Biography
Michelle Brown is currently the Head of Learning and Student Success at the University of Ottawa. Previous to this she was the E-Learning Librarian and the Liaison Librarian to the Faculty of Education at the University of Ottawa.
She holds an MLIS and and M.Ed. She is currently working towards an M.A in Digital Media. Her research interests include school libraries, equity and inclusion in academic libraries, and the intersection of equity and open education.
Leadership Portfolio
Michelle’s interests include how Open Education and Open Educational Resources (OER) can improve student learning outcomes, increase access to education, and eliviate equity and inclusion issues in post-secondary education. One project that Michelle completed in the first semester was a slide deck outlining the Textbook Broke data collected at the University of Ottawa in the Winter of 2018. The findings revealed that students were frustrated with the amount they had to spend on textbooks each term, and the lack of alternatives available to them. It was also revealed that textbook costs were very uneven with the the average cost per term varying widely among the disciplines. This prompted a call for future OER initiatives on campus and awareness building events.
Michelle’s capstone project consisted of the development of an OER Working Group document for the University of Ottawa. To date, OER initiatives at UOttawa have been planned as independently organized one-off events. It is hoped that an OER Working Group document would provide a sustainable, cohesive, long-term vision for OER at UOttawa. It is hoped that this document will eventually lay the groundwork for the formation of a campus-wide OER Working Group and identify major stakeholders and user groups.