Please join us in congratulating the winners of the first ever Open Student Scholar Prize!
In February and March of this year Open Langara and the Library jointly ran the Open Student Scholar Prize with great success! The Judges were thrilled with the caliber of both the submitted projects as well as the thoughtful statements on open education and open access. As such, prizes were awarded for first and second place, two for a third place tie, and three honourable mentions.
Read on to learn more about the winners.
The prize submission period coincided with Open Education Week, a global celebration of the tools, resources, and practices that employ open sharing in teaching and learning. Winners had the opportunity to openly share their work through the LaIR and in their statements they wrote about what Open Education means in their studies and scholarship. Many students expanded beyond their own experience to discuss the importance of accessibility and diversity in academic scholarship, and the ways in which an open practice allows students to learn and do more. Below are quotes from the winners, full statements are available along with their projects in the LaIR Open Student Scholar Prize Collection.
“Through open education we can collaborate between cultures and undo the wrongs of history and colonialism though the sharing of knowledge and opening of access to those who have been disempowered by it. Education is our front line against inequality but if education is limited to those who already share hegemonic perspectives we lose the perspectives of those who need a voice the most.”
-Kaylee Korol, first place winner
“I hope that if people are able to read my paper they could use it as a piece to whatever puzzle they’re trying to put together. In turn, their finished picture might make me want to add a piece to my puzzle or even entirely rearrange it. This kind of collaboration is facilitated by open scholarship. When we are open, we allow ourselves the space to learn.”
-Taeja Liu, second place winner
“I believe that individuals always bring something to the table that is often missed by traditional knowledge gathering, and that we can come to better solutions when we involve everyone…the best educations are ones where students are involved in the learning process, making it their own.”
-Simeon Faehndrich, third place winner
“Open educationa and open access mean I no longer feel limited by my personal finances, nor my geographical location. I thrive with access to open education!”
-Cheri Pottinger, third place winner
