My name is Eric, and the way we say “hello” in my corner of the world is to say hi - but often, to start talking about weather or wildlife without any hello at all!
I work for the University of Alberta Library in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Open Education has been part of my career in libraries from the beginning, though my current work on it is limited to a team I spend project time on - even so, I’ve been helping create open education resources or giving students access to free textbooks since I started!
As for a personal experience… Interesting question. On a personal level outside of work, I am polyamorous with a marriage lasting over 15 years and another relationship lasting five years - neither would have been possible without openness.
I’m here largely for one question, which will never be answered fully: I’m doing an environmental scan for a local government to determine how they should invest in OER in our area, but I’m also interested in learning about successful (and failed) OER projects in an ongoing sense.
I believe the UofA Library has the capacity to be doing more, it just needs to be sold the right projects in the right ways!