Planning and Implementing an OER Initiative on a Budget

Although Open Educational Resources (OER) have clear and widespread benefits for stakeholders in higher education, implementing an OER initiative on a college campus is easier said than done. To help you plan an OER initiative of your own, Abbey Elder, Open Access & Scholarly Communication Librarian, will share her team’s experience creating and marketing an Open Education Mini-Grants Program at Iowa State University. Their mini-grants program was developed and implemented in less than twelve months, but garnered interest from more than twenty academic departments across the Iowa State University community. This talk will discuss practical strategies for planning OER initiatives, from university-wide task forces to grant programs and events. Specific strategies covered will include contacting stakeholders, enlisting early adopters, and assessing your institutions’ weaknesses. The focus of the talk will be on how these tasks were completed at Iowa State, but the lessons learned will be applicable to other institutions as well. This talk is intended to support librarian and faculty attendees working on future or present OER initiatives on an institution-wide level. Participants will benefit by learning strategies they can apply to approach all levels of the initiative-development process, from planning to marketing

Is This an OER? : Addressing the Complex Relationship Between Open and Affordable Course Materials

Our poster will examine the work that open educational resource (OER) advocates do to highlight OER and how this work often intersects with other affordable course material initiatives. Specifically, we will highlight the complex intersections between OER and affordable learning and why the differences between these types of course materials matter. In addition to discussing the unique challenges that present themselves when advocating for both OER and affordable course materials, this poster will address: Messaging for instructors and institutional stakeholders about what counts as OER Navigating support for the use of affordable course materials without undercutting the open message The institutional labor connected to these material type

Building a Community of Practice: Strategies Developed by Librarians in the SPARC OpenEd Leadership Program

Do you want to know how other universities develop their OER initiatives? This panel of five librarians will discuss their participation in the SPARC Open Education Leadership Program, a two-semester professional development experience aimed at building expertise and capacity to advance open education in academic libraries, and how it helped shape the development of OER initiatives at their institutions. Over two semesters, the program blends online, peer-to-peer, and project-based learning opportunities to develop participants into subject matter experts with the practical know-how to advance open education initiatives on their campuses. The panelists will discuss how their participation in the SPARC OpenEd Leadership Program has helped them actualize their visions of an OER initiative at each of their respective institutions. Participants will leave the panel with replicable strategies for effectively communicating with other Open Education coordinators, building an OER knowledge base for their institution, and utilizing methods for developing their own OER initiative. The course content developed for the SPARC program, which is published and shared under a Creative Commons Attribution license, will be shared, as well as strategies for how they can be used by practitioners outside of the program. The SPARC OpenEd Leadership Program started in August 2017 with a pilot cohort of 14 fellows selected from SPARC member libraries. Pilot fellows were both students and creators, helping to evaluate and improve the curriculum along the way. Moving forward, the program will accept a cohort of fellows each year, who upon successful completion will receive a certificate and the title of SPARC Open Education Leadership Fellow. Whether you’re interested in applying for the 2018-2019 SPARC Open Education Leadership Program or want to build your own learning community, this panel will provide you with ideas for how you can move forward in your OER project development. Strategies will be scalable for different initiatives, from building small OER outreach efforts to expanding upon an already established program. This panel is intended to support OER Coordinators and librarians, but other individuals are welcome to attend to learn about how programs like the SPARC Open Education Leadership Program could support projects underway at their own institutions

An international comparison of Retinopathy of Prematurity grading performance within the Benefits of Oxygen Saturation Targeting (BOOST) II trials. International variation in ROP grading.

PurposeTo investigate whether the observed international differences in retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) treatment rates within the Benefits of Oxygen Saturation Targeting (BOOST) II trials might have been caused by international variation in ROP disease grading.MethodsGroups of BOOST II trial ophthalmologists in UK, Australia, and New Zealand (ANZ), and an international reference group (INT) used a web based system to grade a selection of RetCam images of ROP acquired during the BOOST II UK trial. Rates of decisions to treat, plus disease grading, ROP stage grading, ROP zone grading, inter-observer variation within groups and intra-observer variation within groups were measured.ResultsForty-two eye examinations were graded. UK ophthalmologists diagnosed treat-requiring ROP more frequently than ANZ ophthalmologists, 13.9 (3.49) compared to 9.4 (4.46) eye examinations, P=0.038. UK ophthalmologists diagnosed plus disease more frequently than ANZ ophthalmologists, 14.1 (6.23) compared to 8.5 (3.24) eye examinations, P=0.021. ANZ ophthalmologists diagnosed stage 2 ROP more frequently than UK ophthalmologists, 20.2 (5.8) compared to 12.7 (7.1) eye examinations, P=0.026. There were no other significant differences in the grading of ROP stage or zone. Inter-observer variation was higher within the UK group than within the ANZ group. Intra-observer variation was low in both groups.ConclusionsWe have found evidence of international variation in the diagnosis of treatment-requiring ROP. Improved standardisation of the diagnosis of treatment-requiring ROP is required. Measures might include improved training in the grading of ROP, using an international approach, and further development of ROP image analysis software.Eye advance online publication, 28 July 2017; doi:10.1038/eye.2017.150

