From idea to toolkit
The basis for the toolkit was laid with a Comenius grant, an education grant that encourages educational innovations. 'From day one we had the idea of developing something that could be used in a sustainable way,' says Edwin. 'But we did not really know how to do so."
The focus was on critical thinking of students and teachers. ‘Sustainability is not only about environmental issues, but also about systems thinking and the hidden curriculum: the skills students learn without being explicitly mentioned in the course description.’ To encourage these skills, Edwin and his team developed a series of workshops. Gradually, this grew into a toolkit that teachers can use to integrate sustainability into their teaching. ‘Important for us was: We want students and teachers to think more broadly,’ he says.
Open sharing for maximum impact
‘We wanted as many teachers as possible to be able to use it, without licences or restrictions getting in the way,’ Edwin explains. ‘This opens doors to new collaborations.’
The process of making the toolkit public was preceded by steps. ‘We had to find out who had the rights and how to make the material accessible,’ says Edwin. ‘For that, we worked with the Open Education Team. Eventually, the toolkit was made available through Radboud University and the Edusources platform and distributed within education networks such as Special Interest Group Sustainability and the Comenius Network.
Impact on education and collaboration
The impact of the open toolkit did not go unnoticed. ‘We received many responses from teachers and researchers, both inside and outside the university,’ says Edwin. The toolkit was viewed around 1,300 times and downloaded by partners in Utrecht and Rotterdam. ‘Also at the Impact Day at Radboud University in June, we will discuss the role of sustainability in education, and how the toolkit can serve as an essential tool to support lecturers in integrating sustainability into their own teaching.’
Besides the national attention, the open sharing of the toolkit led to new initiatives, such as a Computing Science course in which course objectives were set based on a workshop. ‘That was a direct impact of our toolkit,’ Edwin says proudly. ‘Such developments show just how much open learning materials can bring.’
Why sharing open educational resources?
What does Edwin advise others considering open sharing of their educational materials? He lists three main advantages:
- Broad accessibility: Open educational resources are freely available to teachers and students, without licensing restrictions. This makes valuable material accessible to everyone.
- New collaborations: Open sharing of materials creates collaborations between teachers and institutions. Others can build on the existing material, improve it or adapt it for their own context. Thus, the material grows and develops continuously.
- Increasing impact and knowledge: Knowledge spreads faster and reaches a wider audience. This increases efficiency, avoids duplication and contributes to innovation in educational design and didactics.
‘We can achieve much more if we work together and share.’ concludes Edwin.
