saved more than $22 million by using open education resources (OER) that reduce mandatory textbook fees for the assigned resources in their courses. Nearly 450 educators have selected open resources from our collection, adopting them in about 4,500 course sections, and we are ready to grow OER use. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The evaluation of OER efficacy beyond affordability requires that we put learners at the centre of what we do. Although affordability is a social justice issue, our measures of success must evolve beyond savings. We know the higher education achievement gap of marginalized populations in our province continues to widen. The growth of the open movement offers us new opportunities to share knowledge and raise the voices of diverse learners across our higher education system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Listening to evolve and expand access to higher education among underserved learners is necessary. Ontario covers more than 1 million km2<\/sup> with urban, rural, and remote communities. Our province is home to over 13.5 million people, nearly 270,000 First Nation, M\u00e9tis, and Inuit people, and almost 100,000 people immigrate annually. Nearly 120 first languages are spoken across our province each day among people with intersecting social identities, histories, cultural perspectives and experiences of oppression or discrimination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We customize OER to promote access and interest in digital higher learning.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n We moderate communities of practice, host events, and facilitate OER creation sprints to increase the availability of high-quality OER in our collection. Educators can develop original resources or adapt and translate OER to address local needs and reflect regional social, economic and political trends. We recognize diverse contributors’ voices, incorporating local expertise and experiences. Educators are customizing their approach, creating new learner access and interest in academic programming, especially in small or remote communities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ontario’s higher education open community is creating and adapting OER to remove barriers for learners with different preferences, learning styles, and abilities. Educators are adding elements to comply with the standards of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act and align content with Universal Design for Learning principles to support inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Our efforts build capacity to sustain Ontario\u2019s open movement. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Experts from Indigenous institutes, colleges and universities are helping to inform the broader higher education open community with lessons learned, best practices, scenarios and OER as pedagogical support resources. OER Rangers form a network of champions across the province who share best practices in our communities of practice and brainstorm possibilities to take back to their institutions. From Working Groups to Communities of Practice and entire OER departments, institutions are now developing policies and guidelines to promote open education and support OER implementation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sharing our knowledge will help us sustain the open movement across the sector, supporting digital higher education participation for years to come. Our learners will continue to help us apply an equitable lens and inform our understanding of OER efficacy and use.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Learn more about eCampusOntario and our work to broaden learner access and fulfill learner ambitions through open education at www.ecampusontario.ca<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Thanks to data available at Statistics Canada <\/em>https:\/\/www.statcan.gc.ca\/en\/start<\/em><\/a> and open education resources in the eCampusOntario Open Library <\/em>https:\/\/openlibrary.ecampusontario.ca\/<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n OER24<\/a>\u00a0is next week 27-28 March 2024. The 15th annual conference for Open Education research, practice and policy will be organised by ALT, in partnership with\u00a0Munster Technological University (MTU).<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It’s not surprising. In Canada, learners who complete higher education have much better employment prospects and earn significantly more than those without a diploma or degree. Nearly 64% of Ontario residents 25-64 years of age earn a higher education credential. Still, youth who do not have employment, education or training are at much higher risk […]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12036,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1258,1415,1780,725,1810,944,1760,1185,1809,1511],"class_list":["post-12034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-altc-2","tag-events-2","tag-oer24-2","tag-altc","tag-ecampusontario","tag-oer","tag-oer24","tag-open-education","tag-open-education-conference","tag-sponsor"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2024\/03\/OER-Blog-cover-12.png?fit=700%2C216&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11952,"url":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/2024\/02\/oer24-guest-post-r-is-for-resources-but-it-is-far-from-enough\/","url_meta":{"origin":12034,"position":0},"title":"OER24 Guest Post: “R” is for Resources but it is far from enough","author":"ALT","date":"20 February 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The escalating cost of higher education poses a significant financial burden for students and society. With a focus on textbooks, Open Educational Resources (OER) have emerged as a potential answer. However, while OER offers promise, materials alone comprise a small fraction of the total price of a degree. Even if\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","block_context":{"text":"Events","link":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/category\/events\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Resources Blog Cover","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2024\/02\/OER-Blog-cover-5.png?fit=700%2C216&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2024\/02\/OER-Blog-cover-5.png?fit=700%2C216&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2024\/02\/OER-Blog-cover-5.png?fit=700%2C216&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2024\/02\/OER-Blog-cover-5.png?fit=700%2C216&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12062,"url":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/2024\/03\/explore-the-voices-and-resources-from-oer24\/","url_meta":{"origin":12034,"position":1},"title":"Explore