Quality and Free Coast to Coast

A student once asked me if they ‘really’ needed to buy our course textbook, hoping to buy a pair of children’s birthday shoes instead. I loaned the text. About that time I met David Porter, Ed.D. and learned about Open Education Resources (OER’s i.e. good quality and freely accessible textbooks). Since then I have been an advocate for OER’s and the idea of students curating them.

We have made lots of OER progress in Nova Scotia including at Nova Scotia Community College – NSCC, of which I am very proud. Today, in the middle of Open Education Week, my appreciation goes to British Columbia and open.bccampus.ca. Thank you for leading the way!

Check out the BC story about their 10 year journey with OER’s and then check back here for NS news in a couple of years. Quality, free, and coast to coast!

#education #students #community #accessability #democratizingeducation

Celebrating 10 Years of Open Textbooks in B.C.

Do Canadians believe in education?

Most Canadians believe post-secondary education positively impacts the country, is more relevant in today’s rapidly changing world, and makes us stronger in the face of new challenges. A new national survey conducted by Abacus Data for the Canadian Association of University Teachers offers some interesting insights including that 78% of Canadians believe public sector education (PSE) positively impacts the direction of the country

Most Canadians believe PSE is more relevant now than ever. A full two thirds agree that it has never been more important to get a post-secondary education now given the changes in the economy and society.

When told that Canada has the highest rate of residents with a post-secondary degree among comparable countries, two thirds of respondents feel it makes Canada a better place to live, a view that’s held across demographic, regional, and socio-economic groups. Given the importance of PSE in the eyes of Canadians it is likely that it will play a prominent role in the upcoming federal election. Although a provincial jurisdiction, federal policies supporting the sector are likely to be a focus. For more information visit Canadian Association of University Teachers, http://www.caut.ca July 23 post. Photo credit widehdimages.