Open Learning News and Updates

Student Spotlight: Silvana Morales Cortes, OER Assistant

In their own words, here is what one of our work study OER Assistants has to say about their term in Open Learning.

Silvana Morales Cortes, MA                  

Please introduce yourself. 

I am a Marketing Specialist with over 12 years of experience in B2B and B2C marketing across various industries: retail, software, telco, medical devices, and a nonprofit organization (NPO). I am passionate about marketing, communications, and market research. I am currently in the third term of the Strategic Marketing Communications program.

How does this placement relate to your program?

This placement relates to my program and my background in marketing and communications since I have knowledge and experience in content development for communication initiatives and promotional materials (digital and printed), including web content, brochures, social posts, and event participation.

Additionally, during my professional experience as a marketer, I have worked on administrative tasks such as document preparation, drafting, editing, and formatting reports and presentations.

What’s one thing that you’ve learned about open education so far?

The world of Open Education Resources (OER) has fascinated me. It has been wonderful to learn how the materials that are created are openly licensed, freely available, and can be redistributed or modified by users.

I have also learned that using OER is a way to democratize knowledge and reduce accessibility barriers to education. The turn towards OER is a worldwide movement that not only involves educational institutions such as Conestoga College but is supported by entities such as UNESCO.

Is there anything about open education that surprises you?

Yes, of course. I have been surprised by different things:

• The positive impact that OER can have for faculty and students, because they are free educational materials that are openly licensed to enable reuse and redistribution by users.
• The agility and dynamism that OER brings to the way of generating and iterating knowledge through different types of materials in times when education and technology are advancing in giant steps.
• The great impact it has on us as students and the little knowledge we have of its benefits. I believe that as students and OER Assistants, we should be ambassadors of the work being done by the Open Learning Team. We should help to promote the benefits of having access to open educational resources. Before working in this position, I did not know what OER was, but now, I am aware of its importance and benefits for me as a student.

You’ve been working on a wide range of projects with the Instructional Designers on our team. Can you tell us about one of these projects and what interests you about it?

I have had the opportunity to work on projects such as the Spanish Workbook, Public Procurement (in development), Career Coaching Techniques: A Guide for Instructors, Internal Auditing: A Practical Approach, and the 3-part International Trade and Finance series.

Something that I like about all of them is how the use of a tool like Pressbooks allows the collection of dynamic resources such as videos, graphics, photos, and tests that help make the learning process more interactive for students.

From a student's perspective, can you share your thoughts on one of the open projects our team has worked on and why you think students could benefit from it?

Students can benefit greatly from each of the open projects that the Open Learning team has worked on, as it is knowledge that is freely available to them.

I would especially like to highlight the book Introducción al Español: Spanish Workbook by author Betty Munera Rojas, published with the impeccable work of Cecile Michniewicz as Instructional Designer. I consider this book to have valuable interactive tools to practice writing, listening, reading, and speaking skills in the Spanish language.

What else have you been excited about during this placement?

I have loved the collaborative work of the team and the goodwill that every person shows to answer the doubts that arise. Having direct and fluid communication with them is key to completing the tasks properly and in a timely manner. I am excited and fortunate to have this opportunity to work collaboratively in Open Learning.

We are fortunate to have had Silvana on the team this term. With a master’s degree and significant experience in marketing, she brings with her a wealth of knowledge surrounding developing materials with specific audiences in mind. Her comprehensive review of the Spanish Workbook OER was especially valuable this year.