Enhancing Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) in Open Educational Resources (OER)

Australian Edition

Nikki Andersen

University of Southern Queensland

Toowoomba

Enhancing Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) in Open Educational Resources (OER) Copyright © 2022 by University of Southern Queensland is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Disclaimer

Note that corporate logos and branding are specifically excluded from the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial ShareAlike Licence of this work, and may not be reproduced under any circumstances without the express written permission of the copyright holders.

Copyright

This work, Enhancing Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) in Open Educational Resources (OER) is a derivative of  Improving Representation and Diversity in OER Materials by OpenStax, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Enhancing Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) in Open Educational Resources (OER) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial ShareAlike 4.0 Licence by the University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Australia.

Additionally, permission has been sought for the following content, which is specifically excluded from the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial ShareAlie 4.0 Licence of this work, and may not be reproduced under any circumstances without the express written permission of the copyright holders –

Griffith University. Trauma Informed Tertiary Learning and Teaching Practice Framework. Retrieved from https://www.griffith.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/1052308/FRAMEWORK-Quick-Reference.pdf

McCulloch, A. (2019). We need to talk about cataloguing. Retrieved from https://lissertations.net/post/1177. 

Book cover image from Public Domain Images, licensed under a CC0 licence. 

Contents

Acknowledgment of First Peoples

Accessibility Information

About the Editor

Peer Reviewers

Introduction

Definitions

Framework for Reviewing Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility in Open Educational Resources

Diverse and Inclusive Imagery

Example Names

Inclusive Language

Researchers and References

Diverse Examples and Balanced Perspectives

Appropriate Terminology and Inclusive Metadata

Indigenisation, Decolonisation and Cultural Inclusion

Accessibility, Usability and Universal Design for Learning

Anti-Racist and Inclusive Open Pedagogy

Resources

References

Accessibility Assessment

Version History

1

Acknowledgment of First Peoples

The University of Southern Queensland acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands and waterways where the University is located. Further, we acknowledge the cultural diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and pay respect to Elders past, present and future.

We celebrate the continuous living cultures of First Nations Australians and acknowledge the important contributions Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have and continue to make in Australian society.

The University respects and acknowledges our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, staff, Elders and visitors who come from many nations.

2

Accessibility Information

We believe that education should be available to everyone, which means supporting the creation of free, open, and accessible educational resources. We are actively committed to increasing the accessibility and usability of the textbooks and resources we produce.

Accessibility Features of the Web Version of this Resource

The web version of this resource has been designed with accessibility in mind and incorporates the following features:

Optimisation for people who use screen reading technology

Keyboard navigation for all content

Links, headings, and tables are formatted to work with screen readers

Images have alt tags

Information is not conveyed by colour alone.

Other File Formats Available

In addition to the web version, this book is available in several file formats, including PDF, EPUB (for ereaders), and various editable files. Choose from the selection of available file types from the  ‘Download this book’ drop-down menu.  This option appears below the book cover image on the eBook’s landing page. 

Third-Party Content

In some cases, our open text includes third-party content. In these cases, it is often not possible to ensure the accessibility of this content.

Accessibility Improvements

While we strive to ensure that this resource is as accessible and usable as possible, we might not always get it right. We are always looking for ways to make our resources more accessible. If you have problems accessing this resource, please contact Nikki.Andersen@usq.edu.au to let us know so we can fix the issue.

Copyright Note: This accessibility disclaimer is adapted from BCampus’s Accessibility Toolkit, and licensed under a CC BY 4.0 licence. 

3

About the Editor

Nikki Andersen is the Open Education Content Librarian at the University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ). In this role, she supports open educational practices, including the development of open textbooks using the open publishing platform, Pressbooks. She has previous experience as a Copyright Officer, Diversity and Inclusion Officer, and is the editor of the Australasian Open Educational Practice Digest. Nikki is also a part of the Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL) Open Educational Resources Professional Development Program Project Team, and the ASCILITE Open Educational Practice Special Interest Group.

She identifies as disabled and Deaf and speaks nationally about issues relating to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility. Her advocacy for diversity and inclusion has been featured in The Australian, the Australian Government’s EmployAbility initiative, and in several library and information studies courses across Australian universities. She has received several awards including UniSQ’s Head of School Award for Excellence in Education for her work on creating accessible and inclusive digital learning environments for blind and visually-impaired students; and the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion. 

She is interested in the relationship between open educational practice, social justice and student success.

Email: Nikki.Andersen@usq.edu.au

ORCID: 0000-0002-7682-6592

Twitter: @AndersenNikki

Statement of Positionality

I, Nikki Andersen, the author of this work, am a cisgender white disabled woman from Australia. I have not experienced the types of bias that affect those from marginalised backgrounds related to race, cultural background and sexual orientation. I have tried to keep this guide simple and to link out to external resources whenever applicable, however, there may be cases where my writing betrays my lack of experience with these topics.

If there is any part of this book you find to be one-sided or dismissive of any aspect of your identity, please get in touch with me at Nikki.Andersen@usq.edu.au. I welcome any comments or feedback that might improve my work and help inform my own understanding of this topic. Thank you.

4

Peer Reviewers

Enhancing Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) In Open Educational Resources (OER) was peer-reviewed by librarians, academics, students and diversity and inclusion experts, all of whom have contributed their diverse perspectives and experiences to this guide.

The review was structured around considerations of the intended audience of the book and examined the comprehensiveness, accuracy, and relevance of content, as well as longevity and cultural relevance. See the review guide for more details. Changes suggested by the reviewers were incorporated by the lead editor.

I would like to thank the reviewers for the time, care, and commitment they contributed to the project. I recognise that peer reviewing is a generous act of service on their part. This guide would not be the robust, valuable resource that it is were it not for their feedback and input.

Peer Reviewers

Alice Luetchford

Alice Luetchford is the Open Education Librarian at James Cook University. This role includes the development of open education resources such as ebooks using the publishing platform, Pressbooks. Alice has worked in a variety of roles in academic libraries including Law Librarian and Liaison Librarian for Business, Criminology, Politics and Creative Media. Alice is currently on a number of university and national working projects and committees relating to open education resources and open scholarship.

Alissa McCulloch

Alissa McCulloch is an Autistic librarian, a metadata justice advocate, and the Metadata and Database Quality Coordinator at Deakin University Library. Based on Wadawurrung country (Geelong, Victoria), Alissa works to embed critical and ethical principles into library resource description practices, reconceptualising metadata as a tool for liberation and social justice. Alissa is a committee member for newCardigan and the ALIA Community on Resource Description, and can be found on Twitter @lissertations.

Ash Barber

Ash Barber is a Support Librarian at the University of South Australia and an Australian cisgender white woman who identifies as part of the LGBTIQA+ community. She supports the teaching and research objectives of the University, with ardent involvement in open educational practices. Ash is passionate about lifelong learning and working with staff and students to achieve innovative educational experiences by integrating emerging digital technologies into teaching and learning. Her experience working in copyright, acquisitions and licensing, online curriculum support, and library services, enables a holistic approach to open educational practices.

Ash is the 2022 Libraries of the Australian Technology Network (LATN) Fellow through which she explores practical inclusive solutions in OER. She is also an active member of the CAUL Open Educational Resources Collective Community of Practice and the Australasian Open Educational Practice Special Interest Group (OEP-SIG) for which she curates the monthly Digest. You can find Ash most often on LinkedIn and also on Twitter @AshTheLibrarian.

Betty Appleby

Betty Appleby is a proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community and is passionate about law and justice. She is a Law student at UniSQ, and is keen to become an advocate for women and marginalised groups. In her free time, she loves to draw, paint, and express herself through art.

Cally Jetta

Cally Jetta teaches online for UniSQ from her home in the South West of Western Australia -Noongar Country, where she lives with her husband and their four beautiful sons. She is passionate about Indigenous education and its potential to both empower Indigenous Australians and promote greater cross-cultural understanding. Prior to working at UniSQ, she worked in high schools as a teacher and an Aboriginal Education specialist.

Clare O’Hanlon

Clare O’Hanlon is a Senior Learning Librarian at La Trobe University by day and volunteer community archivist with the Australian Queer Archives by night. They are passionate about facilitating collaboration between independent community-based archives and mainstream galleries, libraries, archives, and museum (GLAM) institutions, encouraging critical, creative and collective reflection across the GLAM and higher education sectors, and making critical and diverse knowledges, theories and histories are accessible with students and communities. Their practice is guided by social justice principles, compassion, courage, and creativity.

Flic French

Flic French is a qualified librarian and unqualified lesbian from the UK working at The University of Queensland (UQ), with particular interests in student engagement, special collections librarianship, and LGBTQIA+ inclusion. Flic is Co-Chair of the UQ Ally Action Committee, which administers the award-winning UQ Ally Network, supporting and celebrating the diversity of sex, sexuality and gender at UQ. As part of this role, she facilitates LGBTQIA+ inclusion training and is a Pride in Diversity Endorsed Trainer, as well as holding a Mental Health First Aid qualification.

As a queer woman living with OCD, Flic is passionate about making workplaces and resources as inclusive as possible, and dispelling myths around marginalised and maligned identities. You can follow Flic on Twitter @FlicFrench.

Marissa Andersen

Marissa Andersen is a Human Resources professional with a passion for people and culture. She is a psychology student at UniSQ with a particularly interest in organisational psychology.

Dr Shalene Werth

Dr Shalene Werth is a Senior Lecturer at UniSQ. Her research and teaching are focused around diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Dr Werth’s interests lie specifically in the practice-based ideas, strategies and policy development necessary for a genuinely inclusive workplace. Her research has covered gender, disability and chronic illness in the workplace and also disability in the context of students in the tertiary education environment. She is the Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee in the Faculty of Business, Education Law and Arts.

5

Introduction

Content advertised as “open access” and “freely accessible” may give the impression that open educational resources (OER) are universally accessible, but many users still face inequitable barriers to access. Additionally, access doesn’t equal inclusion. Textbooks often express sexist and racist content and exclude marginalised voices. We need to consider how to contribute to a transformation and expand open access to resources to truly address diversity, equity, and inclusion. Dr Sarah Lambert (2018) provides a framework for this transition. Lambert (2018) identifies and expands on three principles of social justice that may be applied to OER: redistributive justice, recognitive justice, and representational justices. Lambert notes that providing free textbooks to learners of colour is redistributive justice in action. It reduces the costs and increases the chances of success for learners who “by circumstance have less” (Lambert, 2018, p.227)—i.e., they are marginalised in education, workplaces and more broadly in society.

In her article, Lambert (2018) asks how “open” the textbook is for marginalised learners if First Nations students and learners of colour are invisible inside the textbook and perhaps invisible in the whole curriculum. She notes that making edits to include images and cases featuring more diverse communities, businesses, and people will be an act of recognitive justice. Lambert (2018) goes on to ask additional questions, including what the implications are if the textbook features people of colour, but does not value their perspectives, knowledge or histories and what happens if the textbook takes a white colonial view of black lives? What implications follow if black stories are told solely by white voices? Lambert (2018) argues that the development or selection of a new version of a textbook, or perhaps a new resource altogether, written by people of colour where they are free to represent their own views, histories, and knowledges would be an act of representational justice, giving voice to those who are often not heard. The table below summarises these three principles in the context of open education.

Social Justice Principle | Open Education Example

Redistributive Justice
Free educational resources, textbooks, or courses to
learners who by circumstance of socio-cultural
position cannot afford them, particularly learners who
could be excluded from education or be more likely
to fail due to lack of access to learning materials.

Recognitive Justice
Socio-cultural diversity in the open curriculum.
Inclusion of images, case studies, and knowledge of
women, first nations people, and whomever is
marginalised in any particular national, regional, or
learning context. Recognition of diverse views and
experiences as legitimate within open assignments
and feedback.

Representational Justice
Self-determination of marginalised people and
groups to speak for themselves and not have their
stories told by others. Co-construction of OER texts
and resources about learners of colour by learners of
colour, about women’s experiences by women, about
LGBTIQA+ experiences by LGBTIQA+ identifying people.
Facilitation to ensure quiet and minority views have
equal air-time in open online discussions.

Table 1: Social Justice and Open Education. Source: Changing our (Dis)Course: A Distinctive Social Justice Aligned Definition of Open Education by Sarah Lambert, licensed under a CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Our Mission

We deeply value the diverse users of our books and seek to include and impact each staff and student user in a positive and considerate manner. During our development processes, the University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ) undertakes substantial efforts to properly represent genders, races, cultures, geographies, ethnic backgrounds, disabilities, nationalities, ages, sexual orientations, socio-economic status, and diverse viewpoints in our books. We seek to avoid any offence, and ensure that every reader can see themselves in our books. We hold primarily to the notion, expressed by Jasmine Roberts (Ohio State), that we should not leave it to underrepresented groups to spearhead these conversations and efforts.

To that end, we have created general guidelines for development and improvement, adapted from OpenStax’s Improving Representation and Diversity in OER Materials [PDF]. Our adaption was developed and peer-review by input from staff, students and researchers across Australia. This is an ongoing and continually evolving effort. We will seek input and monitor changes in terminology, sensitivity, policies, and descriptions in our materials. We will also welcome and engage with individuals and groups who share our commitment and/or have specific guidance, feedback, or suggestions. We would value input on our approach, on particular items or additions we can consider or add to increase diverse representation, and so on. If you have any feedback please email Nikki.Andersen@usq.edu.au.

The framework and practical resources for enhancing inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility are found in the following pages. However to get a better idea of the relationship between open education and social justice, please feel free to browse through the resources below, and familiarise yourself with key definitions.

Resources

The following resources will introduce you to issues relating to social justice and open education.

Open Textbooks and Social Justice: a National Scoping Study: This study investigated the potential for open textbooks to assist with improving the experience and outcomes of under-represented higher education students in the Australian context.

Open at the Margins: Critical Perspectives in Open Education: This book represents a starting point towards curating and centring marginal voices and non-dominant epistemic stances in open education. It includes the work of 43 diverse authors whose perspectives challenge the dominant hegemony.

