In summer 2020 BCcampus began creating a collection of open courses to assist instructors and course developers in creating and updating their courses, particularly while transitioning from in-person teaching to online. We are pleased to award grants to four new projects that will grow our open course collection with high quality, relevant course materials that are suitable for programs in B.C. and beyond:
- Family Sociology
- Entrepreneurship (Years 1 and 2)
- Environmental Geology
- Psychology of Language
Silvia Bartolic, MA, PhD
Associate Professor of Teaching, Sociology, University of British Columbia
Course: Family Sociology
The goal of our project is to develop an introductory (lower-level undergraduate) open education course in the area of family studies/family sociology that aligns with our open textbook Families Across the Lifecourse, a project funded by the University of British Columbia’s Open Educational Resources Grant. The project will allow us (as well as other instructors of family-related courses) to adapt Canadian materials to best suit the needs and structure of our particular courses as well as provide students free access to course materials that may otherwise be cost prohibitive. We are also excited to share knowledge of Canadian families beyond the walls of the university classroom.
Katherine Carpenter, MBA
Faculty, Entrepreneurial Leadership, Kwantlen Polytechnic University
Courses:
- Introduction to Entrepreneurship
- Innovation
Innovative and creative thinking is absolutely paramount for organizations to survive in a rapidly changing world. In these courses learners will develop the ability to think entrepreneurially and to creatively solve a series of challenging and complex problems, as you would in the role of a consultant or professional advisor. The courses will be designed so learners can discover and apply creative problem-solving techniques and develop innovative, viable solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges, including those related to achieving the UN’s Sustainability Development Goals. We are making this course open so both students and independent learners can develop their innovative and creative thinking skills to solve complex and challenging problems.
Steven Earle, PhD
Open Learning Faculty Member, Earth Science, Thompson Rivers University
Course: Environmental Geology
The course (GEOL-2391) is focused on a range of topics at the interface between earth science, the environment, and humans, including volcanism, soils, slope failure, surface water and flooding, groundwater, earthquakes, energy, solid-waste disposal, and climate change. This course is currently offered online at TRU and is based on a commercial textbook. I am planning significant updates and revisions to align the content with a new open textbook that is nearly complete. I am particularly motivated to make this course open because of its relevance to pressing environmental issues, especially climate change. I believe it is important, at this time more than ever before, to make such courses available to everyone.
Dinesh Ramoo, PhD
Sessional lecturer, Department of Psychology, College of New Caledonia
Course: Psychology of Language
While the study of the psychology of language is of great interest to most psychology students, few open educational resources (OER) are available on this subject. Psychology of Language was developed in response to this gap in OER and also took great strides in including Indigenous knowledge in every chapter along with other languages of Canada. The current project will develop course material for a 12-week semester aligned with this textbook that will provide students with the fundamentals of linguistic and psycholinguistic theory and a chance to explore the nature of language and the basic components studied by psycholinguists. They will also gain an understanding of language development as well as the biological basis of language. Language processes such as comprehension, reading, and speaking will also be explored along with the current models of comprehension and production. The project outputs will include a course outline, lesson plans, lecture slide templates, and H5P activities aligned with each chapter. This project is a collaboration between Dinesh Ramoo from the College of New Caledonia and Marie Bartlett from Thompson Rivers University.
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