Open Source Tools for Open Education Resources
Start Date
14-4-2023 9:00 AM
End Date
14-4-2023 9:45 AM
Presentation Type
Workshop
Primary Theme
Technology
Secondary Theme
Repositories
Description
It is hard to overstate the impact that open source software has had on the global community. Open source technologies are at the heart of many of the systems we use every day. From embedded devices that fit in our pockets to cloud-based solutions we access remotely, open source software is the underpinning of our technology infrastructure. To create this software, teams and individuals from all over the world work together to collaboratively edit complex structures. The tools created and used by open source communities and the lessons learned from this unprecedented level of collaboration lend themselves very well to the creation of open education resources.
In this workshop, we will explore how to use open source collaboration, project management, and virtualization tools to cooperatively create a textbook. We will examine the git version control system and use GitHub to host a repository for a project. Participants will generate a sample book chapter using AsciiDoc, an open source plain text markup language suitable for publishing in multiple formats. Participants will then submit a PR to have their chapter added to the project and a release incorporating all of the submissions will be generated.
Using these techniques we can not only democratize access to community generated educational resources, but we can also democratize access to the creation of said resources. Ultimately we can mirror the goals and values of OER within the process of its generation.
Recommended Citation
Tolboom, Ryan, "Open Source Tools for Open Education Resources" (2023). Open Educational Resources Conference. 7.
https://digitalcommons.kean.edu/oer_conference/2023/April_14th_Schedule/7
Open Source Tools for Open Education Resources
https://kean-edu.zoom.us/j/96172998597?pwd=MXdDdU5DeDNSN0NvZGhIcGV2SWlCdz09
It is hard to overstate the impact that open source software has had on the global community. Open source technologies are at the heart of many of the systems we use every day. From embedded devices that fit in our pockets to cloud-based solutions we access remotely, open source software is the underpinning of our technology infrastructure. To create this software, teams and individuals from all over the world work together to collaboratively edit complex structures. The tools created and used by open source communities and the lessons learned from this unprecedented level of collaboration lend themselves very well to the creation of open education resources.
In this workshop, we will explore how to use open source collaboration, project management, and virtualization tools to cooperatively create a textbook. We will examine the git version control system and use GitHub to host a repository for a project. Participants will generate a sample book chapter using AsciiDoc, an open source plain text markup language suitable for publishing in multiple formats. Participants will then submit a PR to have their chapter added to the project and a release incorporating all of the submissions will be generated.
Using these techniques we can not only democratize access to community generated educational resources, but we can also democratize access to the creation of said resources. Ultimately we can mirror the goals and values of OER within the process of its generation.
Comments
I have attached an OER textbook that I created using the tools outlined in my workshop proposal. The textbook was completed this year as part of an Open Textbook Collaborative grant.