This Open Education Resource (OER), developed by Olds College in collaboration with the Government of Alberta, is a series of modules intended for use in Higher Education courses or by independent learners. Titled ‘Professional Communication’ the resource will be useful for instructors whose courses cover introductory communication skills, workplace communication, technical communication or business writing. The resources is openly available under a Creative Commons license, and may be reused or adapted. It contains four modules, each with its own lesson plans, assets, assessments and supporting materials.
My Role
As a curriculum developer I:
• Collaborate with subject matter experts to develop learning materials and tools (curriculum) for a Professional Communications OER.
• Participate in the collection, development, and preparation of said curriculum for digital delivery, and to meet specific learning outcomes.
• Evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the curriculum in meeting the learning objectives.
• Identify suitable platforms, delivery formats, and tools for content delivery.
• Develop purposeful lesson plans, including facilitator/instructor manuals.
• Develop formative and summative assessment materials and their accompanying rubrics and answer keys.
As an instructional designer I:
• Produce and edit digital learning materials, resources, and instructional aids for a Professional Communications OER, following creative commons copyright compliance.
• Collaborate with subject matter experts and curriculum developers in the development process.
• Source supporting materials, including graphics, videos, and text, following copyright compliance.
• Identify suitable digital platforms, delivery formats, and tools for content delivery.
• Apply Web 2.0 principles and tools in content development.
• Adapt materials for multiple formats. (using Google Drive, Pressbooks, and other platforms)
• Ensure fit and finish of quality digital learning materials.
• Support project management by monitoring and reporting on schedule and budget milestones, and the progress of projects, processes, and tools.
More About the Resources
- Foundations of Communication
- Communicating in Writing
- Communicating via Presentations
- Interpersonal Communication
You can download the full eText (a file containing Parts 1 through 4), or download each module’s eText individually.
Modules contain varying amounts of teaching and learning material including an eTextbook, lesson slides, lecture notes, activities, multimedia assets and assessments.
Instructors are encouraged to use, revise, remix, and redistribute the contents of this OER in part, or in its entirety, to fit their instructional needs. Instructors may decide to use particular lessons or assets from it, or expand on it using external resources. It is flexible enough to work within a face-to-face, blended or fully online teaching environment. Alternative formats for online-only content are provided wherever possible.
This OER was developed for Olds College by JR Dingwall, Chuck Labrie, Trecia McLennon and Laura Underwood, in collaboration with the college’s Educational Technology and Curriculum team.
Using this OER
All materials can be found on the website, which links to files stored on Google Drive. When using the documents, please copy them to your own Google Drive account and provide students with links to your copies, rather than linking directly to our files. This way, you can modify the documents as-needed for your course while the original files remain intact.
Currently, I am aware of three adoptions and adaptations of these OERs:
- Olds College, Alberta, Canada.
- Professor Wendy Ward from Niagra College, in collaboration with eCampus Ontario, adapted the resource for use in her classes.
- Portions of the OERs are being adapted for use by the Learning Enrichment Foundation, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.