We are thrilled to announce a new grant opportunity: The UW OER Fellows Grant Program. A total amount of $15,000 is available in grants of up to $5,000 to support the uptake of open educational resources (OER) at the University of Waterloo. Grants can be used to design and create original resources, adapt existing resources, or develop resources that mix original and adapted content. More information is available on the OER Fellows grant guidelines page. Applications must be submitted by April 1, 2022. The Program is a Library initiative.
An Information Session: OER Fellows Grant will be held March 10. The first half of this 1-hour session will provide an overview of the OER Fellows Grant Program and how your OER project can be supported. It will be led by Mike Chee, Open Education Librarian, and Anna Barichello, lead of the Centre for Extended Learning’s new Agile Development Team. The second half of the session is reserved for any questions you may have about this initiative and the application process. We look forward to seeing you there!
This week we are launching the first in a series of profiles of Waterloo educators who are using and/or creating open educational resources. Profiles include information about their work and motivation to go open. To find out more about open teaching in disciplines such as German, Sociology, Biology, Urban Engineering, and Organic Chemistry, see OER Practitioners at Waterloo.
Elsewhere this week there are free, virtual sessions on OE at Canadian institutions such as the University of Alberta, UBC, and Athabasca. Sessions include Alberta’s “Using OEP to Engage First Year Biology Students – Online!” and “Ed Tech for Open Pedagogies” as well as McMaster’s “Lightning Round” featuring open content in Engineering, Medicine, Math, and Environment. Find these and others listed on OSC’s Events.
In upcoming weeks, the Centre for Extended Learning will be hosting a Virtual Learning Strategy (VLS) Showcase to highlight the Waterloo projects that eCampus Ontario funded in 2021. Project leads will provide a brief overview of the open resource(s) they developed and participate in a Q&A period. The Showcase sessions will be held on March 28th and April 13, 2022, between 10:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. They will be recorded and made available on CEL’s website. For a schedule of events, see eCO Virtual Learning Strategy Showcase Part 1 and Part 2. For more information contact Meg Nietsch.
OE Week is an annual celebration of open education.
For further information about open education or to become involved in raising awareness, see Open Scholarship at Waterloo.
Logo image retrieved from https://www.oeglobal.org/activities/open-education-week/open-education-week-kit/and licensed under CC-BY 4.0.