Copyright note: This section has been adapted in part from:

Changing our (Dis)Course: A Distinctive Social Justice Aligned Definition of Open Education by Sarah Lambert, licensed under a CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. 

Improving Representation and Diversity in OER Materials [PDF] by OpenStax, licensed under a CC BY 4.0 licence.

6

Definitions

Equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are three interrelated concepts. When you think of these three words, what comes to mind for you? What do you notice? Do you notice differences, similarities, or relationships between these three words? Let’s first look at some formal definitions with examples and guiding questions for each of these terms.

Equity

We should first start with what equality is and equity is, as the two concepts are generally confused with one another.

Equality generally means treating people the same way, to give everyone equal access to opportunities and benefits in society.

Equity includes treating some people differently, taking into consideration some people’s particular needs and situations

For example, in the picture below, three people of different heights are trying to reach an apple on a tree. On the left, equality shows everyone is given the same height box to stand on, so only the tallest person could get the apple. On the right, equity shows each person is provided with different heighted boxes that help all of them get the apple.

[picture]

Figure 1: Equality vs equity. Source: ‘What is EDI?’ by Darla Benton Kearney. Used under a CC BY 4.0 licence. 

Equity is a process that ensures everyone has access to the same opportunities. Equity appreciates that privileges and barriers exist and that, as a result, we all don’t start from the same place. Instead, each of us comes from a different background. Equity is an approach that begins with acknowledging this unequal starting place and making efforts to address and change this imbalance (Bolger, 2020).

Diversity

Now, take a minute to think about the diversity of your team or organisation. How would your experience change if you were of a different gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, or ability?

Diversity is the presence, in an organisation or a community, of a wide range of people with different backgrounds, abilities and attributes including ethnicity, race, colour, religion, age, gender and sexual orientation.

OER creators or publishers may ask these questions if they are interested in promoting diversity:

How can we ensure our open textbooks reflect the diversity of society?

How can we include diverse contributors in OER creation?

Inclusion

Inclusion refers to taking into account differences among individuals and groups when designing something (e.g., policy, program, curriculum, building, shared space) to avoid creating barriers. Inclusion is about people with different identities feeling or being valued and welcomed within a given setting.

If one is focused on inclusivity, an organisation may ask:

What is the lived experience for those who are marginalised within the organisation?

Are there barriers in the way of marginalised individuals feeling a sense of acceptance and belonging?

Are there actions or attitudes, direct or indirect, that we are doing as an organisation that is impacting more diverse teams (Bolger, 2020)?

What Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Really Means

[picture]

Figure 2: Diversity, equity and inclusion. Source: Graphic from  ‘What is EDI?’ by Darla Benton Kearney. Used under a CC BY 4.0 licence. 

When examining these concepts together, there are overlaps and contrasts here, and it can be difficult at first to disentangle these definitions:

Equity is not an outcome. Equity refers to the process an organisation consistently engages in to ensure that people with marginalised identities have the opportunity to grow, contribute, and develop— regardless of their identity.

Diversity is an outcome: “Wow, this company is diverse!”

Inclusion is also an outcome: “We do frequent internal temperature checks, and as far as we know, we have an inclusive and welcoming place for women and people of colour here” (Bolger, 2020).

Accessibility

A key part of equity is accessibility. Accessibility is the practice of making information, activities, and/or environments sensible, meaningful, and usable for as many people as possible (SeeWriteHear, 2020). As an overview:

Accessibility is about equity

Accessibility is about cultural practice

Accessibility is about people

Accessibility is about compliance

Accessibility is about usability

Accessibility is about context (SeeWriteHear, 2022).

Read more about these sub-themes of accessibility in the article ‘What is accessibility?’ 

Putting this all together, in the higher education setting, successful EDI means being intentional about EDI right at the beginning of curriculum design, through development and into delivery.

The framework on the next page will assist you in remembering to think about EDI in OER creation.

Copyright note: This section has been adapted in part from:

‘What is EDI?’ in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) by Darla Benton Kearney, licensed under a CC BY 4.0 licence. 

Framework for Reviewing Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility in Open Educational Resources

This framework is a practical starting point for creating new open educational resources (OER) and assessing and editing OER for inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility (IDEA). Each section below notes a broad category to assess. The “Aims” list requirements to fulfil the needs of the category. The “Actions and Considerations” offer areas to assess, tips, and examples that will help achieve the aims.

Although this framework and guide are targeted at OER creation, they can be used for all types of content creation.

Framework for Reviewing Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) in Open Educational Resources (OER)

An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://usq.pressbooks.pub/diversityandinclusionforoer/?p=5#h5p-3

Feel free to download an editable copy of the Framework for Reviewing Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility in OER..

The following sections of this guide will delve into each part of the framework in more detail, and provide resources and good practice examples to help you make your OER more inclusive.

This framework is adapted from OpenStax’s Improving Representation and Diversity in OER Materials [PDF], licensed under a CC BY 4.0 Licence.

Diverse and Inclusive Imagery

When people ‘cannot find themselves reflected in the books they read’, or in the images they see ‘they learn a powerful lesson about how they are devalued in a society of which they are a part,’ (Sims-Bishop, 1990).  This is why representation is so important. We should aspire to the below aims when it comes to using imagery in OER. The actions and considerations below will help you ensure the illustrations in your OER are diverse and inclusive.

Aims

Illustrations and photos are reflective of diverse populations, and the intersectionality and context of the depiction are considered.

Imagery does not perpetuate stereotypes.

Actions and Considerations

Assess the number of images and illustrations and the individuals and populations represented therein. Are all populations equitably represented throughout the resource?

Assess the role, depiction, connotation, expressions of authority, and purpose of the people represented in the image. Are any stereotypes perpetuated? Does the background or setting of the image indicate anything negative?

Include images of people in a variety of actions where the context of the image does not relate to their identity. For example, showing a person in a wheelchair can be included in images not directly related to disability. An example can be found in an image of a person eating cotton candy in a section of a biology textbook discussing carbohydrates.

Images of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples

Many historical images of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples lack any contextual information. It can be impossible to trace the names of peoples or locations that feature in the images. As a result, it can be inappropriate and offensive to publish them. Avoid using photographs where people are unnamed. Illustrations and photographs should include diverse, dynamic and contemporary representations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Visual representations will depend on context.

Note

Permissions

The permissions process is vital and differs from standard copyright procedures. As well as consulting with Elders and/or Traditional Owners, there are other steps to take. When seeking permissions for the use of any item, individuals sometimes need to provide approvals too.

Example: You have images of a group of people you wish to print. You are already in consultation with the Elders or relevant family groups in the community and they are happy with what you have. You then learn that you also have to ask the individuals within any image for approval. This is not a firm rule, but one example of how things can change. Always follow the guidance of the appropriate Elders or community members.

Content Warning

Additionally, when depicting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in visual materials, issue the warning below:

Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that the following material may contain images and voices of deceased persons.

Representing Invisible Disabilities

Many disabilities including mental health conditions and neurodivergent conditions such as Autism and ADHD are hidden. They can’t be visually represented the way that some disabilities can. However, you can normalise neurodivergent accommodations by using visuals of people managing their sensory inputs using headphones or dark glasses or using sensory toys or stim toys such as fidget spinners (Katz, 2022). Other examples include featuring more images of people wearing medical devices such as hearing aids or blood glucose monitors.

Good practice example: Diverse and inclusive imagery in USQ’s open text ‘Academic Success‘

Through the application of an Indigenous lens, we were able to create splashes of text, diagrams, and imagery designed to not only engage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students but all students – Debi Howarth.In 2020, the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) Library staff developed an open text titledAcademic Success, which was adapted fromCollege Success by Amy Baldwin and colleagues from the University of Central Arkansas. We were mindful of the imagery we chose for our open text as we wanted students to see themselves reflected in the book. Photos of People of Colour (POC) slightly outweighed white representation within the text, and we included photographs of individuals with African heritage, Asian-Pacific heritage and Aboriginal heritage. The photographs were a mix of genders, ages and body types. Sam Conway, our Learning Advisor (Indigenous) also created Indigenous learning maps (see below). “Through the application of an Indigenous lens we were able to create splashes of text, diagrams, and imagery designed to not only engage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students but all students,” (Howarth & Hargreaves, 2021).

[picture]

Image by Sam Conway used under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.

Resources for diverse and inclusive representation

The list of websites below provides diverse and inclusive illustrations to add to your OER. All of these websites license their imagery under a Creative Commons licence but please make sure you are following the terms of the licence correctly.

Images of Empowerment: Free images of women’s lives and work, created by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and Getty Images. Licence: CC-BY-NC-4.0.

Disabled And Here: Free stock photography featuring disabled BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of colour), varied body sizes/types, sexual orientations, and gender identities in the Pacific Northwest. Licence: CC BY 4.0.

Disability:IN: Disability-inclusive stock photography. Licence: CC-BY-ND.

The Gender Spectrum Collection: Free stock photos of trans and non-binary people. Licence: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

Queer in Tech: Photos that promote the visibility of queer and gender-nonconforming (GNC) people in technology, who are often under-represented as workers powering the creative, technical, and business leadership of groundbreaking tech companies and products. Licence: CC BY 3.0.

Allgo Plus-Size: Free stock photography collections featuring plus-size people. Licence: While attribution is not required, please credit.

Nappy: Free high-resolution photos of black and brown people. Licence: CC0.

PICNOI: “We are a coop of stock image photography. We recognise that most other FREE stock image sites have very few or no images of people of colour. We sought out to create a space where publishers, bloggers, website owners, marketers, designers, graphic artists, advertisers and the like can easily search and find diverse multi-racial images.” Licence: CC-BY 4.0.

#WOCinTech Chat: Free photos of women and non-binary people of colour working in the Tech field. Licence: CC BY.

Redefining Women Icon Collection: Icons of women. Licence: CC0 1.0.

Open Peeps: “A hand-drawn illustration library.” Mix and match elements to create different “peeps.” Please note that you might need a design program to create your own “peeps.” There are pre-made “peeps” you can download without a program. Licence: CC0.

Age-Positive Image Library: This collection of images from the Centre for Aging Better is intended to show “positive and realistic images of over 50s in a bid to challenge negative and stereotypical views of older age.” Licence: CC0.

Autism Comics: Comic strips relating to autism. Licence: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0. 

Pexels: Photographs relating to diversity and inclusion. Licence: CC0. 

The Greats: a free vault with carefully curated socially engaged visual content on human rights issues. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

Humaaans: Mix and match illustrations of people. Licence: CC0. 

Example Names

Why create diverse characters for learning scenarios or case studies in OER? Because characters should reflect the diversity of our audience. You might be wondering “Does it matter if we choose John instead of Bob?” – the answer – “yes.”

Different names have different implications of age, race, background, etc. If you only ever call your characters Bob and John, you never represent women or anyone that isn’t a white, middle-aged man.

Aims

Ensure that people’s names used in examples, exercises, and scenarios represent various countries of origin, ethnicities, genders, and races.

Ensure that names with particular ethnic or origin associations are portrayed properly; avoid negative comparisons or stereotypes associated with particular national origins or ethnicities.

Actions and Considerations

Consider the diversity and representation overall on a quantitative and qualitative basis.

Consider and seek other opinions – whether names indicate a particular race, ethnicity or national origin associated with negative concepts.

Diversify names used in case studies and learning scenarios. Consider replacing “John Smith” with more diverse example names.

Resources

Use the following resources to assist:

International Names Lists: Popular Names From Around the World

Multicultural Names

Gender neutral names

Pronunciation Guide – Note: There are other pronunciation guides as well as guides for specific languages. Double-check with more than one guide if you are uncertain of a name’s pronunciation. If in doubt you can always politely ask.

Inclusive Language

Words matter. They reflect the values and knowledge of people using them and can reinforce both negative and positive perceptions about others. Language is not neutral. Inclusive language acknowledges the unique values, skills, viewpoints, experiences, culture, abilities and experiences of individuals or groups (QUT, 2010).

Your use of inclusive language – how you speak, write and visually represent others – is an important part of open education.

Aims

Use gender-inclusive language.

Use a diverse representation of pronouns, including gender-neutral pronouns such as them and they.

Ensure that all references to people, groups, populations, categories, conditions and disabilities use the appropriate verbiage and do not contain any derogatory, colloquial, inappropriate, or otherwise incorrect language.

For historical uses that should remain in place, consider adding context, such as “a widely used term at the time.” Ensure that quotations or paraphrases using outdated terms are attributed, contextualised, and limited. Consider why this term is necessary and whether a more inclusive term could be used instead.

Actions and Considerations

Do not assume the gender of a person so as not to misgender them.

If needed, explicitly state what pronouns an individual uses.

Identify any outmoded or incorrect terminology and suggest the correct replacement or re-framing.

For historical references, if needed insert context, attribution, and/or quotations.

Since terminology changes regularly, and acceptability is not universal, do your best to identify and use the best terminology at the time. Make time to evaluate terminology and language.

Pay attention to connotations and make sure that stereotypes are not perpetuated. If in doubt, ask for another opinion, preferably someone with lived experience or who is from an appropriate group/background.

Use plain language. Avoid the use of jargon, metaphors or colloquialism.

Using Gender-Inclusive Language

It has been commonly accepted for many years that the use of ‘man’ as a generic term excludes women and non-binary individuals. Words like ‘mankind’ and ‘chairman’ make people think ‘male’ rather than ‘female’ and render other genders invisible (QUT, 201). The use of ‘man’ or ‘men’ and ‘woman’ or ‘women’ is an expression of binary language and doesn’t allow for people who don’t identify as male or female. Look for words that are non-binary and gender-neutral (QUT, 2010).

