Dipping our toes into the Open Seas

Introducing a renewable assignment to improve authenticity and student learning

Abstract

Adopting Open Education Practice is one example of innovation in online and blended learning. This paper describes how combining a desire to improve student experience and learning, with educational technology use and Open Education Practice led to development of a renewable assignment for a fully online course. The collaborative process is explained, outlining the impetus for the change, the context of the course and the steps taken to design and develop a new assignment utilising Open Education Resources. The assignment, a video presentation, is one component of a major course redevelopment that has been occurring iteratively over a number of sessions. The impetus for the course redesign was a need to improve student retention, results and experience and the process was supported by a DOER Fellowship. Both the Educational Designer and academic involved in the development gained new skills and knowledge of Open Education Practice and early anecdotal evidence is that students appreciated the new assessment and believe this had deepened their learning in the course. Lessons learned include the importance of collaboration across a diverse team and that there are likely to be some minor issues that need to be rectified following initial offerings.