In the 2020/21 Mandate Letter from the Province, BCIT is directed to make substantive progress on the following priority: advancing and supporting open learning resources.

BCIT has received funding from BCcampus to continue its open education grant program, to support the adoption, revision, and creation of openly licensed learning resources.

A few advantages of using and developing OER:
• OER is shared in digital format so it is easy to add openly licensed materials to online learning management systems.
• Open licenses give various permissions that usually allow the user to retain, reuse, revise, remix, and redistribute the materials.
• OER encompasses a wide range of materials including textbooks, presentation slides, handouts, videos, images, and much more.
• Instructors have control over the learning materials they use in their classroom – OER can be customized or created to support class learning outcomes.
• Students can engage in meaningful class work to help create or improve open learning materials.
• Courses with low or no learning materials costs provide a significant advantage to students in lowering financial barriers to post-secondary education.

BCIT OPEN EDUCATION GRANTS 2021/22 IS OPEN

NEW Grant Category
Department Open Education Grant – up to $15,000 – this grant goes directly to departments to adopt, revise, or create open education resources. These learning materials must be openly licensed and deposited into the BCIT Open Institutional Repository in an editable format. Use the Department application form below. Deadline: February 15, 2021

Continuing Grant Categories for Individuals
Adoption – up to $250 – review and adopt an open textbook or other open learning resource, this can include minor revisions to customize it
Revision – up to $2K – take an existing OER and make substantial revisions to better suit class learning outcomes
Creation – up to $8K – create a learning resource – this can be in any category or format, eg.: textbook, video series, question or test banks

2021 call
Deadline: February 15, 2021

Individual Application Form
Open Education Grant application form

Department Application Form
Open Education Department Grant application form

Open education grant funds when distributed as part-time studies contracts are subjected to tax and benefits deductions.

All learning materials developed in whole or part with the support of an open education grant must be licensed openly and deposited in the BCIT Open Institutional Repository.

Learning materials should be developed using platforms and formats that are as open and editable as possible such as PressBooks. When closed formats are used, editable files, such as MP4s for videos, must also be included with the final project for submission to the Open IR.

Grant money cannot be used for travel expenses or to purchase or rent equipment, hardware, or software.

Review BCIT’s Open Education Best Practices and Guidelines

Support
The LTC and the Library can provide some support for grant projects. Request for this support should be part of the grant application.

Additional Information
Open BCIT is sponsored by the AVP, Education Support and Innovation, and is supported by the Open Education Working Group, the Library, and the Learning and Teaching Centre. BCIT Open Education Working Group supports and promotes the development and use of OER and OE teaching practices. The Group is under the umbrella of Education Council’s Educational Technology and Learning Design Committee (ETLDC).