Language and practices to avoid | Good practice inclusive language
man, mankind, spokesman, chairman, workmanship, man the desk/phones, manpower | humans, humankind, spokesperson, chairperson, quality of work/skill, attend the desk/phone, workforce
The supervisor must give his approval | Supervisors must give their approval
girls in the office, woman doctor, male nurse, cleaning lady, female professor, authoress, manageress | office staff, doctor, nurse cleaner, professor, author, manager
Good morning ladies and gentlemen | Good morning colleagues/everyone
The guys in the office will help | The staff in the office will help

Table 1: Gender-neutral language

Look for non-binary pronouns so that misgendering doesn’t occur.

Subject | Object | Possessive | Reflective
She | Her | Hers | Herself
He | Him | His | Himself
They | Them | Theirs | Themselves
Ze | Hir | Hir/Hirs | Hirself
Xe | Xem | Xyr/Xyrs | Xemself

Table 2: Non-binary pronouns

Using ‘partner’ or ‘spouse’ rather than ‘husband/wife’ or ‘girlfriend/ boyfriend’ to describe relationships will include those in de facto or same-sex relationships.

Activity: Pronouns

Have a go at this interactive pronoun resource.

Find neutral, generic terms for occupations and job titles that recognise occupational diversity. It is appropriate to refer to a person’s gender when it is a significant factor, e.g. ‘first woman Prime Minister’ or ‘first man to become nursing educator’. Where gender is irrelevant do not refer to it. 

Additionally, stereotypes ignore the complexity of people’s lives. Women are often described as ‘wife of’ or ‘mother of’, irrespective of their other roles, qualifications, expertise or achievements. And again, reference to men or women, or mothers and fathers ignores people who don’t identify as male or female.

Titles of Address

Titles of address are now considered redundant when not linked to professional positions such as Professor, Doctor, Sister or Senator. Titles such as ‘Mr’ and ‘Ms’ are no longer necessarily linked to a marital status like ‘Mrs’ and ‘Miss’ and in professional arenas marital status is irrelevant. ‘Ms’ is widely used for women regardless of marital status but, rather than misgendering a person, it is better to be consistent and not use gendered titles. ‘Mx’ is a gender-neutral non-profession/qualification-related title that is also used. Where possible confirm with the individual their preferred title of address.

Gender and Sexuality Diversity Terms

It can help to know the meanings of words people use about gender and sexual diversity. This includes sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics.

An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://usq.pressbooks.pub/diversityandinclusionforoer/?p=50#h5p-4

Respectful Language for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples

Popular and acceptable usage of names changes over time. If possible, take the time to find out what the people themselves prefer to be named. This may depend upon the family structure and land area associated with each particular person (QUT, 2010). Some key information is outlined below.

The terms ‘First Nations people’ or ‘First Peoples’ are collective terms for the original people of the land now known as Australia and their descendants. You can use them to emphasise that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples lived on this continent before European invasion and colonisation.

It is preferable to use the term ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander’ – rather than ‘Indigenous’ – as an adjective, as the former term more accurately reflects cultural heritage.

Most Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples prefer the terms ‘Aboriginal’ or ‘Torres Strait Islander’ person or peoples. Use these terms and avoid the term ‘Indigenous Australian’, which is not as specific. Capitalise the first letter of the terms ‘Aboriginal’, ‘Torres Strait Islander’, ‘Indigenous’ and ‘Elder’. The word ‘Indigenous’ is acceptable, however, where it forms part of an acronym within a University element, for example, Indigenous Research Unit (IRU) or Indigenous Education Statement (IES).

The term/s ‘Aborigine/s’ can have negative connotations. Remember the term ‘Aboriginal’ does not include Torres Strait Islander people, and reference should be made to both. Never use acronyms such as ‘ATSI’ to abbreviate ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander’ as it is offensive to reduce the diverse members of ancient cultures and to lump them together under one cultural identity.

The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) map of Indigenous Australia provides a detailed representation of language, tribal or nation groups. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples contextualise themselves by ancestral tribal and clan groups, and it is important to acknowledge each individual’s preference.

Basic respectful language means using:

specific terms, like the name of a community, before using broader terms.

plurals when speaking about collectives (peoples, nations, cultures, languages).

present tense, unless speaking about a past event.

empowering, strengths-based language (Australian Government, 2020).

Language that can be discriminatory or offensive includes:

shorthand terms like ‘Aborigines’, and ‘Islanders’ or acronyms like ‘ATSI’.

using terms like ‘myth’, ‘legend’ or ‘folklore’ when referring to the beliefs of First Nations peoples.

blood quantum (for example, ‘half-caste’ or percentage measures).

‘Us versus them’ or deficit language.

possessive terms such as ‘our’, as in ‘our Aboriginal peoples’.

‘Australian Indigenous peoples’, as it also implies ownership, much like ‘our’.

Never use acronyms such as ‘ATSI’ to abbreviate ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander’ as it is offensive to reduce the diverse members of ancient cultures and to lump them together under one cultural identity.

Many texts have referred to First Nations peoples in the past tense, for example: ‘The Aboriginal language existed for hundreds of years,’ or ‘Torres Strait Islanders once congregated at this place.’ This use of past tense continues the historical erasure of First Nations peoples. The two statements also show a lack of understanding about diversity within either group.

Many universities have guides for how to respectfully engage with and refer to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in your community. Please engage with these guides and talk to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in your community.

Culturally-Inclusive Language

Australia has many hundreds of different language groups including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language groups. The use of culturally-inclusive language means all ethnic and cultural groups are represented as equally valid. To avoid discriminatory language, it is important not to emphasise irrelevant racial or ethnic features e.g. ‘two Asian students were accused of fraud,’ (QUT, 2010).

In general, avoid referring to the ethnic and racial background of a person or group unless there is a transparently valid or legal reason for doing so. For example, ‘this week will discuss civil rights activist Dr Martin Luther King Jr. who is remembered as one of the most influential and inspirational African-American leaders in history.’

There are some standard terms used in higher education and more broadly that are more inclusive than others. The term ‘culturally and linguistically diverse’ (CALD) is a useful inclusive description for communities with diverse languages, ethnic backgrounds, nationality, dress, traditions, food, societal structures, art and religion. CALD is the preferred term for many government and community agencies as a contemporary description of ethnic communities (Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria, 2017).

Because there is such diversity of migration experiences – over many generations but also very recently – a range of additional definitions evolve. More formal definitions, such as ‘refugee’, asylum-seeker’, and ‘permanent humanitarian visa holder’, tend to arise from immigration visa categories. Again, context and purpose are important. A term may be necessary to determine eligibility criteria, the scope of a program or research activity, or to specify a target audience. It is important to consider whether the terms exclude or label negatively and to qualify the experiences of a group.

Here are some points to remember:

Avoid inappropriate generalisations about ethnicity and religion. The term ‘Asians’ is sometimes used inappropriately to refer to people from diverse countries with different cultures such as China, Japan, Vietnam, India, Taiwan and Malaysia. Grouping all these cultures under one title is ambiguous and fails to recognise vast ethnic, cultural and religious differences.

Not everyone in an ethnic group necessarily has the same religion. For example, not all Lebanese or Turkish people are Muslims and not all Muslims are Arabic or Turkish. Similarly, religions such as Judaism, Christianity and the Islamic faith are practised throughout the world, not just in particular countries.

Talking about different cultural practices out of context can result in ridicule and stereotyping. For example, polygamous marriages, while illegal in Australia, are acceptable in some cultures and countries. Engaging in dialogues about the context in which such practices occur will offer different perspectives and a broader understanding of the world.

Note

‘Australians’ include people born in Australia or with Australian citizenship, regardless of their cultural heritage. If you need to specify a person’s ethnicity ask them how they choose to be identified.

Inclusive Language for People with a Disability

People with a disability are individuals who don’t want to be pitied, feared or ignored, or to be seen as somehow more heroic, courageous, patient, or ‘special’ than others (QUT, 2010). Avoid using the term ‘normal’ when comparing people with disabilities to people without disabilities. Remember, people with a disability are ‘disabled’ to the degree that the physical or social environment does not accommodate their disability or health condition (QUT, 2010).

If possible, find out how the individual refers to their disability – assuming reference to their disability is relevant. For example, some people may refer to themselves as ‘blind’ while others prefer vision impaired. This may also be the case for people who are Deaf or hard of hearing. Those who use Auslan sign language typically prefer to be known as ‘Deaf’, or as ‘the Deaf’ when referring to the community. Other preferred terms are people ‘with’ or ‘who has’ a particular disability or health condition.

Avoid terms that define the disability as a limitation, such as ‘confined to a wheelchair’. A wheelchair liberates; it doesn’t confine. Words like ‘victim’ or ‘sufferer’ can be dehumanising and emphasise powerlessness for people who have or have had a disability or health condition. Additionally, terms like ‘deformed’, ‘handicapped’, ‘able-bodied’, ‘physically challenged’, ‘crippled’, ‘differently-abled’ and ‘sufferer’ are not acceptable (QUT, 2010).

[picture]

Image by Suburp used under a CC-BY-NC-ND licence.

Identity-first language is strongly, but not universally, preferred among Autistic people and many disabled people. However, there are sharp differences of opinion between Autistic people/disabled people and parents/carers of Autistic or disabled people).

Use Plain Language

When we use lingo or acronyms that are not commonly understood by others we are automatically excluding them. Additionally, metaphors may be confusing for English as Second Language learners as well as people with autism. In order to be more inclusive avoid the use of lingo and metaphors. Keeping it simple is the key to good writing.

Resource

The Hemingway Editor is an excellent resource to test the readability of your work. The app highlights lengthy, complex sentences and common errors for you to address.

Good practice example: Gender and sexuality inclusion in ‘LGBTIQ+ healthcare’

Book cover with diverse cartoon faces. The book is called LGBTIQ healthcare: your guide to building an inclusive practiceSexual and gender identities can present unique needs and difficulties for those accessing healthcare. The LGBTQ+ community is incredibly diverse, and the difficulties that this community faces in accessing healthcare are complicated further by the intersectionality of various races, ages, abilities, and more. LGBTQ+ Healthcare was designed with this in mind. It was “created by and in collaboration with members of the LGBTQ+ community.”

The book demonstrates ways in which gender and sexual identity can influence healthcare by putting the learner in the place of the patient. Through interactive activities, the learner can better understand how something as commonplace as an intake form can be dehumanising or alienating for some patients and what a dramatic difference some small changes can make. These activities present common healthcare scenarios that many in the LGBTQ+ community face and challenge the learner to identify the areas for improvement before guiding them through a more inclusive and compassionate version of the same scenario.

Questions to ask yourself if you’re creating a biology or healthcare OER:

How can we affirm our transgender and intersex students when we talk about X and Y chromosomes?

How will students with same-sex parents interpret and internalise OER about meiosis and sexual reproduction?

How do all gender identities and sexual orientations fit into our understanding of science, development, and evolution?

Can we create safe spaces for scientific exploration and protect trans youth in education?

Inclusive Language Resources

To help authors write in ways that are inclusive and respectful of diversity, most style guides now include guidelines for inclusive and bias-free language. For example:

Australian Government Style Manual contains an inclusive language section that provides advice on writing respectfully about:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

age diversity

cultural and linguistic diversity

gender and sexual diversity

people with disabilities.

The New Zealand Government’s Content Design Guidelines contain inclusive language guides for:

Te reo Māori – using Māori language tags (for more detailed advice on the Māori language see Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (Māori Language Commission)’s Guidelines for Māori Language Orthography).

disability language

gender-inclusive language

age-inclusive language and content.

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association contains general principles for reducing bias, as well as bias-free language guidelines for writing about:

historical context

age

disability

gender

racial and ethnic identify

sexual orientation

socio-economic status.

Other resources

The Gender-just language education project

Inclusive and Anti-Racist Writing Resources [PDF]

Words at Work [PDF]

Copyright note: This section has been adapted in part from:

‘Inclusive and Bias-Free Language Guidelines’ in The CAUL OER Collective Publishing Workflow by Council of Australian University Librarians, licensed under a CC BY 4.0 licence. 

LGBTIQ Healthcare book cover is licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.

Acknowledgments: I would like to acknowledge Flic French (Student Engagement Manager), University of Queensland, Clare O’Hanlon (Senior Learning Librarian), La Trobe University and Ash Barber (Support Librarian), University of South Australia for their substantial contributions to this chapter.

Researchers and References

Studies in bibliometrics have revealed persistent biases in citation patterns — women and people of colour, for instance, garner citations at lower rates than men do. An increasing number of researchers are calling on academics to acknowledge the inequities in citational practices — and, by paying more heed to work from groups that are typically under-cited, take action to reduce them. Some are referring to this idea as ‘citational ethics’ or ‘citational justice’ (Kwon, 2022).

While finding diversity in referenced academic journal articles and other published research may be difficult, please do what’s possible to consider it. This may be easier in some disciplines than others. We recognise that diversity in academia is far behind where it should be, which impacts the opportunities you have to represent all populations in OER.

Aims

Recognise key contributors from all backgrounds, and ensure real-world examples are diverse.

Determine if referenced papers or data have been sourced from diverse authors, researchers, and organisations.

Actions and Considerations

Assess the diversity of key contributors and, if lacking, seek further contributors to broaden diversity.

When historical figures in a field lack diversity, balance their contributions with more current and diverse contributors.

Include examples of and references to historically underrepresented groups such as women contributors to Science, Technology, Engineering and Medicine (STEM), where women are underrepresented despite their significant contributions.

Where key/historical figures are not diverse, include current, more diverse researchers/figures for balance.

Avoid isolating diverse contributors to specific sections – i.e., “multicultural impacts on Psychology.”

Where diversity is lacking, suggest more diverse references, papers, and data sources.

If you include less formal, in-text mentions of specific researchers or studies, these should be as diverse as possible.

Include a citation diversity statement or a statement of positionality.

Acknowledge Limited Perspectives

If you chose to develop the content yourself, rather than consult colleagues or recruit co-authors, consider including a disclaimer acknowledging your background wherever applicable – for example at the end of chapters addressing issues related to gender, gender identity, sexuality, race, culture or religion. This will show that you’re:

aware of any biases or blind spots

are trying to address them

are open to feedback.

