3 Who Writes OER?

Please review data from Malina Thiede’s (SUNY Plattsburgh) OpenEd19 poster, below, which disaggregates commercial and open textbook authors by gender, race, rank, and role, degree attainment. Think about the ways in which OER have or have not broken down barriers and existing power structures that exist in our online spaces. Why is who writes OER an important question to ask ourselves as we strive to be anti-racist in our approaches to teaching and learning in our diverse technical college classrooms?

It’s (Not) in The Reading: American Government Textbooks’ Limited Representation of Historically Marginalized Groups

Explore Shawna Brandle’s work uncovering if and how marginalized groups are represented in publisher textbooks as well as openly licensed textbooks. In her article, It’s (Not) in The Reading: American Government Textbooks’ Limited Representation of Historically Marginalized Groups, Brandle reveals that American government textbooks, including OER, feature little coverage of any historically marginalized groups.

As you consider how you and your students may construct your own learning materials or adopt existing OER, it is important to consider what voices, stories, and perspectives are amplified, and identify opportunities to elevate those marginalized voices so often left out.

Lies My Teacher Told Me

Please listen to (or read) this NPR interview with James Loewen, author of Lies my Teacher Told Me: Everything your American History Textbook Got Wrong. Loewen discusses some obvious manifestations of racism in history texts, but some of the issues with our course materials may be less overt.

As you listen, consider the course materials in your own courses. Whose voices are represented? Whose are excluded? Which topics may have been omitted and why?