Letter from the Advisor - August 2019
Supporting excellence in teaching inspired me to accept this position as the faculty advisor for ASSETT. I believe in the transformative power of the classroom when activated through dynamic teaching methods, many of which can be supported through technology. I have learned a lot through the years from the many ASSETT programs to enrich my own teaching and to grow as an educator. In the coming year鈥擨 look forward to:
- working with the Innovation Incubator in the coming three years
- meeting with departments to discuss ASSETT offerings
- supporting the Faculty Fellows program
- advancing my own research related to teaching with technology
In regard to my own research, I am particularly interested in pursuing methods that can leverage teaching to increase the impact of CU research.
Within ASSETT鈥檚 stated mission to provide an enhanced educational paradigm through innovative use of technology, I am interested in the term 鈥減aradigm鈥 especially as an example, a pattern for something, and a model. I view my proposed research as an example of the innovative use of teaching with technology, as a pattern for utilizing that research to enhance teaching, and as one model for a faculty member to integrate teaching with research. For my research I am proposing to develop Open Educational Resources for publishing my 12-session curriculum for vocal empowerment that uses methods from performance and voice pathology to support young women in empowering their voices for increased self and civic advocacy. I have developed this curriculum as research in Guatemala, Tanzania, and the U.S. over the last five years. I will use this curriculum in my CU undergraduate course, Performing Voices of Women, and assess the impact of this online resource within the classroom in terms of student participation through technology in digital spaces.
Beyond that, I am excited by what I am learning about recent trends towards open access, which is a priority for CU especially through our libraries where several staff members have expertise. The research project I am proposing will in part culminate in an Open Educational Resource (OER), which is openly licensed, freely accessible digital material useful for teaching, assessing outcomes, and research. What tends to go hand in hand with open access and OERs is digital literacy. This research will allow me to put into practice essential digital and information literacies, which will result in honing my skills with various digital tools, and the exploration of digital space, and an intentional and thoughtful cultivation of a digital identity (primarily through my use of Domain of One鈥檚 Own, an ASSETT initiative).
I anticipate that topics and questions of interest that will emerge from this research may include:
- How to effectively integrate both digital and non-digital resources into an OER
- The implications of OER 鈥減ublishing鈥 for pre-tenure faculty in terms of tenure and promotion
- How the creation and dissemination of OERs can encourage peer collaboration
- Licensing of work through Creative Commons, including the implications for doing so for scholars at an R1 university
- How to sustain an OER, which is by definition free, openly available, and (as opposed to a static resource) dynamic--changing over time through the interaction of the knowledge seekers interacting with and updating the original material of the OER, much like a Wikipedia entry
- The ethical mandate to make publicly-funded research and teaching methods accessible and sharable
- How to conceptualize and navigate the transition from a proprietary view of intellectual property to an open sharing of knowledge that (by definition of OERs) encourages its users to reuse, revise, remix, and redistribute
These topics fascinate me and are directly tied to the realization of ASSETT鈥檚 mission. Pursuing these areas support access to knowledge to further the greater good for society. I believe that greater dissemination of the knowledge and teaching methods we generate at the University of Colorado can significantly contribute to a better world. I look forward to the next three years serving as the ASSETT Faculty Advisor. Please contact me if you would like to meet and discuss anything related to ASSETT, your teaching, or your research.
Warmest Regards, Beth Osnes