For example:

‘I [Name], the author of this work, am a [description of gender identity/sexuality/race/religion/gender, etc. – e.g. cisgender white woman] from [country]. I have not experienced the types of bias that affect those from marginalised backgrounds related to race, cultural background and sexual orientation. I have tried to keep this chapter simple and to link out to external resources whenever applicable, however, there may be cases where my writing betrays my lack of experience with these topics.

If there is any part of this book you find to be one-sided or dismissive of any aspect of your identity, please contact me at [insert email address]. I welcome any comments or feedback that might improve my work and help inform my own understanding of this topic. Thank you.’

Resources and readings

Resources

Cite Black Women

500 Queer Scientists 

Gender Balance Assessment Tool

A Gender Citation Balance Index Tool

The Citation Diversity Statement: A Practice of Transparency, A Way of Life

Readings

Citational politics in tight places: How might we improve citational politics in “tight places” where not only the norms of citation but also the structure of knowledge or research overdetermines what might be done? Or does it?

The researchers that search engines make invisible: Searches not only make some things apparent…but they can also make things invisible.

Firsting in Research: Declaring that a research project is the “first” to discover something is not only rarely correct, given the myriad local knowledges operating since time immemorial, but is also imperialist and colonial.

Copyright note: This section has been adapted in part from:

‘Centering Diversity and Inclusion’ in The OER Starter Kit by Abbey Elder, licensed under a CC BY 4.0 licence.

Diverse Examples and Balanced Perspectives

Represent issues relevant to diverse populations. Don’t avoid or underestimate the impacts on diverse populations. Include diverse examples and balanced perspectives in your OER.

Aims

Represent issues relevant to diverse populations and ensure that you are not avoiding or underestimating the impacts on diverse populations. Examples include social problems, health issues, political issues, business practices, economic conditions, and so on.

Ensure that diverse contexts are included and that all examples are comprehensible to everyone, while being sure to avoid stereotypes.

Most discipline experts will defer to the academic viewpoint of any key concept, but they should consider alternative points of view.

Consider intersectionality while being aware of ethnocentrism and how this may impact your own biases.

Actions and Considerations

Review, and consider having students review, problems and exercises, considering their context and inclusivity.

Review terminology, contexts, and situations presented in problems/applications to ensure that they are comprehensible to all populations.

Write and use examples that include diverse people, organisations, geographies, and situations.

Avoid negative stereotypes or sensitive subjects in problems and applications unless the subject matter demands it.

For each topic/concept, consider the perspective of all populations in relation to controversies, arguments, alternative points, and so on.

Suggest additions to expose a varied point of view and widen the context for students.

Avoid characterisations that lead to generalisation – e.g. “rural communities tend to support gun rights.” If a generalisation like that must be stated, provide more context, such as why, and include any counterpoints from “within” that generalisation.

Make no assumptions about prior knowledge, especially from different subjects/cultural contexts. Even common cultural elements such as Disney characters, pop music or popular games or shows are not universal.

Engage a sensitivity reader to review your text if you are writing about cultures or situations outside your lived experience.

Good practice example – ‘Fighting Phytochemicals’

An example that is inclusive, informative, and requires no previous knowledge can be found in the open Human Biology textbook section on “Fighting Phytochemicals.”

Diversify Case Studies

Are your case studies taken from a range of international examples and do they use diverse names and avoid stereotypes? If your case studies include video, do they use authentic accents? Ensure your case studies don’t perpetuate limiting positive stereotypes; for example, black people being portrayed as good at sport or Asian people portrayed as good at science.

Be Aware of Ethnocentrism

It’s easy for ethnocentrism – voluntarily or involuntarily viewing the world through the lens of your own ethnicity or culture without taking other ethnicities or cultures into account – to creep into the content and presentation of a textbook, so this is something you’ll need to be aware of. This doesn’t mean you should try to write a textbook that fits every culture and perspective – just be respectful.

One of the benefits of open textbooks is that instructors from different countries and cultures can customise them to suit their needs.

For example, you may decide to adapt an American open textbook to fit the Australian context or expand the content to include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives.

Sensitivity Reading

Consider engaging a sensitivity reader to review your text if you are writing about cultures or situations outside your lived experience.

“A sensitivity reader is someone who reads for offensive content, misrepresentation, stereotypes, bias, lack of understanding, etc. They create a report for an author and/or publisher outlining the problems that they find in a piece of work and offer solutions in how to fix them. By doing this, the literary quality of a work is substantially improved,” (University of Alberta Library, 2022).

Be Aware of Intersectionality

Intersectionality is a theoretical framework that was developed to address how people’s experiences are shaped based on their intersecting social identities (e.g., race/ethnicity, gender, class, age, etc.). This approach focuses on the importance of considering power, privilege, and social structures in relation to people’s access to resources, experiences of discrimination, and interpersonal interactions (Sabik, 2021). The below video explains intersectionality in more detail.

Video: What is Intersectionality? [2 mins, 49 secs]

One or more interactive elements has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view them online here: https://usq.pressbooks.pub/diversityandinclusionforoer/?p=94#oembed-1

Note: Close captions are available by clicking on the CC button in the video.

The following graphic entitled “Intersectionality” visually displays how social identities intersect with one another and are wrapped in systems of power. For example, using the imagery of a spirograph, Duckworth (2020) colour-codes various social identities including race, ethnicity, gender identity, class, language, religion, ability, sexuality, mental health, age, education, and body size.

[picture]

Image by Duckworth (2020) used under a CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. licence. 

Sylvia Duckworth’s “wheel of power/privilege” is another visual representation of how power, privilege, and social identities intersect. The graphic below uses the imagery of a wheel, sectioned off by the following social identities and respective categories:

Citizenship: citizen, documented, undocumented

Skin colour: white, different shades, dark

Formal education: post-secondary, high school, elementary

Ability: able-bodied, some disability, significant disability

Sexuality: heterosexual; gay men; lesbian, bi, pan, asexual

Neurodiversity: neurotypical, neuroatypical, significant neurodivergence

Mental health: robust, mostly stable, vulnerable

Body size: slim, average, large

Housing: owns the property, sheltered/renting, homeless

Wealth: rich, middle class, poor

Language: English, Learned English, non-English monolingual

Gender: cisgender man; cisgender woman; trans, intersex, nonbinary

[picture]

Image by Duckworth (2020) used under a CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. licence. 

Activity: Define Yourself

Referring back to the identities in the Wheel of Power/Privilege think about how you define yourself, and where your salient social identities are located on the wheel. Get curious about:

How close or far away from the centre are you?

How does your level of power shift as you place yourself in different identity categories?

Thinking about your institution, where do students, staff, administrators, and/or faculty reside?

Do you think any categories are missing?

You are invited to record your reflection in the way that works best for you, which may include writing, drawing, creating an audio or video file, mind map or any other method that will allow you to document your ideas and refine them at the end of this module.

Alternatively, a text-based note-taking space is provided below. Any notes you take here remain entirely confidential and visible only to you. Use this space as you wish to keep track of your thoughts, learning, and activity responses. Download a text copy of your notes before moving on to the next page to ensure you don’t lose any of your work!

An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://usq.pressbooks.pub/diversityandinclusionforoer/?p=94#h5p-1

Good Practice Example – Teaching in the University: Learning from Graduate Students and Early Career Faculty

Book cover of teaching in the universityTeaching in the University: Learning from Graduate Students and Early Career Faculty provides insight and strategies for successful teaching, advising, and mentoring postsecondary students. This book is designed for new university teaching faculty and graduate teaching assistants looking for innovative teaching resources. This textbook provides university instructors free access to high-quality teaching materials based on the experiences of fellow new instructors. Twenty contributors and two co-editors from the current students and alumni of university teaching scholars’ programs offer this resource for fellow faculty and graduate students to improve instruction and engagement. Each chapter comes from the experiences and expertise of these talented individuals who speak directly to their peers. Although centring on the STEM faculty, the authors are of diverse genders and backgrounds. The text also contains diverse points of view with one vignette titled ‘No, really, I don’t have Internet’ and another on indigenising the classroom. This book is an exemplar for having diverse contributors and diverse perspectives.

Copyright note: This section has been adapted in part from:

‘Positionality and Intersectionality,’ in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) by Darla Benton Kearney, licensed under a CC BY 4.0 licence.

‘Be Aware of Ethnocentrism’ is based on ‘Accessibility, Diversity, and Inclusion’ in Self-Publishing Guide by Lauri M. Aesoph, licensed under a CC BY 4.0 licence.

‘Sensitivity Reading’ is based on Writing, editing, and publishing Indigenous stories: Sensitivity reading by the University of Alberta Library, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.  

Teaching in the University book cover licensed under a CC BY-NC 4.0 licence.

Appropriate Terminology and Inclusive Metadata

It is important that we are using appropriate terminology when creating OER, and that we create quality metadata records that are “informative, accessible, respectful, accurate and empowering,” (McCulloch, 2019).

Aims

Credit all contributors, reviewers, editors and translators.

Ensure that all references to people, groups, populations, categories, conditions and disabilities use the appropriate verbiage and do not contain any derogatory, colloquial, inappropriate, or otherwise incorrect language.

For historical uses that should remain in place, consider adding context, such as “a widely used term at the time.” Ensure that quotations or paraphrases using outdated terms are attributed, contextualised, and limited.

While the content itself is the primary element to consider, the back matter and other metadata, such as an index, keywords, abstract or subject headings do signal priorities and importance; they can show how important a particular topic/issue is. Without creating any superficial or misleading sense of coverage, consider the relevance and connection of these elements in relation to inclusivity.

Ensure reusability and revisability of content.

Actions and Considerations

Credit all contributors, reviewers, editors and translators.

Identify any outmoded or incorrect terminology and suggest the correct replacement or re-framing.

For historical references, if needed insert context, attribution, and/or quotations.

Since terminology changes regularly, and acceptability is not universal, do your best to identify and use the best terminology at the time.

Analyse index/keyword lists and identify core terms that are not represented or highlighted.

Consider adding keywords that specifically highlight issues important to underrepresented groups.

Ensure others can download editable files of your OER.

Inclusive OER Information for Authors

The level of information that you can share about your OER will depend on where you are hosting your OER. However, authors of OER should consider the following:

crediting all contributors, reviewers, editors, translators etc

where a controlled vocabulary is used (drop-down selector), ensuring the most appropriate and accurate language

when adding free-text keywords and/or an abstract or book description, using keywords that specifically highlight issues important to underrepresented groups

Inclusive Metadata for Librarians

‘The current trend is that there is no trend in describing or cataloguing OER!’ – Georgia Southern University panel discussion.

“If you care about social justice and representation you need to care about library metadata and how it is controlled.” – Hugh Rundle.

The primary purposes for organising OER resources with the appropriate metadata are 1) to enable educators and students to locate desired resources efficiently and accurately and 2) to ensure that information about learning resources and their usage is captured, collated, and correlated to other educational data systems (interoperability). OER aggregators such as OER Commons, Curriki, and Ck12 have committed to using metadata elements.

Alissa McCulloch (2019) defines a ‘quality’ record as “informative, accessible, respectful, accurate and empowering.” She goes on to say, “you won’t find these ideals in RDA, or in the MARC standards, or in BIBFRAME. You’ll find them in your community. Those of you who work in libraries should have an idea of the kinds of materials your patrons are looking for, and how your library might provide them. Is your metadata a help or a hindrance? Are you describing materials the way your patrons might describe them?”

She further acknowledges:

Metadata is not fixed. Metadata is never ‘finished’. Metadata is contextual. Contested. Iterative. Always changing. ‘Corrections’ are not, and can never be, universal. An accepted term today might be a rejected term in thirty years’ time, and the process will begin again. The Library of Congress Subject Heading (LCSH) for ‘People with disabilities’ is now on its fourth iteration, as the preferred language has changed over time. Previous versions of this heading used terms that would now be considered quite offensive.

We all need to look out for these things. Have new concepts arisen for which your library has no standardised heading? Has a word shifted meaning, such that it has ceased to be meaningful? Are users looking for resources by name, but finding nothing in our collections?

These are all points we need to consider when creating records for OER. Other considerations include:

Using alternative controlled vocabs to LCSH, including Austlang or a domain-specific vocabulary

A comprehensive table of contents and/or summary fields, using the keyword advice discussed above

Ensuring the record includes the term ‘Open educational resources’ as an indexed field

OER Discovery

Discoverability and reusability of your OER content are central to being open and can prove to be challenging for OER creators (Amiel, 2013; Ovadia, 2019). OER delivery mechanisms can be divided into three categories:

Repository: A centralised site that stores the OER locally (e.g., an institutional repository)

Referatory: a portal or directory that links to the OER and provides the metadata to help locate these resources (e.g., Open Textbook Library)

A combination of the two (Brahmin, Khribi, and Jemni, 2018; McGreal, 2017).

Wherever your OER is hosted no platform is neutral and no platform is universal. Remember that the hosting platform, whether local or external, can inadvertently create a barrier to access (e.g., needs too much bandwidth, the material is hard to download or discover), so consider those issues as you select your platform.

The following resources contain tips on optimising OER discovery.

OER Metadata Rosetta Stone, devised by the OER Discovery Working Group (convened by SPARC): This document is the technical specification of core and contextual elements for Open Educational Resources using an existing schema to create a Metadata Application Profile. It provides a list of relevant classes and properties used in OER metadata records at the institutional and repository level.

SEO for Open Textbook Creators – tips for authors using Pressbooks.

Reusability and Revisabillity of Content

Making content available as well as reusable and revisable are central tenants of the open movement. Ovadia (2019) notes that there are technical challenges to overcome. One is the reusability of the content (can it be downloaded as opposed to just viewed) and if the file format is editable (remixable and revisable) by anyone, not just individuals who have access to proprietary software (Ovadia 2019).