Particulate matter exposure during pregnancy is associated with birth weight, but not gestational age, 1962-1992: a cohort study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Exposure to air pollutants is suggested to adversely affect fetal growth, but the evidence remains inconsistent in relation to specific outcomes and exposure windows.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using birth records from the two major maternity hospitals in Newcastle upon Tyne in northern England between 1961 and 1992, we constructed a database of all births to mothers resident within the city. Weekly black smoke exposure levels from routine data recorded at 20 air pollution monitoring stations were obtained and individual exposures were estimated via a two-stage modeling strategy, incorporating temporally and spatially varying covariates. Regression analyses, including 88,679 births, assessed potential associations between exposure to black smoke and birth weight, gestational age and birth weight standardized for gestational age and sex.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Significant associations were seen between black smoke and both standardized and unstandardized birth weight, but not for gestational age when adjusted for potential confounders. Not all associations were linear. For an increase in whole pregnancy black smoke exposure, from the 1^st(7.4 μg/m³) to the 25^th(17.2 μg/m³), 50^th(33.8 μg/m³), 75^th(108.3 μg/m³), and 90^th(180.8 μg/m³) percentiles, the adjusted estimated decreases in birth weight were 33 g (SE 1.05), 62 g (1.63), 98 g (2.26) and 109 g (2.44) respectively. A significant interaction was observed between socio-economic deprivation and black smoke on both standardized and unstandardized birth weight with increasing effects of black smoke in reducing birth weight seen with increasing socio-economic disadvantage.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The findings of this study progress the hypothesis that the association between black smoke and birth weight may be mediated through intrauterine growth restriction. The associations between black smoke and birth weight were of the same order of magnitude as those reported for passive smoking. These findings add to the growing evidence of the harmful effects of air pollution on birth outcomes.</p

Towards improved decision support in the assessment and management of pain for people with dementia in hospital: a systematic meta-review and observational study

BackgroundPain and dementia are common in older people, and impaired cognitive abilities make it difficult for them to communicate their pain. Pain, if poorly managed, impairs health and well-being. Accurate pain assessment in this vulnerable group is challenging for hospital staff, but essential for appropriate management. Robust methods for identifying, assessing and managing pain are needed.Aims and objectivesTwo studies were undertaken to inform the development of a decision support tool to aid hospital staff in the recognition, assessment and management of pain. The first was a meta-review of systematic reviews of observational pain assessment instruments with three objectives: (1) to identify the tools available to assess pain in adults with dementia; (2) to identify in which settings they were used and with what patient populations; and (3) to assess their reliability, validity and clinical utility. The second was a multisite observational study in hospitals with four objectives: (1) to identify information currently used by clinicians when detecting and managing pain in patients with dementia; (2) to explore existing processes for detecting and managing pain in these patients; (3) to identify the role (actual/potential) of carers in this process; and (4) to explore the organisational context in which health professionals operate. Findings also informed development of health economics data collection forms to evaluate the implementation of a new decision support intervention in hospitals.MethodsFor the meta-review of systematic reviews, 12 databases were searched. Reviews of observational pain assessment instruments that provided psychometric data were included. Papers were quality assessed and data combined using narrative synthesis. The observational study used an ethnographic approach in 11 wards in four UK hospitals. This included non-participant observation of 31 patients, audits of patient records, semistructured interviews with 52 staff and four carers, informal conversations with staff and carers and analysis of ward documents and policies. Thematic analysis of the data was undertaken by the project team.ResultsData from eight systematic reviews including 28 tools were included in the meta-review. Most tools showed moderate to good reliability, but information about validity, feasibility and clinical utility was scarce. The observational study showed complex ward cultures and routines, with variations in time spent with patients, communication patterns and management practices. Carer involvement was rare. No pain decision support tools were observed in practice. Information about pain was elicited in different ways, at different times, by different health-care staff and recorded in separate documents. Individual staff made sense of patients’ pain by creating their own ‘overall picture’ from available information.LimitationsGrey literature and non-English-language papers were excluded from the meta-review. Sample sizes in the observational study were smaller than planned owing to poor documentation of patients’ dementia diagnoses, gatekeeping by staff and difficulties in gaining consent/assent. Many patients had no or geographically distant carers, or a spouse who was too unwell and/or reluctant to participate.ConclusionsNo single observational pain scale was clearly superior to any other. The traditional linear concept of pain being assessed, treated and reassessed by single individuals did not ‘fit’ with clinical reality. A new approach enabling effective communication among patients, carers and staff, centralised recording of pain-related information, and an extended range of pain management interventions is proposed [Pain And Dementia Decision Support (PADDS)]. This was not tested with users, but a follow-on study aims to codesign PADDS with carers and clinicians, then introduce education on staff/patient/carer communications and use of PADDS within a structured implementation plan. PADDS will need to be tested in differing ward contexts

Supporting Student-Centered Learning through Open Pedagogy

This presentation was adapted from the following works: Introduction to Constructionism by Quill West, available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license Open Education in North America by Abbey Elder, available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license OER Basics by Kelsey Smith, available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license KPU Open Pedagogy Workshop by Arthur Gill Green and Jennifer Kirkey, available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license Using Web-Based Annotation to Enhance the Teaching & Study of Literature by Jennifer Gipson and Steel Wagstaff, available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license Teaching with OER by Quill West, available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license </ul

Open Access and Open Education

Open Access and Open Education both stress the importance of making knowledge available for individuals around the world, regardless of wealth or status. These are not wholly separate ideas, nor are they incompatible practices.This is an infographic published as Open Access & Education, Expanded by Abbey Elder is adapted from Differentiation Between Open Access and OER by Anita Walz, both licensed CC BY. [V.1.0 last updated January 28, 2020] You can access the original at http://hdl.handle.net/10919/94422.2</p

(Re)designing a renewable assignment: An Open Pedagogy Worksheet

(Re)designing a renewable assignment by Abbey Elder is adapted from Open Pedagogy Workshop by Rajiv Jhangiani, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.To download a Word version of the template, see the supplemental file at the bottom of the page.</p