This monthly status report is to share progress each month for the the Business ZTC Project and to outline plans for the coming month.
Overview
This section will be highlights from the last month. High level budget info. Can include a video snapshot of features for example.
An exciting milestone was achieved in the last two months – the Intro to Tourism in BC 2nd Edition was published after four months of collaborative efforts across six BC institutions and is currently being used in Tourism & Hospitality programs across the Province.
Marketing OER projects continue with a couple submitting interim reports and status update meetings with authors were held. Meetings with Douglas College were held regarding a possible ZTC for their Business Administration Certificate.
More information about previous activity and timelines for the project can be found on the Business ZTC Charter Wiki page.
Activity Last Month
Goals that were met, decisions made, milestones met, etc.
In August, the call for proposals for a Marketing ZTC had been extended to the end of the month to allow more time for applications. We were expecting one to two applications, however, no applications were ultimately submitted. Follow-up conversations where held with the interested institutions and we will be keeping in touch about their program plans. At this time there are no plans to re-post the call, instead the strategy will be re-evaluated.
The following is a summary of the activity on Business OER projects:
1) Tourism
The Intro to Tourism in BC 2nd Edition was published in early September. The article OER Sustainability through Collaboration: Presenting the 2nd Edition of Introduction to Tourism and Hospitality in BC about the project was published following its publication to the BCcampus open textbook collection. The book is already being used in Tourism & Hospitality courses this fall. Work continues on the book with the H5P project and a new version should be available in Jan 2021.
2) Consumer Behaviour
Work has continued through the summer on this resource. Andrea Niosi, the book author, is using the draft book in her teaching and gathering feedback from students. The book is on track for completion.
3) Developing a Marketing Plan
Mike Walmsley has submitted the interim report for the project in August. The report indicated that writing was underway and storyboards had commenced for the video portions. In September, Mike indicated that they would like to take pause with the project in order to meet other demands related to teaching in the pandemic. As a result, the project is temporarily on hold until December when we will reconnect about next steps.
4) Digital Marketing
Rochelle Grayson, the book author, submitted a detailed interim report in August and we meet in September to discuss. The project is on track and Rochelle has already been adapting both her course and OER for a class she is currently teaching. Rochelle noted that the existing OER for digital marketing will need more adaptation than she originally had hoped and likely will make less use of it than intended. We also discussed the possibility of a future submission of her course to the online open course repository. We will revisit this in the new year.
5) Principles of Marketing Question Bank
Michael Orwick, the OER author, submitted an interim report in August indicating that his project is ahead of schedule. Questions for half of the chapters have already been completed. Two articles about his project have been published since the start of the project:
Okanagan College Prof Leads the way in Developing New Open Education Resources
Okanagan College prof leads the way in developing new open educational resources
6) ZTC
With the Marketing ZTC call closing without applicants, we have been investigating other opportunities for ZTCs in a business program. Meetings have been held with two institutions who are interested in developing a ZTC for one of their business programs. We have been working with these programs to map their pathways. More details expected next month.
Planned Activity
Goals for next month – what we’re looking forward to/excited about. Includes development, meetings, communication, etc.
The following is a summary of upcoming Business ZTC work for August:
- Proposal for ZTC in Business Administration Certificate expected next month.
- Meeting with the Business ZTC Advisory group is confirmed for Oct 15th. Note that Bruce Bennett is stepping down from the group. In his place, Wendy Anderson (Selkirk College) will be joining the group.
- Melanie will be attending and presenting at the upcoming Business Articulation Committee meeting on October 16th.
Risks and Issues
| Risk/Issue | Level | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|
| Timelines for projects may be impacted as a result of Covid-19 related delays. | Med | Continuing communication with project leads about timelines and providing support with Pressbooks will assist in keeping on track. Providing felxibility and support will be key to ensuring successful completion. |
| Work on Business ZTC projects will likely extend beyond the end of fiscal 2020/21. While existing funds will be distributed to institutions on time, they will require from BCcampus beyond March 31s, 2021 | Medium | Project Manager roles will continue until Sept 2021 to provide that level of support. |
Lessons Learned
List of things that went well and what improvements could be made.
The collaboration that was evident for the Tourism project was encouraging and fantastic model for others to follow. After the article was published, an instructor already contacted me about following a similar approach for a project she is interested in working on.
Once again I want to recognize the enormous pressure faculty are currently experiencing due to the pandemic. Despite these pressures they are finding ways to contribute to OER and also recognize when it’s important to take a step back, all of this while being amazing supports for their students.
Links and Resources
Include links to useful/related info such as slides from an update meeting, related projects or other resources of interest.