Resources

Inclusive Metadata Resources and Readings

OER Metadata Rosetta Stone, devised by the OER Discovery Working Group (convened by SPARC): This document is the technical specification of core and contextual elements for Open Educational Resources using an existing schema to create a Metadata Application Profile. It provides a list of relevant classes and properties used in OER metadata records at the institutional and repository level.

AustLang provides a controlled vocabulary of persistent identifiers, a thesaurus of languages and peoples and information about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages which has been assembled from referenced sources.

Reimagine Descriptive Workflows: A Community-informed Agenda for Reparative and Inclusive Descriptive Practice: The Reimagine Descriptive Workflows project convened a group of experts, practitioners, and community members to determine ways of improving descriptive practices, tools, infrastructure, and workflows in libraries and archives. The result, this community agenda, is offered to the broad library and archives community of practice. The agenda draws together insights from the convening, related research, and operational work that is ongoing in the field. All institutions hold the power to make meaningful changes in this space, and all share collective responsibility.

Leveraging Cataloging and Collection Development Expertise to Improve OER Discovery

Optimising your OER for search engines

SEO for Open Textbook Creators

Example MARC Records for Open Textbooks

Open Textbook Library MARC Records

Open Textbook Library MARC records are in the public domain and available under a Creative Commons CC0 licence, including:

an automatically generated cumulative file of MARC bibliographic records [mrc. file]

a .csv file for content in the Open Textbook Library [.csv file].

BCcampus OpenEd MARC Records

MARC records for the B.C. Open Textbook Collection are created to the standard outlined by the British Columbia Library Association (BCLA)’s Cataloguing and Technical Services Interest Group (BCCATS).

B.C. Open Education Librarians (BCOEL) post new MARC records to the British Columbia Electronic Library Network (BCELN) website whenever new content is created or curated or existing content is revised.

Below is an example of a MARC record template for OER-like open textbooks to help you get started:

Mt. Hood Community College (MHCC) OER MARC template (with examples).

Copyright note: This section has been adapted in part from:

We need to talk about cataloguing by Alissa McCulloch. Reproduced with permission.

‘Create Downloadable MARC record’ in Open Educational Resources Collective Workflow by Council of Australians University Librarians is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 licence.

‘Hosting and Sharing OER,‘ in The OER Starter Kit for Program Manager by Abbey Elder, licensed under a CC BY 4.0 licence.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Alissa McCulloch (Metadata and Database Quality Coordinator), Deakin University for her expertise and feedback on this chapter.

Indigenisation, Decolonisation and Cultural Inclusion

This section focuses on critically reviewing OER through a decolonised lens, Indigenising OER, and other opportunities for cultural inclusion in OER.

Aims

Be aware of ethnocentrism.

Critique OER through a decolonised lens.

Understand Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) and that open licensing aren’t always appropriate.

Engage with First Nations Elders and communities when creating content.

Actions and Considerations

Always engage with First Nations Elders and communities when creating OER related to First Nations issues.

Add an Acknowledgment of Country to the open textbooks you create, to acknowledge the land in which the work was authored.

Consider translating content into different languages.

Become familiar with protocols relating to Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property.

Be Aware of Ethnocentrism

It’s easy for ethnocentrism – voluntarily or involuntarily viewing the world through the lens of your own ethnicity or culture without taking other ethnicities or cultures into account – to creep into the content and presentation of a textbook, so this is something you’ll need to be aware of. This doesn’t mean you should try to write a textbook that fits every culture and perspective – just be respectful.

One of the benefits of open textbooks is that instructors from different countries and cultures can customise them to suit their needs, including:

translating a textbook into a different language

adjusting the content to meet local cultural, regional and geographical needs

revising the material for a different learning environment.

For example, you may decide to adapt an American open textbook to fit the Australian context or expand the content to include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives.

Open Education and Indigenous Knowledge

Open education is grounded in Western understandings of ownership, protocol, and accessibility. Often open education has the goal of making all knowledges available to all peoples. Within Australian copyright law there is tension between Indigenous knowledges and Indigenous ways of knowing and being. The open education community must carefully consider Indigenous knowledges and self-determination, which are deeply rooted in community-defined ethics and protocols and do not fit into ordinary academic contexts. Three essentials tips when working with OER and First Nation’s content are:

Relationships must come first.

“Nothing about us without us” – means that First Nations peoples and communities must be consulted when working with First Nations content.

Not all knowledges should be open. Dr Sarah Lambert said “The ‘open is great for everybody’ narrative is not a good fit for Indigenous knowledge sovereignty. I’ve been learning a lot from and with Johanna Funk on ‘two-ways’ learning (an Australian Indigenous education model) and getting more understanding about the kinds of community leadership roles you need to have in an Indigenous community before you have the authority to share knowledge. And conversely, the kind of role you need to have to receive some of that knowledge,” (Cronin, 2022).

However, there are a set of licences and educative labels to support Indigenous traditional and local peoples’ rights to maintain, control, protect and develop their cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions. These are called Traditional Knowledge (TK) Licences. Work to refine and extend the TK Licenses is currently being conducted in collaboration with the Te Kotahi Research Institute at the University of Waikato.

The Five Rs

Kayla Lar-Son of Métis questioned the five R’s of OER as they didn’t make sense to her as an Indigenous woman, working with many different knowledges. She states that there are problems with the five R’s of OER when it comes to Indigenous knowledges and incorporating them into OER. She states that there are currently no best practices and that these practices should be built based on the localised community that your OER are coming from and the knowledges that are being shared within this OER.

She offers five different Rs when working with Indigenous knowledge.

Respect: Respect for Indigenous cultural identity communities and topics when creating OER. That’s also the respect for First Nations voices as well.

Relationships: Connecting to the concept of all of our relations and relationships building within communities. So incorporating relationality, Indigenous relationality into OER creation, but also that relationship building aspect when we’re working with communities.

Responsibility: Responsibility for the way that we share information. Only publishing in an ethical way and considering ownership protocols and community practices.

Reverence: Reverence is respecting the sacred, not sharing sacred knowledge from communities. Respecting what we’re being told and what we’re not being told.  Reverence is legitimising and incorporating Indigenous knowledges into the curriculum or OER only when they make sense. And legitimising First Nations voices as being there as the hierarchy of knowledge is in Indigenous OER.

Reciprocity: Reciprocity is giving back. We want to give back to communities, whether that’s giving back our time, or giving back resources. So helping to fund communities in their OER creation, as well as giving back through other capacity-building things in many different ways. Giving back to communities and providing open access to things that they might not have access to.

Critically Reviewing OER through a Decolonised Lens

Learning resources and textbooks often centre the white patriarchal perspective and epistemology and are geared towards “traditional” student populations. Adam et al. (2019) note that “[u]nderlying many OER is the assumption of the universality of knowledge systems (often dictated by hegemonic knowledge groups), without giving relevance to the particular.” When viewed through a decolonising lens, the equity and accessibility of such OER begins to fall apart. How equitable is it, for example, to ask students in an Australian history course to engage with an open textbook that perpetuates the white patriarchal narrative of Australian history? For marginalised students in any course, how equitable is it to ask them to engage with open textbooks that potentially centre the perspectives of their oppressors? It is a barrier to student success when students don’t see themselves represented in their educational curriculum. How accessible is it, then, to force marginalised students to engage with open materials that don’t reflect their experiences, their communities, and their epistemologies?

The discussion around how OER foster accessibility and equity should not stop at the reduction of financial cost to students. To avoid perpetuating the systemic inequity it aims to combat, OER must be continuously critiqued through a decolonised lens to ensure students are engaging with educational materials that are equitable in both cost and content. When we implement OER, we must continuously ask ourselves “whose knowledge is being foregrounded and whose view of reality is being entrenched” in these materials (Adam et al. 2019)? If decolonisation is not foundational to OER implementation, the OER initiative betrays its own philosophy. How do we as educators balance the affordability of OER with the imperative to decolonise our curriculum in ways that OER do not always allow?

Indigenising OER

Indigenising OER is not about adding content related to Indigenous history or culture; it’s about shifting to an approach that incorporates Indigenous worldviews, including Indigenous pedagogies and approaches to knowledge. In this section, we explore how the complex sources of Indigenous knowledge can contribute to curricula.

Use Authentic Resources

An important consideration is how to recognise authentic First Nations resources. In some cases, resources dealing with First Nations content may contain inaccurate information or unfairly represent the unique experiences and worldviews of Indigenous Peoples. This can promote stereotypes and misunderstanding. In contrast, authentic resources can deepen understanding by bringing Indigenous voices and perspectives into the curriculum.

It is not always easy to identify authentic Indigenous texts. According to the First Nations Education Steering Committee (FNESC, 2016), authentic First Peoples’ texts are historical or contemporary texts that:

Present authentic First Peoples’ voices (are created by First Nations Peoples or through the substantial contributions of First Nations Peoples);

Depict themes and issues that are important within First Nations Peoples’ cultures (e.g., loss of identity and affirmation of identity, tradition, healing, the role of family, the importance of Elders, connection to the land, the nature and place of spirituality as an aspect of wisdom, the relationships between individual and community, the importance of oral tradition, the experience of colonisation and decolonisation);

Incorporate First Nations Peoples’ storytelling techniques and features as applicable (e.g., circular structure, repetition, weaving in of spirituality, humour).

In trying to decide whether a resource is authentic, you may consider:

Consulting with the First Nations office at your organisation and/or Elders in your community.

Reaching out to other educators who incorporate First Nations resources and content in their classrooms. Ask them how they chose their resources. What factors did they consider?

Ensuring that proper Indigenous cultural and intellectual property protocols and copyright have been followed to obtain permission, particularly when using resources found online.

Diversity among First Nations Peoples

When considering integrating Indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing pedagogy into your OER, it is critical to keep diversity among Indigenous Peoples in mind. Some things to consider:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples contextualise themselves by ancestral tribal and clan groups, and it is important to acknowledge each individual’s preference.

Consider how you can integrate Indigenous knowledge into your OER, in addition to First Nations content and voices.

Consider whether you will incorporate concepts from a diversity of Indigenous Peoples, or focus on the local peoples. Depending on the context of the course, either choice may be appropriate.

Acknowledge the traditional lands on which you are situated. If you do not know the area, ask someone who knows or consult theAustralian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) map of Indigenous Australia, which provides a detailed representation of language, tribal or nation groups. Acknowledging the traditional lands can be done by anyone. In terms of curriculum development, this practice can also be used in the classroom and taught to students. It is important to note that unless you are Indigenous to that area, you should not “welcome” people to the area – only someone who is originally from the location can do that. Acknowledgement, on the other hand, is a good thing for anyone to do. Please note that the AIATSIS map is not strictly geographically accurate and it may be more appropriate to consult with local communities regarding whose land you are on.

Diversity among forms of Knowledge

In academia, we often think of knowledge as coming from experts in the form of academic papers, presentations, and research results. In Indigenous communities, knowledge comes from many other sources, for example, from the land, from stories, or relationships between people.

Personal Knowledge

Mainstream academic knowledge often strives to be universal and impersonal. The most respected forms of knowledge are generally studies that can be replicated in different localities and cultures, by different researchers. In Indigenous knowledge systems, the knowledge that exists in relationship to specific lands and people is highly valued. In the context of curriculum development, this means creating opportunities for educators and students to share their personal experiences, feelings, and identities as a form of knowledge, and to learn from the experiential knowledge of Indigenous people.

Oral Knowledge

Indigenous cultures have long valued oral language to transfer knowledge, and Indigenous Peoples use a variety of complex practices and protocols to pass along oral histories, such as witnessing ceremonies and potlatches. In Indigenous cultures, community members are often trained from a young age in the skills of oral communication. In the curriculum context, this means considering opportunities for sharing stories, ideas, and experiences orally, rather than through a written assignment or presentation.

Expressions of Knowledge

Stories, dances, songs, and ceremonies are important sources of knowledge in Indigenous cultures. It is important to keep in mind that resources may be non-textual. For example, attending a ceremony or community event could be a learning resource. Exploring the local environment with an Elder could be a resource. Learning respectfully about a piece of artwork (such as a mask, textile, or regalia) could be a resource. Consider including opportunities for learners to experience these expressions of knowledge.

Accurate Presentation of Australian History

An accurate representation of history is important. Talking about ‘when Captain Cook discovered Australia’ is not only insulting to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, it is also incorrect as there is evidence of sophisticated trade between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with Indonesia and earlier contact with Europeans 600 years before Cook. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were here at least 60,000 years before the coming of the Europeans (QUT, 2010). Avoid texts and content that perpetuate historical inaccuracies, or that use euphemisms to describe the treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. For example, the phrase ‘when Aboriginal children were taken in by the church’, hides the fact that force was used in removing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their parents and traditional lands (AHRC, 1997). Additionally, the reference to ancestral beings such as the Rainbow Serpent, or Wandjinas as a characters in ‘fictional’ stories, and myths of legends are minimising and hurtful (Australian Government, 2020).

Good Practice Example – Decolonization and Justice: An Introductory Overview

Book cover for Decolonization and Justice‘Decolonization and Justice: An Introductory Overview’ emerged from the undergraduate students’ final assignment on Advanced Seminar in Criminal Justice at the University of Regina’s Department of Justice Studies, Canada. This book focused on the decolonisation of multiple justice-related areas, such as policing, the court system, prison, restorative justice, and the studies of law and criminology. This is likely one of the few student-led book projects in Canada covering the range of decolonization topics. Ten student authors explored the concept of decolonisation in law, policing, prison, court, mental health, transitional justice and restorative justice.

The chapters in this book are organised under three major thematic areas. The first of these is Decolonization and Post Colonial Criminologies where the authors explore the theoretical aspects of the knowledge tradition and how Indigenous legal traditions play an important role within this tradition. In the second section of the book entitled Emerging Praxes around the Globe, four authors present case studies of innovative and emerging practices of post-colonial criminologies both in post-conflict areas and advanced democracies like Canada. Finally, in the Way Forward section, three chapters touch upon Indigenous self-governance, decolonizing policing and reconstructing Restorative Justice practices.

