
At Cambrian College, we decided to “open up” the conversation about Open Education by hosting a full-day event to introduce various stakeholders to the what, why, and how of Open culture. Our goal was to address common misconceptions, demonstrate possibilities, and share resources to help our faculty move into the Open. We hosted a variety of talks and workshops, including presentations from Creative Commons and eCampus Ontario representatives. Here you will find the elements that made this event a success, lessons learned, and tips on how to plan an event to start the Open conversation at your institution. You’ll find our planning documents, schedule, and other openly licensed materials for you to use at your own event.
Our Resources are Open
All of the resources provided below are available to you through Creative Commons license CC BY-SA 2.5 CA unless otherwise indicated (for example: some of the presentations have separate CC licenses).
To use these materials, please make a copy in your own Google Drive or download them in your preferred format before editing.
Photos & Tweets from Open Day
HUGE shoutout to @jennihayman and @joanne_kehoe from @eCampusOntario for making the trip to Sudbury to help enrich our conversations during Open Day. From the keynote to the final Q&A, you inspired Cambrian faculty to consider the possibilities of OEP. Thank You! #opendaycambrian pic.twitter.com/bULwA801tD
— Jessica O’Reilly (@Cambrian_Jess) May 31, 2018
The big day is here, so exciting! #opendaycambrian https://t.co/oJvqIRkhdV — Marnie Seal (@MarnieSeal) May 31, 2018
Great #OER resource grab going on @cambrianhub! Stop by if you need help searching for open material, we’re digging up all kinds of great stuff pic.twitter.com/9hNfshXzHa
— Marnie Seal (@MarnieSeal) June 1, 2018
Can’t make it to Cambrian College today for Open Day? Join us remotely via the Zoom app: 1. Making Sense of Open Education Keynote (10am) https://t.co/PWJRxh0L8S 2. Open Day Sessions Throughout the Day (except 12:30pm – 1:30pm session): https://t.co/nEgJqXCCoO — Cambrian Teaching & Learning Hub (@cambrianhub) May 31, 2018
Beauty of a day to talk about Open Educational Resources! Come to the eDome at 10am to learn more @cambriancollege https://t.co/VMys3tcXe3
— Mel Young (@melyoung00) May 31, 2018
Loving this keynote talk by @jennihayman framing the importance of using #OER by drawing on personal lived experiences as a student – I think many of us can relate! So important to keep the student experience in mind. #opendaycambrian pic.twitter.com/UNpFcxqVvs — Marnie Seal (@MarnieSeal) May 31, 2018
Thank you so much @cgreen for sharing information about @creativecommons during #OpenDayCambrian pic.twitter.com/WAs5DhKXl7 — Jessica O’Reilly (@Cambrian_Jess) May 31, 2018
“More is merry, so be share-y” #OER #opendaycambrian — Marnie Seal (@MarnieSeal) May 31, 2018
It’s #open day @cambrianhub Get learning in the open – not just #OERs! There’s @ontarioextend and #OpenConversations #CambrianHub @Cambrian_Jess https://t.co/WsONIm7x04 — Helen DeWaard (@hj_dewaard) May 31, 2018
It’s Open Day in the Hub! Learn all about open educational resources, open textbooks, creative commons licensing and more. The best part: you can join remotely via Zoom and see what open is all about. @cambrianhub https://t.co/9UrGkEuMA6 — Sarah Wendorf (@SarahWendorf) May 31, 2018
A fine collection of get-the-job-done professionals. Congrats and bravo for making it a successful #opendaycambrian @cambriancollege #OEFelloes @eCampusOntario. https://t.co/5yJcskn5sQ — David Porter (@dendroglyph) May 31, 2018
Nice guide from @CambrianLibrary about copyright. @MarnieSeal is giving us the tour in the @cambrianhub#OpenDayCambrian @eCampusOntario#OEFellowshttps://t.co/xU6wfuPAK7 — Laura Killam (@NurseKillam) May 31, 2018
A wonderful way to start the #oep conversation at @cambriancollege Thank you to faculty and planners for support. #opendaycambrian @cambrianhub @Cambrian_Jess @MarnieSeal @CambrianLibrary @melyoung00 @eCampusOntario @jennihayman @joanne_kehoe @cgreen @creativecommons #OEFellows pic.twitter.com/I1zD1CtRXG — Laura Killam (@NurseKillam) May 31, 2018
May 31st is Open Day in the Hub! Learn all about Open Educational Resources (OER), Creative Commons, where to find OER, using open textbooks, FAQs and more. Register for sessions: https://t.co/gADiBzcEed, or learn more: https://t.co/8sSKNyenUv #cambrianhub pic.twitter.com/TGChz5e9Xe — Cambrian Teaching & Learning Hub (@cambrianhub) May 28, 2018
The @cambrianhub is looking forward to hosting @jennihayman and @joanne_kehoe on campus for tomorrow’s Open Day! Also looking forward to virtual appearances from @cgreen & @hj_dewaard. This couldn’t happen without @eCampusOntario. check out https://t.co/Vi8DwM5ye4 for more info!
— Jessica O’Reilly (@Cambrian_Jess) May 30, 2018
- Faculty were expressing interest in the topic
- Uncertainty existed around what was possible
- A core group of advocates for Open Education formed
- Solutions were needed for students who were not purchasing books
- Students and student council were looking for solutions
- Library reserve usage remains high
We were responding to the needs of faculty. Laura’s and Jess’ fellowship with eCampus Ontario empowered us to respond effectively.
- Started by identifying our stakeholders and determined what information would be valuable for each stakeholder group
- Discussed potential sessions that would be in alignment with the desired outcomes and which presenters and stakeholder groups would be appropriate to have in attendance
- Reached out to guest speakers and nailed down dates
- Planned session flow to purposefully scaffold the information being presented
Pre-Open Day Communications
Day-Of Communications
Post-Open Day Communications
Sessions
Attendees
Feedback
We gathered feedback from our participants in three ways: informal discussions, an online survey and a paper-based survey. The paper survey worked best!
Here were some comments we received from participants:
Lessons Learned
What went well:
- Involvement of multiple key stakeholders in the planning process
- Marketing and communications planning started early
- Having a kick-off film screening and a post-session resource grab
- Careful consideration of what and when to record (Mythbusting was not recorded)
- Attendance was high
- Feedback was sought in multiple ways
- Virtual options to connect synchronously and asynchronously
If we were to hold another Open Day in the future, we would:
- Provide breaks between sessions and spread them out over more days. An Open Week or two-day event may work better than one Open Day.
- Maintain a flexible style where participants are encouraged to move freely in and out of sessions
- Coordinate better session timing by working collaboratively with other departments
- Design a social media / virtual experience that integrates with on-site participation (ex: live Tweet chat)
- Include a hashtag in the up-front planning process
- Speed up the processing of video recordings to post online
- Add an incentive for providing feedback (ex: free book, Tim Horton’s gift card)
- Facilitating biweekly “Open discussions” with a small group
- Responding to drop-in requests for support
- Planning resource grabs at key times in the semester
- Advocating for clarity and support