ACC Faculty Librarian, Carrie Gits, chosen as SPARC Open Education Leadership Fellow

Library Services Faculty and Highland Campus, Head Librarian, Carrie Gits, has been selected as a fellow in the SPARC Open Education Leadership Program, an intensive professional development program to empower library professionals with the knowledge, skills, and connections to lead successful open education initiatives that benefit students. The two-semester program blends online, peer-to-peer, and project-based learning to build a comprehensive understanding of the open education space coupled with practical know-how to take action on campus and beyond. Carrie is one of 24 fellows selected from a competitive application pool for the program’s 2018-2019 cohort.

“I am so pleased that we have the opportunity to significantly enhance our pivotal role in leading the ACC OER initiative. Library Services is deeply committed to supporting open education at the college and believe that the SPARC Open Education Leadership Program is the premier environment for OER excellence in the country,” said Julie Todaro, Dean of Library Services.

The SPARC Open Education Leadership Program spans two semesters, beginning with an intensive online course in the fall to build comprehensive open education subject matter expertise. In the spring, Carrie will work with a mentor to implement a capstone project that will help advance open education at Austin Community College and contribute back to the broader open education community as a whole. Carrie will join the rest of the cohort in attending the 15th annual Open Education Conference in Niagara Falls, NY on October 10-12th.

“My goal for participating in the SPARC Open Education Leadership Program is to become a more effective and knowledgeable advocate for open education,” said Gits. “For my capstone project, I am particularly interested in creating a comprehensive training and development approach which supports faculty in their knowledge and understanding of OER. My hope is to increase awareness, adoption, adaption, and creation of OER which benefits pedagogy and the success of our students.”
ACC Libraries has been working to expand the use and adoption of online resources, open content and - specifically - open educational resources for several years. We participate in the ACC OER Work Group, launched a LibGuide on OER, and actively promote the College’s Textbook Heroes. Carrie has led the ACC faculty librarians in supporting classroom faculty who are using or interested in adopting OER in a variety of ways, such as resource discovery, vetting of material for appropriate copyright and licensing, and training.

“Academic libraries sit at the intersection of faculty, students, and high-quality resources, and therefore are essential partners in advancing open education on campus,” said Nicole Allen, Director of Open Education for SPARC. “A large part of what makes our program successful is the unique and valuable perspective each participant brings to it, and a vibrant community of practice develops amongst the cohort. We are proud to have Carrie among our 2018-2019 class of fellows.”

Austin Community College is a member of SPARC, which is a global coalition dedicated to making Open the default in research and education. For more information about the SPARC Open Education Leadership Program, visit sparcopen.org/our-work/open-education-leadership-program.