Although Canadian, this is an exemplar of how students can use OER to critically review issues through a decolonised lens.

Resources

Protocols for using First Nations Cultural and Intellectual Property in the Arts [PDF]

University of Sydney’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Protocols

Traditional Knowledge Licences and Labels

Pulling Together: A Guide for Indigenization of post-secondary institutions. A professional learning series

Interrogating and Supplementing OER Through a Decolonized Lens

UniSQ’s open text collection for First Nations Studies

UQ’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Referencing Guide

Guidelines for the Ethical Publishing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Authors and Research from those Communities 

Gambay – First Languages map

Copyright note: This section has been adapted in part from:

‘Interrogating and Supplementing OER Through a Decolonized Lens’ by Camille Close, licensed under a CC BY 4.0 licence.

‘Pulling Together: A Guide for Curriculum Developers. A guide for Indigenization of post-secondary institutions’ by Antione et al, licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 licence. 

‘Indigenous Open Educational Resources: Respectfully Uplifting Community Voices’ by Kayla Lar-Son, licensed under a CC BY 4.0 licence. 

‘Just Knowledge: Sharing Indigenous knowledge & Indigenous maps’ by Catherine Cronin, licensed under a CC BY 4.0 licence. 

‘Be Aware of Ethnocentrism’ is based on ‘Accessibility, Diversity, and Inclusion’ in Self-Publishing Guide by Lauri M. Aesoph, licensed under a CC BY 4.0 licence.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Cally Jetta (Lecturer, Indigenous Studies), UniSQ for her expertise and feedback on this chapter.

Accessibility, Usability and Universal Design for Learning

Content advertised as “open access” and “freely accessible” may give the impression that OER are universally accessible, but many users still face inequitable barriers to access. Therefore, accessibility, usability and Universal Design are key considerations to ensuring truly inclusive access to OER.

Aims

Ensure OER meets institutional and national guidelines or standards for accessibility e.g. W3C standards and guidelines.

Apply Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Principles in OER creation and open pedagogy.

Actions and Considerations

Undertake accessibility assessments and usability testing.

Include accessibility information on OER.

Think about UDL, usability, and accessibility early on in your process.

Universal Design for Learning

Universal design is the process of creating products (devices, environments, systems and processes) that are usable by people with the widest possible range of abilities, operating within the widest possible range of situations (environments, conditions and circumstances). It arose out of the broader accessibility movement, as well as the advent of adaptive and assistive technology.

In the context of OER, universal design for learning or UDL means removing potential barriers to access for students by designing content for all learning styles.

UDL guidelines are based on the three primary brain networks shown in the slides below:

Affective networks – The “why” of learning

Recognition networks – The “what” of learning

Strategic networks – The “how” of learning

This slide show describes key facts about the brain from a UDL perspective. To advance to the next slide, click the blue progress bar at the bottom of the image or the small arrow next to the 1/3 text.

An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://usq.pressbooks.pub/diversityandinclusionforoer/?p=133#h5p-2

Creating learning experiences that activate these three broad learning networks is a useful pursuit for educators as it works towards the goal of expert learning. Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) has identified a series of principles to guide design, development, and delivery in practice to address each of the different networks:

Multiple means of engagement

Multiple means of representation

Multiple means of action and expression

Watch the short video below to learn about the benefits and principles of UDL.

Video: Universal Design for Learning [5 mins, 52 secs]

One or more interactive elements has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view them online here: https://usq.pressbooks.pub/diversityandinclusionforoer/?p=133#oembed-1

Note: Close captions are available by clicking on the CC button in the video.

You might find it helpful to see what UDL can look like in learning and teaching. Here are some examples of UDL in a variety of learning environments.

Multiple means of engagement

Explicitly state learning goals and/or examples

Provide note-taking support

Give opportunities to celebrate

Offer opportunities for reflection

Multiple means of representation

Provide content in multiple ways

Employ interactive learning activities

Use multimedia resources to deliver content

Multiple means of action and expression

Develop an agenda or learning plan and follow it

Provide access to resources to deepen learning

Include a variety of communication options

Offer opportunities to review content or practice skills

Good Practice Example: Universal Design for Learning in Foundations of Neuroscience

Foundations of Neuroscience explicitly acknowledge they have included multiple means of representation to engage students with the content. This includes clear, accessible text; images and animations; captured video versions of the text and interactive activities.

Accessibility

Accessibility is one of the primary—but not the only—benefits of using UDL principles from the beginning. An OER that is created correctly from the beginning will significantly reduce the barriers to anyone using the OER. There is, moreover, also both a legal and moral impetus for creating accessible resources. Both accessibility and usability need to be built into your development process and should not be an afterthought.

Accessibility checklist

Below is a list of minimum requirements your OER should meet to be considered accessible:

Organising Content

Content is organised under headings and subheadings.

Headings and subheadings are used sequentially (e.g. Heading 1, Heading 2)

Images

Images that convey information include alternative or ‘alt’ text descriptions of the image’s content or function.

Graphs, charts and maps also include contextual or supporting details in the text surrounding the image.

Images don’t rely on colour to convey information.

Purely decorative images contain empty alt-text descriptions. (Descriptive text is unnecessary if the image doesn’t convey contextual content information).

Links

Links are meaningful in context and don’t use generic text such as ‘click here’ or ‘read more’.

If a link will open or download a file (like a PDF or Excel file), a textual reference is included in the link information (e.g. ‘[PDF]’).

Tables

Tables include row and column headers.

Tables include titles or captions.

Tables don’t have merged or split cells.

Tables have adequate cell padding.

Multimedia

A transcript is available for each audio resource containing relevant non-speech content, including:

the speaker’s name

all speech content

relevant descriptions of speech

descriptions of relevant non-speech audio

headings and subheadings

Videos have captions of all speech content and relevant non-speech content.

Videos include audio descriptions of contextual visuals (e.g. graphs, charts).

Formulas

Simple equations use symbols that will be correctly interpreted by screen readers (e.g. minus signs and not hyphens).

Complex equations are written in MathML or written in such a way they can be translated into MathML (e.g. written in LaTeX and rendered with MathJax).

Equations are images with alt text descriptions if MathML is not an option.

Font Size

The font size is 12 points or higher for body text.

The font size is 9 points for footnotes or end notes.

Font size can be zoomed to 200 per cent.

Examples – How to Write Good Alt-text

Consult the following resources to learn how to write good alt-text:

How to describe images

How to write good alt-text

Below are three examples of good and bad alt-text.

Example 1

[picture]

Source: Image by Kevin Bidwell used under CC0 licence.

Bad alt-text: Sign

Reason: This is unhelpful – what does ‘sign’ mean? Is it an instruction to add a signature? Sign language? A star sign?

Good alt-text: Sign on the door that says ‘Come in we’re open.’

Reason: A clear description of the image, including text from the sign but without going into excess, unhelpful detail.

Example 2

[picture]

Source: NASA (2022), used under terms and conditions.

Bad alt-text: Image of outer-space

Reason: What part of outer space is the photo showing? The moon? A planet? Additionally, there’s no need to start with ‘image of.’

Good alt-text from NASA: Thousands of small galaxies appear across this view. Their colours vary. Some are shades of orange, while others are white. Most appear as fuzzy ovals, but a few have distinct spiral arms. In front of the galaxies are several foreground stars. Most appear blue, and the bright stars have diffraction spikes, forming an eight-pointed star shape. There are also many thin, long, orange arcs that curve around the centre of the image.

Reason: Clear visual details that all can benefit from.

Example 3

[picture]

Source: CC License Compatibility Chart by Kennisland, licensed under CC0 licence

Bad alt-text: A chart showing compatibility between Creative Commons Licences

Reason: The reader does know the compatibility between the licences. Visually-impaired readers would miss out on critical information about the compatibility between Creative Commons licences.

Good alt-text: A chart showing compatibility between Creative Commons Licences. The chart shows that Public Domain and CC BY are compatible with all licences except CC BY-ND and CC-BY-NC-ND. CC BY-SA is compatible with all licences except CC BY-NC, CC BY-ND, CC-BY-NC-SA, and CC-BY-NC-ND. CC BY-NC is compatible with all licences except CC BY-SA, CC BY-ND and CC-BY-NC-ND. CC BY-ND and CC BY-NC-ND aren’t compatible with any other Creative Commons licence. CC BY-NC-SA is compatible with all licences except CC BY-SA, CC BY-ND and CC-BY-NC-ND.

Reason: The compatibility between the licences is written out explicitly so visually-impaired readers are conveyed the same information as sighted readers and can make informed decisions about Creative Commons licences.

Case Study: BCcampus’ Accessibility Journey

This case study describes the work BCcampus Open Education has done to support the creation of accessible open educational resources (OER) in the province of British Columbia, Canada, and beyond. It describes the research and collaboration that went into the creation of the Accessibility Toolkit, a guide designed to support authors in creating accessible OER. In addition, it discusses how BCcampus has supported accessible design more directly, including by remediating existing inaccessible open textbooks and providing professional development opportunities to support others in creating accessible OER from the very beginning. The case study concludes by discussing the challenges that have come up with accessibility, including creating accessible equations, balancing the design considerations of print and digital formats, and making accessible design scalable.

Accessibility Statements

While all OER authors should strive to make OER accessible, not all OER can be made 100% accessible, even with the best efforts. It is important to acknowledge this with an accessibility statement in the OER. In open textbooks, this usually appears in the front or back matter and includes a checklist of accessibility features. In other types of OER, this information might be included in the description. This information will be useful to anyone using special software to navigate the OER; they will know immediately what issues they might encounter. This makes the process a little less frustrating for the user.

What Is an Accessibility Statement?

An accessibility statement lets your users know the work has gone through a review process and that accessibility issues are documented so readers know what to expect. A good accessibility statement includes a way to contact the authors if there are issues.

Accessibility review is for everyone, not just readers with special needs. Just like closed-captioning benefits those with hearing loss and those with certain types of learning difficulties, integrating accessibility into your workflow will benefit all your users/readers.

Writing an Accessibility Statement

Here are tips for writing a useful accessibility statement from the Open Education Accessibility Toolkit by Coolidge et al. (2018):

Use clear and simple language, avoiding jargon and technical terms

Include information about how people can personalise their experience. This might include information about:

features of the platform used for the resource (e.g., if a book is in Pressbooks, mention the ability of users to increase the font size in the web book)

the ability to change browser settings

a link to each available file format

assistive technologies

Outline specific accessibility features and how to use them when relevant

Do not make false claims or ignore known accessibility issues. Be as transparent and open about accessibility barriers as possible. This means:

describing what is being done to fix the problem and a timeline

providing any temporary workarounds

Include information about who is responsible for the accessibility of the content and their contact information so people can submit issues, suggestions, or complaints related to accessibility.

Describe the organisation’s accessibility policy and the work that has been done to make the resource accessible. Here, you can provide information like:

accessibility guidelines you are following (e.g., WCAG 2.0)

any federal, provincial, or state legislation you are conforming to

any user testing you performed (Gray, 2018)

It is important to keep your accessibility statement page up to date as you make updates to the content, or if the software itself is updated to be more accessible. Conduct an annual review if possible.

Good Practice Examples – Accessibility Statements

Here are some sample accessibility statements that you can adapt for your purposes:

OpenStax Accessibility Statement

BCcampus Accessibility Statement

Nomensa: How to Write an Accessibility Statement

Your accessibility statement should also include contact information in case any issues need addressing.

Usability

Usability is a way to measure how easily and well a user can navigate a specific site to complete a task. You have probably heard of usability testing on websites or may have participated in a usability test yourself. According to Nielsen, a leader in usability studies,

“Usability” is defined by five quality components:

Learnability: How easy is it for users to accomplish basic tasks the first time they encounter the design?

Efficiency: Once users have learned the design, how quickly can they perform tasks?

Memorability: When users return to the design after a period of not using it, how easily can they reestablish proficiency?

Errors: How many errors do users make, how severe are these errors, and how easily can they recover from the errors?

Satisfaction: How pleasant is it to use the design?

There are many other important quality attributes. A key one is utility, which refers to the design’s functionality: Does it do what users need?” (Nielsen 2012)

There are many resources available to help you understand the importance of usability, such as the What is Usability website which explains how to design for optimum usability (Interaction Design Foundation, n.d.). It is a good basic overview of the concepts and principles for creating usable websites, and many of the concepts can be applied to OER.

There are also some rubrics you can use to validate the usability of your OER. For example, the Washington State University web communication page includes a 25-point list of how to design for optimum usability and a printable rubric for reviewing your website.

Usability Testing

Doing a usability review or audit can help you identify the pain points in the OER. You may not have control over some things, such as the hosting platform not being completely accessible or you cannot integrate certain functionality. In other cases, you may be able to catch problems early and correct them before the development process goes any further. Keep in mind that a usability review is not a definitive process but one tool that you can use to make the OER as user-friendly as possible. For more guidance on doing a usability review, see A Quick Guide to Conducting a Usability Review).

Beta Testing

Beta testing is one way to determine the usability of your product (Dennen and Bagdy 2019). Rather than publishing the OER or releasing the module to the public and then using it in the classroom, do some beta testing by using the text in the classroom before actually publishing it. Instructors can use the text in a PDF or Word format in the classroom and get feedback from students about the content, layout, and design before creating the work on its final platform, where it might be more challenging to edit the content later. Another option is to have colleagues review the content before rollout (a peer review of sorts) or engage the students and authors in focus groups about the text to make improvements. All of this information will help in the creation of a usable final product. Once published, you will still want to be open to additional feedback from students and other users, but the majority of the feedback from your students should happen pre-publication.

Activity: Redesign or Accommodate?

The “Redesign or Accommodation?” activity is grounded in student-centred Universal Design for Learning (UDL)—a framework that recognises that we cannot design learning experiences for a specific type of student.

