.jpg "Using Open Educational Resources to Promote Social Justice cover image")
Using Open Educational Resources to Promote Social Justice
Kevin Adams, Alfred, NY
Murray Anderson, Athabasca, Alberta
Elissah Becknell, Minneapolis, MN
CJ Ivory, Carrollton, Georgia
Angela Pashia, Carrollton, Georgia
Copyright Year:
Publisher: Association of College and Research Libraries
Language: English
Formats Available
Conditions of Use
Attribution-NonCommercial
CC BY-NC
Reviews
I was immediately skeptical when I saw the term critical race theory (CRT) was being used to legitimize something that is a made-up construct intended to suppress DEI and uphold the current structures. I found the index was beneficial when... read more
I was immediately skeptical when I saw the term critical race theory (CRT) was being used to legitimize something that is a made-up construct intended to suppress DEI and uphold the current structures. I found the index was beneficial when searching for social justice interests.
Again, using the term CRT indicates there is a bit of biases with some social justice references sprinkled in.
I would say the text will remain in circulation as researchers begin to explore the use of CRT and how normalizing the phrase helps or hurts the social justice movements.
I could not make heads or tails of the information shared in chapter 14 (Decolonizing Wikipedia) since not much data was presented to back up the statements.
The text used modern terminology.
The text was divided into subheadings.
The text was presented in a logical and clear fashion.
I did not encounter any interface issues or navigation problems.
I do not believe there were any grammatical errors.
Adopting the phrase CRT is neither insensitive or offensive but is irresponsible.
The text starts with an introduction and an overview of the OER text. Furthermore, there is a table of contents that follows. read more
The text starts with an introduction and an overview of the OER text. Furthermore, there is a table of contents that follows.
The authors did a great job explaining the issues and the platform in a factual manner.
This textbook is very up-to-date and relevant with what is happening in educational institutions. The authors address CRT and the political climate and how OER can be used in our current educational context.
While the writing structure was easy to understand, I do wish that there was a glossary or terminology section of the textbook.
The authors are very concise in showing their ideas for using OER and maintaining their framework throughout the text.
The text is divided into five sections that have three to four chapters within these sections. The chapters average about 20 pages of reading for each chapter. The table of contents follows an organized approach of ideas.
The text follows a very logical progression of ideas. The authors start with helping the reader to understand the problem. The text then moves to different examples. Then, it moves into ways that practitioners can use the information and strategies in meaningful ways. The progression of ideas is written in a way that anyone knew to OER, and social justice work can understand and apply the content.
There are no interface issues.
Grammar usage and mechanics were well done. Sentence and writing structure was easy to follow.
The authors did a superb job outlining the issue surrounding social justice work in the introduction of the textbook. Furthermore, the author's incorporate great examples of how to put the theoretical practice of using OER into practice in culturally relevant ways in the second section of the textbook.
This is a very timely text that is relevant in today's educational climate. The text gives the reader applicable ideas and strategies for using OER to promote social justice.
This book covers a wide range of topics related to social justice and how OER can be harnessed to remove obstacles for marginalized populations. Further, the chapters critically examine the institutional policies and approaches prevalent in higher... read more
This book covers a wide range of topics related to social justice and how OER can be harnessed to remove obstacles for marginalized populations. Further, the chapters critically examine the institutional policies and approaches prevalent in higher education that have traditionally prevented the type of access championed by the OER movement.
No significant errors noted.
The content in this book is highly relevant to academia and society in general. The book explores the sources of social injustice and provides remedies to address systemic inequities.
The text is accessible, clear, and free of overly technical jargon.
The text is consistent throughout.
The book is well-sectioned into cohesive themes, each of which builds upon the last. Chapter lengths are manageable.
The book is organized logically and each topic builds upon the others.
No issues noted.
No significant errors were identified.
One of the strongest sections of this book is the discussion of the decolonization of learning in the global south. While other works have touched on this topic, I feel this text explores how OER and the push for social justice impact those often overlooked or excluded from the conversation.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Section I. Theory and Problematizing
- Section II. Open Praxis
- Section III. Decolonizing Learning in the Global South
- Section IV. Scaling up with Institutional Policies (Approaches)
- Section V. Building and Decolonizing OER Platforms
Ancillary Material
Submit ancillary resourceAbout the Book
As so often is the case, the idea for this book came from a twisting path. Not long after we began collaborating and presenting together at conferences, we were invited to draft a chapter on critical race theory (CRT) in academic libraries. An invited chapter is, of course, very flattering, so we proceeded without much thought to who the publisher would be. Angela had been working on social justice issues for a while at that point, while CJ had a wealth of expertise on open educational resources (OER). We merged our two areas of expertise in drafting that chapter, discussing OER as an opportunity to not only save students money but incorporate CRT into the curriculum—both in content and in practice.
We submitted the final draft and were dismayed when we received the publication agreement. The publisher was unwilling to allow us to retain the copyright, even after we shared the licensing agreement that the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) Press uses as an example. In discussing how to proceed—should we submit this chapter somewhere else?—we realized that we were really excited about extending the discussion of OER beyond just ensuring that all students can afford to access their course materials. So we pitched the idea of an edited volume on this topic to a publisher that we know has publishing practices we support (chapter authors retain copyright and select the Creative Commons license they prefer for their work), and here we are!
Our entrance to academic work on social justice was through a focus on CRT. We outline this background here but wish to emphasize that it explicitly addresses only one aspect of social justice. For us, the structural understanding of racism in the United States creates a foundation upon which to understand other structures of oppression as well as intersectionality.
About the Contributors
Authors
Kevin Adams is an information literacy librarian at Alfred University. His research focuses on critical librarianship and critical information literacy.
Murray Anderson is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Health Disciplines at Athabasca University. He has 20-plus years of experience as both a private and public health care practitioner, including roles as a coordinator, outreach worker, and crisis response clinician. His research focuses on the stigma and trauma attached to those dealing with issues related to clutter and hoarding. He also maintains a small, private practice where he works with couples, addiction issues, and those dealing with life transitions.
Elissah Becknell is a faculty librarian at Minneapolis Community & Technical College Library and teaches in the Library Information Technology and Information Studies departments. She is an advocate for teaching information as a discipline and liberal art in its own right. Critical information literacy and culturally responsive pedagogy greatly influence the content of Elissah’s teaching. She uses open education resources and zines in her classroom and advocates their use on her campus.
Editors
CJ Ivory is an associate professor and librarian at the University of West Georgia where she teaches information literacy and research with a focus on social justice. She is also an advocate for open education on her campus and works with faculty across disciplines to support the implementation of open textbook alternatives. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Central Florida and MLIS from Florida State University. Her research interests include information literacy instruction, social justice education, and open pedagogy.
Angela Pashia has over a decade of experience as an academic librarian focusing on teaching critical information literacy, mentoring colleagues, working against structural oppression within libraries, and growing as a collaborative leader. Angela’s first co-edited book (with Jessica Critten), Critical Approaches to Credit-Bearing Information Literacy Courses, was selected as an ACRL Instruction Section, Teaching Methods Committee Selected Resource in 2020. Angela currently works as professor and head of the learning and research support department at Ingram Library, University of West Georgia, and is beginning to explore opportunities to support other scholars as a book and career coach.