Faculty Interview Martonia Gaskill-UNK

Jane Petersen Author

03/28/2022 Added

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Dr. Martonia Gaskill, Teacher Education-UNK

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[00:00:03.766]Well, today we have Dr.
[00:00:05.333]Martonia Gaskill here to talk about. OER.
[00:00:09.233]She is with UNK teacher education and has taught you.
[00:00:13.600]OER for, I think, quite a few years now.
[00:00:16.466]So welcome, Martonia.
[00:00:18.300]Thank you. I'm glad to be here.
[00:00:19.833]And have this discussion about OER with you.
[00:00:22.133]I'm excited, too. So to begin with.
[00:00:25.166]What was your why in using OER
[00:00:28.000]what enticed you to start teaching with OER.
[00:00:32.066]Well, I joined UNK in 2012
[00:00:35.166]and OER was starting right a few years after
[00:00:39.333]and I watched the program developing
[00:00:41.733]and spoke with a couple of faculty who joined the OER.
[00:00:45.633]They spoke highly of it.
[00:00:47.833]And when I saw it, I was ready for it.
[00:00:49.500]I applied for the program and I got accepted.
[00:00:53.733]The first thing that I had in my mind was, you know, to help
[00:00:56.666]save some money for the students that that was one of the the main things
[00:01:01.200]I had heard about OER at conferences
[00:01:05.000]before and for the longest time.
[00:01:08.466]OER was just out there.
[00:01:09.800]Some people are interested but we didn't hear a whole lot about it.
[00:01:14.533]So I thought, well, that's that's a great opportunity.
[00:01:18.066]And then I also started watching and even going back to my student
[00:01:22.833]evaluations and I did notice that I still had made comments before.
[00:01:27.233]You know, I wish the textbooks were not so expensive.
[00:01:29.966]The textbooks were expensive.
[00:01:31.666]I didn't get a whole lot too many students saying that.
[00:01:34.333]But I heard enough.
[00:01:36.233]But I thought, well, maybe this is going to help a little bit.
[00:01:38.933]And, you know, after running the classes
[00:01:41.966]on OER for several years, I see the same amount of comments
[00:01:46.066]saying I was so happy we didn't have to buy a textbook.
[00:01:50.266]So that definitely some students noticed.
[00:01:53.466]I remember when I was a graduate student,
[00:01:56.266]the textbooks, the prices were always in the back of my mind.
[00:01:59.966]At the beginning of the academic year, I would say, Wow,
[00:02:02.833]I have to buy all these textbooks.
[00:02:04.466]And, you know, we just knew that we had to buy it.
[00:02:06.600]So I think that's why we don't hear students
[00:02:08.366]complaining a whole lot because they know it's part of the experience.
[00:02:11.566]They feel that they have to
[00:02:14.133]to buy to spend that much money on textbooks.
[00:02:17.100]So I am I was glad to hear those students felt that it was it was great.
[00:02:22.366]Not having to
[00:02:24.766]to have that financial burden and to have a good experience in class.
[00:02:28.866]So important that affordability and I love that that was your most important
[00:02:32.566]why of wanting to join OER or teach using open educational resources.
[00:02:39.433]So when you think about this, as we're sharing with faculty
[00:02:43.133]and other users that are interested in OER.
[00:02:46.533]Do you think is is OER for everyone
[00:02:50.600]I think OER is
[00:02:52.700]is for everyone who wants to try
[00:02:55.400]and provide that kind of experience for the students and just joined
[00:03:00.566]is national movement of helping make
[00:03:03.900]higher education affordable
[00:03:07.166]It's it's it's
[00:03:08.500]something that is important for us to keep in mind moving forward.
[00:03:12.533]As we know
[00:03:14.400]with the pandemic
[00:03:16.466]we were exposed to a number of issues, one of them being accessibility.
[00:03:20.900]So now we have lots of data.
[00:03:22.933]We knew that before, but COVID 19 definitely
[00:03:27.800]exposed us to that issue that we really need to address at some point in time
[00:03:32.533]and OER is one way of doing just that Exactly.
[00:03:38.366]So and I love what you said about the pandemic
[00:03:41.633]because it really did change everything.
[00:03:43.366]It really kind of put things into full speed as we had to think
[00:03:47.666]about those things and in our courses and how we taught them.
[00:03:52.166]When you went to convert
[00:03:53.966]your course to end, what course was that that you first converted?
[00:03:57.466]It was an introduction to research TE 800.
[00:04:01.166]Okay. So graduate course.
[00:04:02.933]And so when you first converted your first course or other courses
[00:04:07.866]down the road, what has surprised you when you were converting those courses?
[00:04:12.966]One of the things that surprised me was the amount of
[00:04:16.800]resources that are actually available out there
[00:04:19.633]if you just take the time to look for them.
[00:04:22.366]And I also was very happy with the support system
[00:04:26.366]that was in place to help us get started with, OER
[00:04:30.133]as you know, OER is wonderful, but there are some barriers