“Redesign or Accommodation?” also incorporates the humanising element of student Personas. Each participant adopts a Persona and advocates from that student’s perspective when presented with a Scenario that is based on common or recurring components of course delivery.

In facilitated discussions, participants identify potential barriers that the Scenario presents for their Persona-selves, consider what accommodations to address the barrier would look like—and if their Persona would even qualify to receive one, and then determine if the barrier/s could be avoided entirely by applying a UDL-based redesign to the course components in question.

We have created several Scenarios for this activity, but we also recommend you try running Scenarios arising from your practice and within your own institution against your Persona-based selves; it may help to proactively identify and address barriers before they affect your students.

Below are assorted “Redesign or Accommodation?” activity materials.

Redesign or Accommodation Activity Guidelines [PDF file]

Redesign or Accommodation Scenarios [PDF file]

Personas: 

Redesign or Accommodation Persona Cards (Detailed) [PDF file]

Persona Cards for Printing [PDF file]

Additional Personas for Course Design by OSU Ecampus [PDF file]

This activity is from BCCampus’s Accessibility Toolkit used under a CC BY 4.0 licence. 

Resources

Universal Design for Learning

CAST’s UDL Guidelines: The UDL Guidelines are a tool used in the implementation of Universal Design for Learning, a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA): This guide will help instructors and others to incorporate principles of UDL and considerations of EDI and Indigenisation in their learning environments.

A Comprehensive Guide to Applying Universal Design for Learning: A collection of three UDL workbooks.

UDL Tools for all Grades and Subject Areas: a collection of UDL tools and worksheets for all grades and subject areas.

Seven Principles for UDL: The purpose of the seven Principles is to guide the design of environments, products and communications.

Accessibility

BcCampus’s Accessibility Toolkit: The goal of this accessibility toolkit, is to provide resources for each content creator, instructional designer, educational technologist, librarian, administrator, and teaching assistant to create a truly open textbook—one that is free and accessible for all students.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG): Worldwide guidelines for web accessibility to ensure web content is available to all

How to Ensure Accessibility for Educational Videos: an article that addressed how to make videos accessible.  

H5P Content Type Accessibility: a list of H5P content and whether it is accessible. 

Dos and don’ts on designing for accessibility: The dos and don’ts of designing for accessibility are general best practice guidelines. Currently, there are six different posters in the series that cater to users from these areas: low vision, D/deaf and hard of hearing, dyslexia, motor disabilities, users on the autistic spectrum and users of screen readers

Australian Inclusive Publishing Initiative guides: two helpful guides for the publishing and disability sectors. The first guide offers publishers a set of workflow strategies for creating accessible digital books that are inclusive by design. The second guide explains the legal environment for making books accessible to those with a print disability.

How to describe images: a guide to writing Alt-text descriptions.

Usability

A Quick Guide to Conducting a Usability Review: an article on how anyone can conduct a usability review using a simple process.

Copyright note: This section has been adapted in part from:

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) by Darla Benton Kearney, licensed under a CC BY 4.0 licence.

‘Universal Design, Accessibility, and Usability for OER‘ by Stefanie Buck in The OER Starter Kit for Program Managers by Abbey Elder, licensed under a CC BY 4.0 licence.

‘Appendix A: Checklist for Accessibility,’ ‘Using Personas,’ and ‘Accessibility Statements’ and in B.C. Open Textbook Accessibility Toolkit (2nd ed.) by Amanda Coolidge, Sue Donner and Tara Robertson, used under a CC BY 4.0 licence.

NASA’s stellar alt-text description. Public Domain.

Anti-Racist and Inclusive Open Pedagogy

Open pedagogy and anti-racist pedagogy are ways to include underrepresented students.

Aims

Create a safe learning environment for students where they have agency over content creation.

Do not ‘other’ students.

Understand anti-racist pedagogy and trauma-informed practice.

Actions and Considerations

Ask students for their input on the inclusivity of your resources.

Acknowledge privilege, bias and systems of oppression.

Inclusive Open Pedagogy

Open pedagogy can be a powerful tool for letting students take control over how they engage with and relate to their course content. In some ways, engaging students in the creation of OER can be seen as the ultimate way of allowing them to see themselves reflected in their work.

However, there can be some concerns with this approach as well. For example, your student body might be composed of a majority of one race, sex, or class, making the total “picture” of the course content created by your students less inclusive overall. Here are some considerations to keep in mind when having students create course content, especially if your course is covering a topic related to sex, race, or cultural studies:

Ask students for their input on the inclusivity of your resources.

Think about how your OER could be more diverse (pictures, examples, etc).

Watch out for harmful depictions of diverse populations from your students. Have a plan in place to address issues if they arise.

Fostering an environment of inclusion where your students can engage with different cultural norms is an important aspect of the college experience, whether you are teaching Physics or Criminal Justice. Although it might be daunting to jump into creating an inclusive educational resource, keep in mind that OER can be improved upon and continually revisited by yourself and others.

Start by finding or creating an OER that works for you and avoiding pitfalls like ethnocentric and trans-exclusionary language. You can always revisit your chosen OER or work with others to improve upon it by adding more diverse examples later.

Don’t “Other” Your Students

When attempting to make your course materials more inclusive for your students, the first thing you should watch out for is the possibility of “othering” your students. ‘Othering’ is the perception of a person or group as being fundamentally different from oneself or one’s own group, particularly when that person or group is seen as not only different but stigmatised and possibly threatening. Some best practices for avoiding othering include:

Never assume your audience’s gender and/or gender identity, ability, or sexual orientation.

Avoid calling the most commonly seen traits in your context “normal.”

Always make materials accessible for all students.

Open Pedagogy Includes Underrepresented Students

Higher Education can adopt practices to be supportive and inclusive of the diverse population of students. We can gently (and unobtrusively) help students engage with each other and the world in the creation of OER:

Underrepresented students can manage the OER process and content. They get to own it; they get to share it.

Underrepresented students can portray themselves in OER. They will not represent themselves as the stereotypical “spokesperson” or as victims of exclusion and prejudice. They can and will represent themselves as central characters going about their business in their own social context.

Students can make content decisions based on their student status. For their OER, they might want to create simplistic examples or scenarios, removed from current social issues or their own lives.  (I am white; I am not going to pressure Black, Indigenous or students of Colour to use their personal experiences as material unless it is safe.)

With encouragement, students can practice mutual aid, collaboration, and reciprocity.

Students can have growing confidence: OER that students source and create will be relevant and “user friendly”. Students know how to write for their peers and be inclusive of them.

Student creators can source materials from far and wide—experiences, examples, history, images, words, media, interpretations of knowledge, and other OER —beyond the classroom or the subject in question.

Student creators don’t have to be subject to perfectionistic, imposed “ivory tower” standards for OER. OER is experimental, dynamic, responsive and imperfect. The OER will be out in the world, usable and revisable by others for their own contexts.

Aligning your Pedagogy with Equity

[picture]

Image by Kaitlin Schilling, licensed under a CC BY 4.0 licence.

As you design and create your OER, there are a few considerations to think of along the way, including knowing yourself and knowing your students.

It’s key to remember that while you are creating an OER, it is merely a tool and OER-enabled pedagogy does not equal equitable pedagogy. We can still replicate harmful beliefs and practices in open education. To create positive change within the classroom and more generally in education, pedagogy needs to centre equity. But what does that look like?

In Designing for Care, the authors explain how “imagining better pedagogies is the first step in creating a powerful learning environment.” In this case, better pedagogies go beyond the delivery of course materials. It “means more humanizing pedagogies that embrace the fact that the people in our learning environments are fantastic, curious, unpredictable, capable, and multi-layered.” (Jerod Quinn; Martha Burtis; Surita Jhangiani; and Catherine J. Denial) Pedagogies that emphasise our shared humanity leave room for the cultivation of skills and knowledge for both students and educators by interrupting traditional pedagogical practices and promoting collective learning.

There are so many different types of pedagogies, some more equitable than others. Below is a short list of just a few. As you read through these, consider what you like and dislike about each one, and notice any overlaps or gaps. Think about what’s similar and what’s different to your current pedagogical approach. Are there pedagogies you haven’t considered until now?

Open pedagogy is rooted in the belief that education should be accessible, participatory, and empowering for all learners, and that openness and collaboration are key to achieving these goals.

Culturally-responsive Pedagogy identifies and nurtures students’ unique cultural strengths to support student success and well-being. Student learning, cultural competence, and critical consciousness are the three essential components of culturally relevant education that Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings (1995) lists.

Critical pedagogy is a theoretical framework that emphasises critical thinking, social justice, and the promotion of democratic values. As such, teaching is a political act that can engage teachers and students in dialogue about existing power structures and the ways in which to address oppression in education.

Trauma-informed Pedagogy is a method of teaching that is dedicated to understanding the various traumatic events that students may encounter and validates how these may affect their ability to learn (Imad, 2021).

Anti-Racist Pedagogy

In today’s political climate of polarisation, and increasing racially motivated hate crimes, a strong movement has emerged calling for educators to do more than simply become ‘aware’, but rather to take an active anti-racist and anti-oppression stance in the classroom to mitigate prevalent social injustice.

A starting point of anti-racist pedagogy is contextualising history and systems of oppression in course content, acknowledging privilege and bias and identifying ways to address systems of oppression.

As a great starting point familiarise yourself with some key conceptual definitions in anti-racist education. Start by completing the excellent “Basics” module created by the Calgary Anti-Racism Education.

Trauma-Informed Practice

Course content has the potential to traumatise, re-traumatise or vicariously traumatise students and needs to be introduced into the classroom using principles of trauma-informed practice. Those with their own experiences of trauma are more likely to be negatively affected, particularly if adverse events occurred in childhood. Yet, even among the latter group of students, exposure to potentially distressing content can lead to personal growth and the resolution of problems. Students can feel validated engaging with content reminiscent of their experience and develop a sense of competence. Integration of their own trauma experience through critical reflection may also help students become more informed practitioners (Zosky, 2013). The diversity of possible responses to challenging course content makes it essential that educators consider curriculum preparation and presentation and monitor student reactions.

Below are some actions educators can implement to make their course content, including OER, more trauma-informed.

Advise students about content with clear course overviews and weekly topic outlines where possible.

Identify the topics that will be discussed in the following class to prepare students for course progression.

Send announcements or emails to identify upcoming topics and acknowledge increasing “intensity” in course content and progression.

Vary the intensity of materials in each class/topic of a course or chapter in a text.

Screen visual and aural materials before making them available to students and allow students to access educational tools in their own time, in a place of their choosing e.g. at home.

Provide information on self-care and care for others.

Undertake regular verbal check-ins about how students are doing emotionally.

Demonstrate respect for limits by allowing students to make the choice to not participate.

(Griffith University, n.d).

Additionally:

When the instruction includes sensitive content, is the material being deconstructed and situated into a historical context where warranted?

Be aware of vicarious trauma and your own feeling when working with sensitive or distressing content.

Good Practice Example – Difference, Power, and Discrimination in Film and Media: Student Essays

Book cover for difference, power and discimination in film and medoaThis text is an open pedagogy project of student-authored essays to help readers better understand how narrative media like movies and television represent issues of difference, power, and discrimination in American culture, both today and in the past. Through the course, students studied representations of race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, and ability in American film while learning to:

Explain how difference is socially constructed;

Use historical and contemporary examples to describe how perceived differences, combined with unequal distribution of power across economic, social, and political institutions, result in discrimination; and

Analyse ways in which the interactions of social categories, such as race, ethnicity, social class, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability, and age, are related to difference, power, and discrimination in the United States

The authors hope you will read and share their work to inspire frank and open-eyed conversation about issues of race, gender, class, ability, and sexuality – and how those issues are represented and misrepresented by film and television.

Resources

Students as Co-Creators

A Guide to Making Open Textbooks with Students: A handbook for faculty interested in practising open pedagogy by involving students in the making of open textbooks, ancillary materials, or other OER.

Student-led OER to inspire and engage your class: a blog post with examples of student-led OER.

The benefits of creating open educational resources as assessment in an online education course [PDF]: a conference paper by Australian education academic and open practitioner Eseta Tualaulelei.

Anti-Racist Pedagogy

The Anti-Racist Discussion Pedagogy [PDF]: An introductory guide to building an anti-racist pedagogy in any discipline through instructor reflection, clear communication guidelines, and inquiry-based discussion.

Antiracism Toolkit for Allies [PDF]: This guide provides analyses of white advantage and information about how to disrupt racism and create work communities where everyone thrives. W

Anti-Racist Scholarly Reviewing Practices: A Heuristic for Editors, Reviewers, and Authors: This document offers explicit guidance on anti-racist professional practices in the form of a heuristic for editors, reviewers, and authors involved in academic reviewing.

Trauma-Informed Practice

Trauma-Informed Tertiary Learning and Teaching Practice Framework [PDF]: A quick reference guide and framework for trauma-informed care in learning and teaching.

Designing with Care: Imagining better pedagogies is the first step in creating powerful learning environments. Better, for the authors of this collection, means more humanizing pedagogies that embrace the fact that the people in our learning environments are fantastic, curious, unpredictable, capable, and multi-layered.

Copyright note: This section has been adapted in part from:

Open Pedagogy and the Inclusion of Marginalized Students by Deirdre Maultsaid, licensed under a CC BY 4.0 licence.

Trauma-Informed Tertiary Learning and Teaching Practice Framework [PDF] by Griffith University. Reproduced with permission.

‘Aligning your Pedagogy with Equity,’ in Making Ripples: A Guidebook to Challenging the Status Quo in OER Creation by Kaitlin Schilling, licensed under a CC BY 4.0 licence. 

Difference, Power and Discrimination in Film and Media book cover, licensed under a CC BY-NC 4.0 licence.

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Resources

Readings and Resources on Social Justice and Open Education

Open Textbooks and Social Justice: a National Scoping Study: This study investigated the potential for open textbooks to assist with improving the experience and outcomes of under-represented higher education students in the Australian context.

