Contributed by Adronisha Frazier.

Whose Knowledge Are We Progressing?

Whose line is it anyway when we ask, “Whose knowledge are we progressing in the field of open educational resources (OERs)?” We can attribute deviations of “Whose knowledge are we progressing” to Agnes De Lima in 1942, Sandra Harding in 1991,  Gloria Ladson-Billings in 2000, and Tara Yosso in 2005. Recently, I’ve seen this phrase in artificial intelligence discussions about whose knowledge is reflected through technology tools and machine outputs. This conversation extends to interdisciplinary fields, such as artificial intelligence ethics and open pedagogy. Despite the need for knowledge dispersion, the resources must be visible and accessible. Ideally, a centralized knowledge management system for OERs would streamline access and increase accessibility for individuals knowledgeable of its existence. 

How could centralization impact diverse voices? 

We must move beyond creating and sharing resources with our local community. Dispensing materials beyond our communities allows for diversity when educators obtain and implement them as is or through modification based on their learners. Diverse voices include hearing from educators, practitioners, and institutions across the Global South and Global North. A centralized knowledge management system would allow for a multitude of outcomes. However, this posting focuses on equitable options for increasing the accessibility of diverse voices, such as consistent terminology in the metadata, continuity in centralization, and inclusion of indigenous voices in OERs.

Consistent Terminology in the Metadata

Most OERs contain metadata tagging (i.e., descriptive information about the resource) for searchability. These tags are inconsistent across disciplines and vary across institutions and organizations. Consistent tagging of resource metadata would be ideal. Equitable considerations include understanding that many countries do not have English as their first language. Therefore, language may not be the same for tagging educational resources. Promoting centralized language for tagging OERs to increase findability within a centralized knowledge management system should positively impact OER usage. For example, in general biology courses, students learn that most biology terms are rooted in Latin terminology because Latin is a dead language. The words have the same meaning globally. The proposed centralized language for OERs should be inclusive for longevity akin to Latin terms and expressions being the basis for discourse in scientific fields.

Continuity in Centralization

Every flagship institution within the United States provides access to OERs through its library resources or repository. Many of these higher education flagship institutions are not the leading contributor to OER development in their state. Community colleges, tribal institutions, and collaborative higher education networks are more proactive in many states. Therefore, the collective effort to centralize OERs globally should consider centralization within a state or territory before expanding to the country level and global efforts. However, these resources are not well-known by faculty members new to OERs. Developing a central point for resources and platforms, similar to the OER Starter Kit, would help newcomers to OERs and those expanding their work in OER as a scholarly discipline. A previous post suggested building a consortium. Lastly, there must be continuity within this system for meaningful research and implementation of resources. Developing a centralized knowledge management system will ease finding resources.

Inclusion of Indigenous Voices in OERs

Recently, UNESCO created a report, The International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022 – 2032), to outline the actionable steps towards preserving the cultural histories of indigenous peoples globally. The report presents an evaluation-style format to address outcomes, outputs, and activities toward the global action plan. This report includes all voices and acknowledges the visibility necessary to preserve languages. As an educator, exploring fields external to my primary educational skill set is valuable to lifelong learning. I understand cultural, pedagogical, environmental, and policy practices can have transferable aspects across disciplines. Addressing the global action plan in the International Decade of Indigenous Languages report should be a top priority as a best practice to improve open education and OERs.

Equity in OER Representation

Ultimately, representation in educational and research fields requires sustainable insight for future teachers, researchers, and practitioners interested in OERs. Diverse participants in education and research spaces bring innovative approaches to the forefront. As open education and OERs evolve in classrooms, scholarly research, and public consumption, we must lead with whose knowledge we are progressing in OER development and dissemination.

As always, we would love for you to share your thoughts! Comment below or consider submitting an article of your own!

About the Author

Hi. My name is Adronisha Frazier. I am an Assistant Professor of Biology and the Natural Sciences Department Chair at Northshore Technical Community College. I am one of the co-contributing editors for the OER & Beyond Blog. Follow this link for more information about me: Contributing Editor Introduction – Adronisha Frazier.