[00:04:34.166]to it, like the quality, ensuring the quality of the materials
[00:04:37.633]that you you are going to choose for your classes.
[00:04:40.933]Some legal areas too.
[00:04:44.066]And so we had that to get us started.
[00:04:47.233]You know what to look for.
[00:04:50.033]You know what copyright is, what can you use,
[00:04:52.833]what you can what do you need to watch for
[00:04:54.666]as you look for open resources to use in in your classes.
[00:04:59.066]So the amount of opportunities out there was one of the things that surprised me.
[00:05:03.733]I always relied on my textbooks
[00:05:06.966]and knowing that you can actually find videos, book chapters,
[00:05:10.700]articles, research at the library that you can just embed and provide
[00:05:15.166]the very same opportunities that if not better of that,
[00:05:19.366]that you used to provide with just using the textbook.
[00:05:23.266]So the support system is important and also
[00:05:28.066]knowing where to find and what to use in your class
[00:05:31.133]so that you are still providing quality for your students
[00:05:35.700]at an affordable or even free of charge.
[00:05:38.933]Exactly. So such a win.
[00:05:41.066]And like you said, the resources that are out there that as we all know,
[00:05:44.600]sometimes we maybe hadn't explored those because we were just used to always
[00:05:48.566]using the textbook before. Right.
[00:05:50.766]So which leads really into this question then.
[00:05:54.200]So do you think, OER quality
[00:05:59.100]is as good as the published textbook that you used prior?
[00:06:04.966]I think so.
[00:06:05.933]I would say absolutely.
[00:06:07.866]Just like your regular class,
[00:06:10.866]meaning that the class you use your textbooks,
[00:06:13.633]you have to go and find the best textbook right to, to adopt.
[00:06:18.200]So we have to do the same things with OER.
[00:06:21.066]We have to spend some time collecting the right materials, the quality
[00:06:25.900]materials, and you will package those and provide those to your students.
[00:06:31.266]So that will ensure that quality that you're looking for.
[00:06:34.333]And I also believe that the quality can be even higher
[00:06:38.166]because I remember using textbooks where I only use half of the chapters
[00:06:44.200]and then the other half was not applicable or was not the level that I wanted.
[00:06:49.900]And with
[00:06:51.000]if you have the opportunity to create your own materials
[00:06:54.100]textbooks, you can ensure that quality and that everything that you use
[00:06:58.066]is actually relevant. Are you going to be using those in your class.
[00:07:00.966]So yes, I think the quality can be
[00:07:04.800]equal or even higher with OER.
[00:07:08.200]And just to remind me, how many years have you taught OER you started in what year?
[00:07:12.633]I think it was in 2018, yeah.
[00:07:15.100]So it has been several years. Exactly. So.
[00:07:18.700]Well, Martonia this has been so helpful.
[00:07:20.700]I know it will be helpful for our faculty that are already teaching
[00:07:24.466]OER or interested in wanting to be inspired.
[00:07:27.633]So when my last question is, Martonia is there anything that we didn't
[00:07:32.400]to ask you that you would like to share with our listeners?
[00:07:36.466]Well, the first thing I guess I could say is just to think thank you.
[00:07:39.833]And the group of faculty and staff who got the OER Started at UNK.
[00:07:45.000]I know that was a pilot for the University of Nebraska system.
[00:07:50.300]It was so many years ago when you have been doing that every year
[00:07:54.433]and getting faculty on board.
[00:07:56.000]That was a lot of work and very beneficial.
[00:07:59.300]The OER is growing on our campus thanks to the work that you did.
[00:08:03.633]So thank you.
[00:08:04.500]And the other thing is that, like I mentioned before, OER is not new yet.
[00:08:10.266]It is has been around for over 15 years, I think about 20 years
[00:08:14.533]and has become a national movement.
[00:08:17.466]We didn't hear a whole lot about it just ten years ago.
[00:08:20.966]And now has become a global movement
[00:08:24.266]and higher ed people are jumping in slowly, but
[00:08:28.866]I think we're going to get there and I think it's our responsibility
[00:08:32.466]as educators and higher ed administrators as well to to jump in.
[00:08:38.900]You know, research is saying that OER will help close that gap.
[00:08:43.766]And if if we have evidence of that, there is no reason to wait.
[00:08:47.800]I believe that it is our responsability to promote OER
[00:08:52.366]and make sure that our students are having opportunities to to get educated
[00:08:59.500]Thank you.
[00:09:00.233]I wanted to ask if someone wanted to contact you in
[00:09:03.733]our that has listened to your interview, would that be okay?
[00:09:06.866]And how should they contact you?
[00:09:08.500]Absolutely.
[00:09:09.133]You can call me 402-309-5899.
[00:09:13.000]You can also find me on the UNK website.
[00:09:15.866]Thank you. Thank you.

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Faculty Interview Martonia Gaskill-UNK

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