DH-OER | Who am I?

Introducing

A conversation between Derek Moore and Michael Gallagher (Date: 18 July 2023 Duration: 58 mins).

“But what can a decent man speak of with most pleasure?”
Answer: Of himself. Well, so I will talk about myself.

Fyodor Ddostoevsky

I am pleased to start working on the DH OER Champions project. As a brief introduction to myself, here’s more about who I am on my website –  Weblearning.co.za. You can also follow my “open” actions, thoughts and images on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Flickr, Instagram, Mastodon, YouTube, and Tick Tock.

Honestly, the exciting stuff is not with me. It’s the things that are happening on my PLN. You are welcome to join me and other open educators in this global open learning network. I belong to Creative Commons (CC) South Africa, the CC Global Network, and OE Global. 

For those who are associated with DH OER. I’ll be available on Slack and Zoom. I’ll reach out next week to chat on Zoom and then link your DH-OER project to help and support resources. I’m sure I’ll learn a lot from you, and in return, I’ll provide some open experience and expertise to assist you in meeting your target.

From Now (July) to November – you can expect me to

1. Reach out directly to project leads and teams in a kick-off introductory virtual meeting. Schedule a time. Please let me know your current project, status, needs, and challenges. You could work through this mentorship charter (to be adapted) if you’d like some help.
2. Link together some of the pressing needs (Google Docs draft 1) that you have identified. I’ll find open resources to support your project and team.
3. Introduce and ask you to participate in a few missions. You’ll build upon the work that Jako Olivier covered last year. Possible topics include
   1. Creating, adopting, adapting, modifying and sharing openly licensed education resources (sometimes refereed to as OER’s). Using the 5R’s
   2. Helpful infographics, decision trees, frameworks or toolkits used for supporting open education practices (OEP). These resources allow for critical inquiry and student agency.
   3. Introduction to open infrastructure (H5P, WordPress, Moodle). I’ll show you how to make learning materials accessible, customisable, editable and abundant via these platforms. Thus widening access and participation in a course.
   4. Give examples of how you might tell stories to showcase your OER work, make your thoughts visible and develop your digital footprint.

Showtime: In November, you will submit your finalised work.

In November 2023, we will be organising a virtual event where all the DH OER teams can share their work, the experience and insights gained while developing their OER and discuss their plans for the future. All project teams who complete the programme by November 2023 will receive a certificate of completion.

Please also feel free to reach out and follow me on any of the above platforms I mentioned. I am comfortable in most digital habitats. However, project communication for DH-OER will be via email, Zoom and Slack. A minimum assumption is that “manager-champion” communication will happen from there.

Look forward to chatting soon.