Dr. Tranum Kaur (she/her), Assistant Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry; Program Coordinator, Master of Medical Biotechnology Program
The University of Windsor is a part of a huge ongoing open movement which is shifting individual and institutional trends and cultures and making all kinds of changes from micro to macro levels by embracing openness.
Dr. Tranum Kaur from Chemistry & Biochemistry at the University of Windsor is one of 85 faculty/staff from 47 postsecondary institutions in Ontario selected by eCampusOntario to take part in the OER Ranger program (part of eCampusOntario’s Open Communities) to champion the use of open education resources (see here for the Expression of Interest Form for 2023).
According to eCampusOntario, the OER Rangers will “form a network of educators and practitioners interested in supporting the advancement of open education within their institution and are individuals who are passionate about education as a public good, and who promote OER as a sustainable approach to education.”
In her recent hybrid workshop on “Harnessing the power of open for an inclusive education”, Dr. Kaur shared her experience of developing an open textbook on health and medical case studies for the Clinical biochemistry course delivered to the medical biotechnology graduates. This OER contains real-life clinical cases ranging from renal diseases, to endocrinology, to COVID-19, to infertility, to hepatology and hematology, which any faculty/staff/student can openly access, download or use for their courses.
Attendees (faculty & student) participated from various faculties including science, engineering, FAHSS, law, and education, and were able to cover the following topics in this interactive workshop:
- What are open education resources (OERs), and the 5R permissions of open publishing for promoting accessible and inclusive learning.
- Identify some of the repositories to find open educational resources.
- Differentiate between “free” and “open”.
- Six Creative Commons license types promoting the sharing and reuse of OERs.
- Learn useful tips for OER access/development.
“OER initiatives are aligned with advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), such as SDG 4 by promoting quality education for all, UN SDG 10 by providing open access to reduce inequalities, and UN SDG 17 by allowing innovation and new partnerships or cross-collaborations in an open ecosystem,” says Dr. Kaur.
