Slides available here: www.bitly.com/OpenEd21-the-long-gameWhile the OpenEd movement has gained immense traction through the successes of librarians, instructional designers, and professors, we are keenly interested in the labor of others who may fall outside of these roles. We want to call attention to what we are provisionally calling ‘ancillary’ workers: enablers of OpenEd who occupy non-teaching, administrative, or newly defined support roles in or adjacent to institutions for learning. These are workers who thread through OpenEd projects without necessarily being the ‘creators’ themselves. We call attention to these people in order to anticipate and proactively address the longer-term sustainability of the OpenEd movement.
We are both raising the question for our own vested interests as well as for the greater OpenEd movement writ large: “What’s the long-game for those of us who are in it now?” Rather than take an alarmist approach to such a question, we present four perspectives that nuance the types of considerations that may be overlooked in the grand scheme of OpenEd advocacy. (See note below
in bold.)
Specifically we will examine the following dimensions:
- Beyond the question of who gets involved, we ask who stays? Rather, who is enabled to stay, and to thrive?
- How are individuals retained, recognized, and rewarded for their roles?
- What are the structural considerations of how positions are created, framed, termed?
Some of the topics that we aim to discuss include:
- credentials and the limited pathways for growth / advancement
- job security and strategic realignment to create supportive structures
- the efficacy of OpenEd messaging especially with regards to retaining newcomers
*NB. We will only record the first half of our presentation when we will share some of our insights and experiences. WE WILL NOT BE RECORDING THE SECOND PORTION, WHEN WE OPEN THE CONVERSATION UP FOR DISCUSSION AMONGST THE ATTENDEES. We will also provide opportunities for folks to contribute ANONYMOUSLY if they so wish. It is our sincere hope that these considerations will help encourage candid conversation amidst session attendees.*Given that pandemic and economic concerns have welcomed an influx of newcomers to the OpenEd community, we critically and earnestly raise the question of retention in an effort to flesh out the long-game of OpenEd advocacy.
We anticipate the session to begin with identifying the challenges (based on the presenters’ insights), and then open it up to discussion (in non-recorded and/or anonymous formats). We hope the discussion will be candid and ideational, and include perspectives of both workers and stakeholders/employers/managers. While we hope that our discussion will help us to generate potential strategies/tactics to bring to decision-makers, we are more interested in drawing attention to the sustainability of the OpenEd movement if it cannot support the people it needs most.
After participating in this session, attendees will be able to:
- Recognize at least one existing/anticipated challenge that ‘ancillary’ workers to OpenEd uniquely face
- Relate to the presenters’ challenges and/or provide their own examples
2a. If the attendee identifies as an ancillary worker, we invite them to anonymously express at least one challenge they face
2b. If the attendee employs an ancillary worker, we invite them to predict at least one challenge that may specifically affect one of their ancillary workers
2c. If the attendee identifies as neither ancillary worker or employer, we invite them to pose queries that the session may have overlooked - Generate potential strategies and tactics to present to decision-makers in OpenEd
Video Stream