the voices and resources from OER24\u00a0","author":"ALT","date":"28 March 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"As we do every year, we are collecting links to blog posts and resources for and about the conference. If you\u2019d like to add yours, please share it on social media with #OER24 or email enquiries@alt.ac.uk. We also encourage you to share your conference feedback. #altc Blog OER24 Guest Posts\u00a0\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","block_context":{"text":"Events","link":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/category\/events\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"OER","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2024\/03\/OER-Blog-cover.png?fit=700%2C216&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2024\/03\/OER-Blog-cover.png?fit=700%2C216&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2024\/03\/OER-Blog-cover.png?fit=700%2C216&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2024\/03\/OER-Blog-cover.png?fit=700%2C216&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12052,"url":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/2024\/03\/oer24-the-future-isnt-what-it-used-to-be\/","url_meta":{"origin":12034,"position":2},"title":"#OER24 The future isn’t what it used to be","author":"ALT","date":"28 March 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The future isn't what it used to be is a keynote delivered by Dr Catherine Cronin and Professor Laura Czerniewicz at the Open Education Conference (OER24) on 28 March 2024 at Munster Technological University, Cork, Ireland. If you missed it, the keynote was recorded and is available to watch on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","block_context":{"text":"Events","link":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/category\/events\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2024\/03\/OER2024-Blog-1.png?fit=700%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2024\/03\/OER2024-Blog-1.png?fit=700%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2024\/03\/OER2024-Blog-1.png?fit=700%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2024\/03\/OER2024-Blog-1.png?fit=700%2C500&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11993,"url":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/2024\/02\/oer24-guest-post-how-to-experience-cork-through-the-oer24-themes\/","url_meta":{"origin":12034,"position":3},"title":"OER24 Guest Post: How to Experience Cork Through the OER24 Themes","author":"ALT","date":"29 February 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"As OER24 is now on the very near horizon, I thought I would take a go at connecting the conference themes to some unique experiences around Cork City. The goal of in-person conferences is not only to have the opportunity for us all to interact during sessions, but also to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Community"","block_context":{"text":"Community","link":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/category\/community\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"OER24","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2024\/02\/OER-Blog-cover-7.png?fit=700%2C216&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2024\/02\/OER-Blog-cover-7.png?fit=700%2C216&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2024\/02\/OER-Blog-cover-7.png?fit=700%2C216&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2024\/02\/OER-Blog-cover-7.png?fit=700%2C216&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12003,"url":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/2024\/03\/marching-to-the-beat-of-open-education-go-gn-at-oer24\/","url_meta":{"origin":12034,"position":4},"title":"Marching to the Beat of Open Education: GO-GN at OER24!","author":"ALT","date":"5 March 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The Global OER Graduate Network (GO-GN) is delighted to be an Event Sponsor for this year\u2019s OER conference. GO-GN is a network of doctoral candidates around the world whose research projects focus on open education. We currently have 179 members and alumni based in 28 countries around the world. In\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","block_context":{"text":"Events","link":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/category\/events\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"OER Blog cover (9)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2024\/03\/OER-Blog-cover-9.png?fit=700%2C216&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2024\/03\/OER-Blog-cover-9.png?fit=700%2C216&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2024\/03\/OER-Blog-cover-9.png?fit=700%2C216&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2024\/03\/OER-Blog-cover-9.png?fit=700%2C216&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12025,"url":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/2024\/03\/the-national-teaching-repository-oer-with-reach-and-impact-tracking\/","url_meta":{"origin":12034,"position":5},"title":"OER24 Guest Post: The National Teaching Repository – OER with reach and impact tracking","author":"ALT","date":"12 March 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s nearly time for OER24 \u2013 a fantastic celebration of all things Open Education in Cork, Ireland on the 27th and 28th of March! And Open Education should be celebrated and supported, it is literally life changing, supplying educational materials to those who would otherwise not have access to them.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","block_context":{"text":"Events","link":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/category\/events\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2024\/03\/OER-Blog-cover-11.png?fit=700%2C216&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2024\/03\/OER-Blog-cover-11.png?fit=700%2C216&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2024\/03\/OER-Blog-cover-11.png?fit=700%2C216&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2024\/03\/OER-Blog-cover-11.png?fit=700%2C216&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6CxU9-386","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12034"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12034\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12039,"href":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12034\/revisions\/12039"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12036"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2024\/03\/Headline-Sponsors-Twitter-Post-5.png?resize=1024%2C576&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2024\/02\/OER24-2.png?resize=400%2C400&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>