Group: For students

The Aurora Open Education Recourses working group is one of the first working groups established by the Network in 2018. Students have been a part of the working group from the beginning and brought in the special user-orientated perspective which fit in just right with the technical, organizational and strategic expertise of teachers, researchers and staff, particularly the library directors of the Aurora network.

The OER working group supports and encourages collaboration between teachers by reusing and remixing open materials. It aims to tackle the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals on Equal Education by guaranteeing access to knowledge in high-quality and credible content anywhere.

Challenges and Opportunities

Open Education Resources are essential for many reasons. One reason is the rising cost of textbooks which is different for various study courses.
Secondly, when we aspire to create the opportunity to study for a student body with a broader socioeconomic background and tackle equal education, OER plays a crucial role in accessing the material, regardless of students and researchers’ economic background. OER can provide materials for teaching, learning and research. The growth and expansion of the internet have made access to OER more common worldwide, but filtering the relevant and appropriate material is left up to the user’s assessment. Where the pertinent textbooks will have their strengths and weaknesses, OER material allows a faculty member to pull only strong material into their class. OER also represents an opportunity to have one’s materials enhanced. By allowing the material to be modified by other faculties around the world. An OER creator has the chance to see the material used in ways never imagined. That type of exposure and collaboration is not possible with material that lives on a local computer or only in print.

The philosophy behind OER is that knowledge is a public rather than personal good and should be for the greater good- shared free of charge. Therefore, the challenging first step is to motivate all the partner Universities members to follow that philosophy to enlarge the Material, which is accessible through OER.

Like never before, the pandemic has shown us the strengths of OER. Distant learning formats had to be created in a short period of time and profited by OER material. Due to the circumstances, OER took a big step forward in acknowledging its importance for Universities. Finally, OER is the basis of numerous projects within the Aurora Network. Connecting the OER working group to current Aurora initiatives in the field of innovation of teaching and learning,’ ‘diversity and inclusion’ and ‘student engagement’ is vital and guarantees future viability.

Written by Aylin Kilic, member of the Aurora Student Council

A student from the University of East Anglia (UEA) spoke in the House of Commons after her petition to integrate diversity into the school curriculum reached 88,000 signatures.

Cynthia Ashlyne Muthoni who is 22 and studying MSc Climate Change and International Development at UEA presented via video link to a joint session of the Petitions Committee and Women and Equalities Committee on Thursday (5 November).

She is classed as vulnerable to COVID-19 and therefore was unable to physically attend protests over the death of George Floyd in the USA and calls for racial equality in the UK in June, so as an alternative method of protest she started the online petition. Within 48 hours of Cynthia setting up the online petition it gained 10,000 signatures, the necessary amount needed for the Government to respond, and it has steadily grown to just over 88,000 signatures.

Cynthia has experienced and witnessed racism throughout her life. She believes that the key to preventing it in education, healthcare, employment and other parts of society is to actively teach anti-racism to children in schools, so the next generation doesn’t become perpetrators or victims.

She said: “I remember being in school and always being called by the name of another black pupil despite us looking completely different. Teachers were angry to the point they would begin yelling at me for not responding and were later embarrassed by their actions. Sadly, this isn’t the only time I have been subject to racism.

“I would like teachers to be given appropriate anti-racism training, so they feel knowledgeable, confident, and empowered teaching such topics as well as when providing advice and assistance with any incidents of racism.

“Seeing the response to the petition is heart-warming, knowing so many people are co-signing and advocating for your idea because they recognise its importance. It gives you more confidence in your beliefs, it encourages you, and your determination becomes unwavering.

“It’s an honour to appear in parliament in any sense, but to be given the privilege to voice your ideas to people who have the power to affect real change is truly incredible. I feel prepared to combat this argument and demonstrate the necessity of education on racism and diversity being made mandatory.

“My aim is to have this idea transformed into legislation so that a significant portion of the curriculum is dedicated to deconstructing ideas of racism, providing children with tools necessary to combat racism, to become anti-racist and an ally.

“Instead of diversity (racially, ethnically, and culturally) being something children are told to tolerate, it should be something they are taught to celebrate. Diversity isn’t just acknowledgement of differences it’s the empowerment of the elements that make us different.”

Catherine McKinnell MP, Chair of the Petitions Committee, said: “I am pleased that the Petitions Committee is able to hold this joint evidence session with the Women and Equalities Committee and members of the Education Committee on such an important issue. This joint work allows us to delve deeper into concerns to petitioners that cut across policy areas.

“In the last few months, petitions calling for greater diversity in the National Curriculum have seen more than 390,000 signatures. Although the Government’s response to one of these petitions states that the curriculum provides teachers with ‘opportunities…to teach about Britain’s role in colonisation and the transatlantic slave trade’, many petitioners feel this does not go far enough in ensuring that students experience a fully diverse education all year round.”

Caroline Nokes MP, Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee added: “To tackle racism and create a more equal and just society, we must understand and learn from the past. That starts in schools, with a more inclusive history curriculum. The sheer number of signatures these petitions have received show the strength of feeling on these issues. The Woman and Equalities Committee wants to work with the Petitions Committee and colleagues on the Education Committee to explore this in more detail.”

To view the petition, visit: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/323808

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, many universities have decided to move teaching from their classrooms to the cloud. It is a long known battle for students to gain access to teaching and study material at any time and place, but little did we know that it would be the external pressure of a global pandemic sparking the online revolution within academic institutions.

Almost as if knowing what challenges 2020 would bring, the University of Iceland (UI) tested a new learning management system during the first wave of the pandemic last spring and was ready to implement the improved software in the new academic year be held almost exclusively online. Alongside some of the greater features – integrated assignments, calendars, and multiple forms of feedback for both staff and students – students who submit their assignments on time are celebrated with confetti all over their screens.

Even though studies are now more flexible than ever, and virtual confetti aside, students’ lives have never been as restricted. The social and societal impacts of Covid-19 weigh heavily on us all, not to mention the financial setback many of us have had to tackle (and are still tackling). Many students depended on mini-jobs and were among the first to face lay-offs.

Fear of the unknown

In a survey conducted by the Student Council of UI, 2208 students reported their well-being during the pandemic in association with their studies. A vast majority of students reported feeling higher stress levels due to the pandemic, fearing it will negatively affect their academic progress. More than half of the participants reported feeling anxious, fearing to become infected. The risk of becoming infected is a great uncertainty feeding isolated students’ anxious minds. But it is a source of uncertainty none of us can control.

What we can control, however, is uncertainty within our academic institutions. Instead of re-evaluating restrictions and policies according to fluctuations of the pandemic, why not create a set plan for the whole academic year? The announcement that teaching would be held online this semester was a great relief to many students, but with in-person final exams on the horizon, the complaints box fills up again.

Students are assets

As if exams are not stressful enough, the risk of infection is a more serious threat than potential academic failure. Keeping away from online or take-home exams because they are unknown territory, is no argument for today’s average university student, a digital native. This generation of university students is fluent in technology, indifferent to traditional academia’s presenteeism.

Being part of a network of research-intensive universities across Europe focusing on societal impact, amongst other topics, we are all highly aware of the long-lasting challenges this pandemic brings. The establishment of a “new normal” is evident, but the question remains, by whom?

With a multidisciplinary approach to health research and a large sample of the most forward-thinking young individuals in society, Aurora universities are the perfect testing grounds for innovative practices during these times of uncertainty. Like ours, universities can use this opportunity to serve as a leading light to society in finding a new normal.

Written by Emily Reise Aurora Student Council Secretary