*Note: This session has passed. Please view the recordings and resources below.
This event is organized by the BC Open Education Librarians (BCOEL) group with sponsorship from BCcampus, Capilano University, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Langara College, and the University of British Columbia (UBC) Okanagan campus.
Save the date! On March 1, please join us for this Open Education Week event to explore wicked problems and open remedies. A wicked problem is one that is difficult or impossible to solve due to incomplete, contradictory, interconnected, or changing factors. A problem that requires a major change in practice, belief, or behaviour for many people is often a wicked problem. Drawing on this idea, we turn our attention to the wicked problem in higher education of empowering students in the classroom and centring student voices in exploring the challenges of and potential solutions for this problem. Arley Cruthers (Kwantlen) will moderate the session. Student panelists include Kristen Morgan (UBC Okanagan), Sophia Nguyen (Simon Fraser University [SFU]), and Caitlin Spreeuw (Douglas College). Open Education Week (March 1–5, 2021) is an annual global event that aims to “raise awareness and showcase the impact of open education on teaching and learning worldwide.”
Facilitator Info:
Arley Cruthers is a Paralympic medalist, novelist, and writing instructor. She won two World Championship gold medals and a bronze medal at the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games. She received accolades for both her novels, Post and The Time We All Went Marching, and she’s also the author of OER Business Writing for Everyone: An Inclusive Guide to Writing in the Workplace. She teaches applied communications at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, where she also currently serves as the Open Education Teaching Fellow. Arley is passionate about open education, open pedagogy, ungrading, Universal Design for Learning, and disability justice. She holds a master of fine arts from University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.
Kristen Morgan is a physics and math student at UBC Okanagan, where she works in the library as the open education assistant and serves as a senator-at-large. She is passionate about the intersection of policy and advocacy, especially as they relate to sustainable long-term institutional changes. Kristen’s latest policy work addresses the prevalence of fee-based digital assessment tools (pay-to-play online homework systems) in the undergraduate student experience and reimagines assessment activities in an increasingly online environment. You can find Kristen on Twitter @KrisTheMorg.
Sophia Nguyen is a third-year business student at SFU who is passionate about creating positive community impact through entrepreneurship. She is a corporate relations coordinator for the SFU Student Marketing Association and an ambassador for Female Laboratory of Innovative Knowledge, a platform dedicated to helping women gain valuable work experience and enrich their professional networks. Sophia’s latest project is a children’s book called Jordan and the Magic Cape, created in collaboration at the Make Change Studio. This book is designed to educate children on the wicked problem of textile sustainability in a creative and impactful way.
Caitlin Spreeuw is a science student currently studying at Douglas College with hopes of transferring to SFU. She is the director of external relations at the Douglas Students’ Union, and through this role, she has had the opportunity to be a part of the Open Douglas working group. Caitlin is interested in open education because of its potential to save students a lot of money in the long run and help relieve the increasingly heavy financial burden of post-secondary education.
Open Education Week (March 1–5, 2021) is an annual, global event that aims to “raise awareness and showcase the impact of open education on teaching and learning worldwide.”