Open at the Margins: Critical Perspectives in Open Education: This book represents a starting point towards curating and centring marginal voices and non-dominant epistemic stances in open education. It includes the work of 43 diverse authors whose perspectives challenge the dominant hegemony.

Evaluating OER for Social Justice: As part of the resource, there’s an OER 101 brochure providing background on essential concepts, an OER Evaluation Rubric that centres on Social Justice, examples of OER reviews completed using the rubric, and a tutorial for those using the rubric to guide their selection of OER.

OER Equity Blueprint: The overarching goal of the Equity Blueprint is to define, unpack, and explain the multiple dimensions of equity and foreground the role of OER in closing equity gaps.

It’s Not (Just) About the Cost: Academic Libraries and Intentionally Engaged OER for Social Justice [PDF]: How can librarians seize the radical affordances of OER to complicate standard narratives with the stories of those historically and systemically marginalised? The author discusses the unique potential of the academic library to support intentionally engaged OER as well as the responsibility of librarians to centre marginalised perspectives in their work with faculty as cocreators and identifiers of OER.

Towards a Sustainable OER Ecosystem: the Case for OER Stewardship: The purpose of the CARE Framework is to articulate a set of shared values and a collective vision for the future of education and learning enabled by the widespread adoption and use of OER. It aims to address the question of how an individual, institution, or organization seeking to be a good steward can contribute to the growth and sustainability of the OER movement consistent with the community’s values.

The OER Starter Kit: This starter kit has been created to provide instructors with an introduction to the use and creation of open educational resources (OER).

Leveraging Open Educational Resources to Advance Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: A Guide for Campus Change-Agents: This guide is designed to support the integration of open educational resources (OER) and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals within higher education institutions. Built upon research funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation that examined the strategies and experiences of the sixty-six colleges, universities, and state systems, this guide provides evidence-based guidance and best practices that result in initiative sustainability and broad adoption of OER by strategically connecting this work to DEI goals, strategies, policies, initiatives, and offices that also exist within a given educational context.

Making Ripples: A Guidebook to Challenge Status Quo in OER Creation: The purpose of this guide is to explore strategies for you as OER creators to incorporate equitable practices into your workflows.

Readings and Resources on Accessibility

BcCampus’s Accessibility Toolkit: The goal of this accessibility toolkit, is to provide resources for each content creator, instructional designer, educational technologist, librarian, administrator, and teaching assistant to create a truly open textbook—one that is free and accessible for all students.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG): Worldwide guidelines for web accessibility to ensure web content is available to all

How to Ensure Accessibility for Educational Videos: an article that addressed how to make videos accessible.

H5P Content Type Accessibility: a list of H5P content and whether it is accessible.

Dos and don’ts on designing for accessibility: The dos and don’ts of designing for accessibility are general best practice guidelines. Currently, there are six different posters in the series that cater to users from these areas: low vision, D/deaf and hard of hearing, dyslexia, motor disabilities, users on the autistic spectrum and users of screen readers

Australian Inclusive Publishing Initiative guides: two helpful guides for the publishing and disability sectors. The first guide offers publishers a set of workflow strategies for creating accessible digital books that are inclusive by design, and the second guide explains the legal environment for making books accessible to those with a print disability.

Introduction to Web Accessibility: The instruction here will “interpret” the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1), to make it easier to understand for a general audience. You will have an opportunity to experience barriers firsthand, and then experience that content with the barriers removed, developing a practical understanding of web accessibility.

Understanding Document Accessibility: With much of the world gone digital, learning to create documents that are accessible to everyone is becoming a necessary skill. Intended for a general audience, this free resource reviews a wide range of document authoring applications, including the tools they contain for creating accessible documents, and tests them to ensure they do not contain potential barriers.

How to describe images: a guide to writing Alt-text descriptions.

Readings and Resources on Universal Design for Learning and Inclusive Design

CAST’s UDL Guidelines: The UDL Guidelines are a tool used in the implementation of Universal Design for Learning, a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA): This guide will help instructors and others to incorporate principles of UDL and considerations of EDI and Indigenisation in their learning environments.

A Comprehensive Guide to Applying Universal Design for Learning: A collection of three UDL workbooks.

UDL Tools for all Grades and Subject Areas: a collection of UDL tools and worksheets for all grades and subject areas.

The Inclusive Design Guide: a guide on recognising diversity and uniqueness, inclusive process and tools and broader beneficial Impact.

Neurodiversity and Inclusion: Choosing Kinder Design: tips for inclusive design for neurodiverse people.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Resources

Protocols for using First Nations Cultural and Intellectual Property in the Arts [PDF]: protocols by the Australian Council of the Arts.

University of Sydney’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Protocols: The Protocols aim to guide Library staff in promoting culturally safe practices across services, spaces and resources.

Traditional Knowledge Licenes and Labels: an article explaining Traditional Knowledge licence.

Pulling Together: A Guide for Indigenization of post-secondary institutions. A professional learning series.

Interrogating and Supplementing OER Through a Decolonized Lens: an article that explores OER through a decolonised lens.

USQ’s open text collection for First Nations Studies: a collection of open textbooks for First Nations studies.

UQ’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Referencing Guide: The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander referencing guide outline a method to acknowledge, celebrate and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ knowledge and materials. The guide uses culturally appropriate and respectful language practices when writing with, for or about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, that showcase the culturally diverse knowledge that enriches the teaching curriculum.

Guidelines for the Ethical Publishing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Authors and Research from those Communities: guidelines for if you want to publish Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander authors or material written about their histories and cultures — and to do it well.

LGBTIQ+ and Trans Inclusion in OER

Trans Inclusion in OER: This resource is a guide on how to make OER more inclusive and representative of trans and gender-diverse people. It is intended to be easily incorporated into a scholarly communications course, while also being valuable to faculty and others interested in learning about the topic and how to make changes to their own course materials.

Students as Co-Producers of Queer Pedagogy: Responding to concerns about a textbook reading that students perceived as heteronormative, cisnormative, and antifeminist, staff formed a partnership between students and faculty to reflect on the situation and to workshop ways to move forward.

The Gender Spectrum Collection: Free stock photos of trans and non-binary people. Licence: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

Queer in Tech: Photos that promote the visibility of queer and gender-nonconforming (GNC) people in technology, who are often under-represented as workers powering the creative, technical, and business leadership of groundbreaking tech companies and products. Licence: CC BY 3.0.

Resources for Educators: Teaching in ways that are trans-affirming and gender-just does not require exhaustive knowledge, but it does require an unequivocal investment in trans people and in trans knowledges. Resources across this site can help you begin or continue your journey toward increasingly affirming and ethical pedagogies.

Students as Co-Creators

A Guide to Making Open Textbooks with Students: A handbook for faculty interested in practising open pedagogy by involving students in the making of open textbooks, ancillary materials, or other OER.

Student-led OER to inspire and engage your class: a blog post with examples of student-led OER.

The benefits of creating open educational resources as assessment in an online education course [PDF]: a conference paper by Australian education academic and open practitioner Eseta Tualaulelei.

Students as Co-Producers of Queer Pedagogy: Responding to concerns about a textbook reading that students perceived as heteronormative, cisnormative, and antifeminist, staff formed a partnership between students and faculty to reflect on the situation and to workshop ways to move forward.

Readings and Resources on Anti-Racist and Inclusive Open Pedagogy

The Anti-Racist Discussion Pedagogy [PDF]: An introductory guide to building an anti-racist pedagogy in any discipline through instructor reflection, clear communication guidelines, and inquiry-based discussion.

Antiracism Toolkit for Allies [PDF]: This guide provides analyses of white advantage and information about how to disrupt racism and create work communities where everyone thrives.

Anti-Racist Scholarly Reviewing Practices: A Heuristic for Editors, Reviewers, and Authors: This document offers explicit guidance on anti-racist professional practices in the form of a heuristic for editors, reviewers, and authors involved in academic reviewing.

Open Pedagogy and the Inclusion of Marginalized Students: a blog post by Deirdre Maultsaid.

Your Discomfort Is Valid: Big Feelings and Open Pedagogy: This article explores the affective reactions of 13 community college students engaged in an open pedagogy textbook creation project.

Creating Equitable, Diverse, and Inclusive Assessments in Online and Blended Learning: This course provides useful approaches, frameworks, and practical strategies to introduce equitable, diverse, and inclusive (EDI) assessment strategies in the online or hybrid environment.

Inclusive Pedagogies: This resource introduces educators to educational strategies that can foster more inclusive, equitable, and just classroom environments.

Designing for Care: Imagining better pedagogies is the first step in creating powerful learning environments. Better, for the authors of this collection, means more humanizing pedagogies that embrace the fact that the people in our learning environments are fantastic, curious, unpredictable, capable, and multi-layered.

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References

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Aesoph, L. (2018). Self-Publishing Guide: A reference for writing and self-publishing an open textbook. Retrieved from https://opentextbc.ca/selfpublishguide/.

Amiel, T. (2013). “Identifying Barriers to the Remix of Translated Open Educational Resources.” The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning 14 (1): 126–44. doi: https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v14i1.1351.

Antoine, A., Mason, R., Mason, R., Palahicky, S., Rodriguez de France, C. (2018). Pulling Together: A Guide for Curriculum Developers. Retrieved from https://opentextbc.ca/indigenizationcurriculumdevelopers/. 

Australian Government. (2020). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Style Guide. Retrieved from https://www.stylemanual.gov.au/accessible-and-inclusive-content/inclusive-language/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-peoples

Bolger, M. (2020). What’s the difference between diversity, inclusion, and equity? General Assembly. Retrieved from https://generalassemb.ly/blog/diversity-inclusion-equity-differences-in-meaning/

Brahmin, B., Mohamed K., and Mohamed, J. (2018). “Towards Accessible Open Educational Resources: Overview and Challenges.” In 2017 6th International Conference on Information and Communication Technology and Accessibility (ICTA). https://doi.org/10.1109/ICTA.2017.8336068

Coolidge, A., Doner, S., Robertson, T., & Gray, J. (2018). Open Education Accessibility Toolkit—2nd Edition. BCcampus. Retrieved from https://opentextbc.ca/accessibilitytoolkit/

Council of Australian University Librarians. (2022). The CAUL OER Collective Publishing Workflow. Retrieved from https://caul.libguides.com/oer-collective-publishing-workflow 

Cronin, C. (2022). Just Knowledge: Sharing Indigenous knowledge & Indigenous maps. Retrieved from http://catherinecronin.net/resources/just-knowledge-sharing-indigenous-knowledge-indigenous-maps/

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Elder, A., Buck, S., Gallant, J., Seiferle-Valencia, M., and Ashok, A. (2022). The OER Starter Kit for Program Managers. Retrieved from https://press.rebus.community/oerstarterkitpm/

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Accessibility Assessment

Below is a short accessibility assessment of key areas that have been assessed during the production process of this text. The checklist has been drawn from the BCcampus Open Education Accessibility Toolkit. While a checklist such as this is just one part of a holistic approach to accessibility, it is one way to begin our work on embedding good accessibility practices in the books we support.

We hope that by being transparent on our current books, we can begin the process of making sure accessibility is top of mind for all authors, adopters, students and contributors of all kinds on all our open textbook projects. As such, we welcome any feedback from students, instructors or others who encounter the book and identify an issue that needs resolving.

ACCESSIBILITY CHECKLIST

Category | Item | Status
Organising Content | Content is organised under headings and subheadings | Yes
Organising Content | Headings and subheadings are used sequentially (e.g. Heading 1, Heading 2, etc.) | Yes
Images | Images that convey information include Alternative Text (alt-text) descriptions of the image’s content or function | Yes
Images | Graphs, charts, and maps also include contextual or supporting details in the text surrounding the image | Yes
Images | Images, diagrams, or charts do not rely only on colour to convey important information | Yes
Images | Purely decorative images contain empty alternative text descriptions. (Descriptive text is unnecessary if the image doesn’t convey contextual content information) | Yes
Tables | Tables include column headers and row headers where appropriate | Yes
Tables | Tables include a title or caption | Yes
Tables | Tables do not have merged or split cells | Yes
Tables | Tables have adequate cell padding | Yes
Weblinks | The web link is meaningful in context, and does not use generic text such as “click here” or “read more” | Yes
Weblinks | Externals web links open in a new tab. Internal weblinks do not open in a new tab. | Yes
Weblinks | If a link will open or download a file (like a PDF or Excel file), a textual reference is included in the link information (e.g. ‘[PDF]’). | Yes
Embedded Multimedia | A transcript has been made available for a multimedia resource that includes audio narration or instruction | –
Embedded Multimedia | Captions of all speech content and relevant non-speech content are included in the multimedia resource that includes audio synchronised with a video presentation | Yes
Embedded Multimedia | Audio descriptions of contextual visuals (graphs, charts, etc.) are included in the multimedia resource | No
Formulas | Formulas have been created using MathML | –
Formulas | Formulas are images with alternative text descriptions if MathML is not an option | –
Font Size | Font size is 12 points or higher for body text | Yes
Font Size | Font size is 9 points for footnotes or endnotes | –
Font Size | Font size can be zoomed to 200% | Yes

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Version History

This page provides a record of edits and changes made to this book since its initial publication. Whenever edits or updates are made in the text, we provide a record and description of those changes here. If the change is minor, the version number increases by 0.1. If the edits involve substantial updates, the edition number increases to the next whole number.

The files posted alongside this book always reflect the most recent version. If you find an error in this book, please let us know at open.content@usq.edu.au.

Version History

Version | Date | Change
1.0 | 2 September 2022 | Original book published
1.1 | 26 April 2023 | How to write good alt-text section added to Accessibility, Usability and Universal Design for Learning chapter New resources added to the resources page.
1.2 | 3 May 2023 | New section on aligning pedagogy to equity added to anti-racist and inclusive open pedagogy chapter. 
1.3 | 27 September 2023 | Typos fixed in downloadable framework.
1.4 | 10 October 2023 | Added new resource to the ‘Diverse and Inclusive Imagery’ chapter.