https://journal.otessa.org/index.php/oj/issue/feedThe Open/Technology in Education, Society, and Scholarship Association Journal2023-11-23T10:23:43-08:00The OTESSA Journal Editorial Teamjournal@otessa.orgOpen Journal Systems<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The <em>Open/Technology in Education, Society, and Scholarship Association</em> (OTESSA) <em>Journal</em> is a peer-reviewed journal that welcomes papers on all aspects of educational technology, including online learning, technology-mediated learning, social media, open education, digital and open scholarship, emerging technologies for learning or research, and other topics or interdisciplinary ways in which technology and society intersect.</span></p>https://journal.otessa.org/index.php/oj/article/view/42Sustaining Positive Change in the Teaching Scholars’ Online Community of Practice 2023-11-17T05:16:29-08:00Andrew MardjetkoMichele JacobsenBeth Archer-KuhnCari DinDarlene DonszelmannLorelli NowellHeather Jamniczky<p>In this paper, we emphasize the value of an online community of practice (OCoP) for bringing together faculty from across disciplines to share and leverage their diverse expertise and perspectives. We examine the transition of an interdisciplinary community of practice through the pivot into an online environment for engagement, communication, and collaboration. Through this paper we describe our individual Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) projects and how we have navigated these projects within the Teaching Scholars OCoP, as well as our reflections and key learnings that have resulted from this sustained collaboration. We contribute key learnings and online strategies which can inform and be tailored by other academics and institutions who are developing online communities of practice as an approach to sustaining educational leadership and change in SoTL research and practice in diverse and distributed contexts.</p>2023-10-16T00:00:00-07:00Copyright (c) 2023 Andrew Mardjetko, Michele Jacobsen, Beth Archer-Kuhn, Cari Din, Darlene Donszelmann, Lorelli Nowell, Heather Jamniczkyhttps://journal.otessa.org/index.php/oj/article/view/43Co-Creation During a Course: A Critical Reflection on Opportunities for Co-Learning2023-08-11T07:55:04-07:00Laura KillamLillian ChumbleySusanna KohonenJim Stauffer Jess Mitchell<p>Co-creation is an open practice where learners participate in decision-making about aspects of course design, which in our context has included various activities from course design to assessment decisions. After the OTESSA22 conference, this group of conference attendees reflected on co-creation practices and experiences in their respective post-secondary contexts. In this article we share reflections and challenges with co-creation as well as ideas to potentially overcome these challenges. This article, with examples shared from practice, serves as a starting point for ongoing dialogue about inclusive approaches to co-creation. </p>2023-10-16T00:00:00-07:00Copyright (c) 2023 Laura Killam, Lillian Chumbley, Susanna Kohonen, Jim Stauffer, Jess Mitchellhttps://journal.otessa.org/index.php/oj/article/view/48The Complexities of Using Digital Social Networks in Teaching and Learning2023-09-13T13:31:44-07:00Enilda Romero-HallLina Gomez-VasquezLaila ForstmaneCaldeira RipineCarolina Dias da Silva<p>The aim of this investigation was to gain a broad sense of the implementation of digital social networks for teaching and learning by instructors in higher education. We were particularly interested in examples of instructors' use of digital social networks in their courses, the benefits and challenges of specific platforms for teaching and learning purposes, and the perceived role of digital social networks in teaching and learning during the first years of the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants in this investigation (n=336) were faculty and graduate students. Data was collected via an electronic questionnaire with closed and open-ended questions using Qualtrics. The quantitative analysis included descriptive statistics. The data analysis also included qualitative data analysis of textual responses provided to various questionnaire items. The results illustrate the ways in which instructors successfully apply or integrate digital social networks into teaching and learning, broadly and with specific digital social networks. Yet, the findings also highlight several complexities that instructors have experienced when considering digital social networks in their teaching practices such as data privacy issues, misinformation, user interface issues, and the willingness of students to use less trendy digital networks, among other challenges.</p>2023-10-16T00:00:00-07:00Copyright (c) 2023 Enilda Romero-Hall, Lina Gomez-Vasquez, Laila Forstmane, Caldeira Ripine, Carolina Dias da Silvahttps://journal.otessa.org/index.php/oj/article/view/50Developing Learning Communities Online2023-05-15T13:47:56-07:00Jo AxeHannah Dahlquist-AxeElizabeth Childs<p>While online course delivery in higher education has been increasing for several decades, students can face unique challenges in the digital environment. At a small university in Western Canada, online and blended learning have been a major focus for course delivery since 1995. Considering the risk that students could experience a lack of meaningful connection with their fellow students, the university launched a not-for-credit online learning module in 2006 that was designed to provide new-to-program students with resources and activities to encourage learning community development. Since the first module was launched, several programs at the university have adapted the original module to suit their specific needs. In this paper, we explore the experiences of graduate students in three programs over an eight-year period. Students completed surveys focused on the role of three module activities in helping them develop a supportive online learning community. The findings were organized under three areas that revealed elements of the module that worked well, areas for improvement, and suggestions for module additions. The recommendations call for making modules that are not-for-credit, mandatory, support both synchronous and asynchronous collaboration, use only one web-based entry point, consider time zones, and support students’ ability to balance their education with their out-of-school commitments. For those who may wish to include similar activities for their students, we have included a link in the paper to the Open Educational Resource that was developed in support of our research.</p>2023-11-07T00:00:00-08:00Copyright (c) 2023 Jo Axe, Hannah Dahlquist-Axe, Elizabeth Childshttps://journal.otessa.org/index.php/oj/article/view/53Exploring our Open Educational Practices in Support of Excellence in Graduate Education: A Collaborative Autoethnography2023-11-23T10:23:43-08:00Pamela WalshCindy IvesBeth Perry<p>This paper presents the findings of our exploration of our open educational practices (OEP) with graduate students. As reflective practitioners, we used a self-study methodology and collaborative autoethnographic methods to interrogate our open approaches to teaching and supervision. We draw on our developing competencies to support the wisdom, critical thinking, resilience, and adaptability of our graduate students. The article extends preliminary findings about graduate education and open practices in relation to and emerging from earlier work (Ives et al., 2022), which committed us to further exploration of our practices. Using our definition of OEP which expands on the work of several open scholars, we report new findings from our in-depth collaborative analysis of data collected over two years. We found a gap in the literature examining the use of OEP with graduate students. Findings include OEP and their alignment with our values and competencies, as well as OEP within our teaching, course design, and graduate supervisory practices. We offer insights into the outcomes of our practices for students and ourselves, and ways we can improve.</p>2023-11-23T00:00:00-08:00Copyright (c) 2023 Pamela Walsh, Cindy Ives, Beth Perry