Opening up with Dr. Robin DeRosa

Contributed by Hope Miller
On March 22, Douglas College hosted Dr. Robin DeRosa from Plymouth State University and advocate of all things “open education.” We had a busy day in store for Robin, including meeting with the senior management team to discuss open education, open textbooks, and open pedagogy; followed by a luncheon; and culminating in her afternoon presentation titled “Beyond OER: The Promises, Pitfalls, and Potential of Open Education.”
Robin had us chuckling from the outset when she told us about the Twitter hashtag being used—#RDRinYVR—during her trip to BC to visit three institutions: Langara College, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, and naturally, Douglas College. [HINT: Check it out. You’ll find some great resources there.]
Her presentation focused on three main questions:

1. How can we make college more affordable?
2. How can we improve learning?
3. How can we maximize the impact of our research?

She then spent the next 1.5 hours deconstructing these topics in a way that made the audience all nod their heads in agreement and solidarity. There was no doubt that we were inspired and energized by her spirit and commitment to open education, but more than this, we were motivated to change. Watch this video of her presentation. I know you’ll be inspired too.