Open Educational Resources
for and as assessment
Eliana Elkhoury, Jako Olivier & Travis N Thurston
This edited collection brings together inspiring cases from across disciplines that reimagine how we assess student learning in higher education. Centered on the use of Open Educational Resources (OER) and open pedagogy, the book showcases innovative, authentic, and sustainable approaches that move beyond traditional tests toward assessments that are equitable, collaborative, and student-driven. From compassionate, trauma-informed designs to renewable assignments and open-source tools, the chapters highlight practical strategies that empower learners as creators and contributors. This collection offers educators a roadmap for designing assessments that foster engagement, reduce barriers, and prepare students with the skills needed to thrive in a rapidly changing, AI-influenced world.
Table of Contents
Editors
Eliana Elkhoury, PhD
Athabasca University
eelkhoury@athabascau.ca
Dr. Elkhoury is an assistant professor at Athabasca University, she is also the team lead of the alternative assessment project. She has extensive experience in teaching and learning in K12 and higher education settings within both Canada and internationally. Eliana’s latest work includes providing professional development to educators on alternative ways of doing assessments. Dr. Elkhoury has published and presented on STEM education, equity in education, and alternative assessments. Her current research interests include: Innovation in teaching and learning, Alternative assessment in multiple disciplines, faculty development, and teacher education.
Jako Olivier, PhD
Higher Education at the Commonwealth of Learning
jolivier@col.org
Dr. Olivier is an Adviser: Higher Education at the Commonwealth of Learning, Burnaby, Canada. Before this he led the UNESCO Chair on Multimodal Learning and Open Educational Resources (OER) and was a Professor at North-West University, South Africa until August 2022. His research interests include: open and distance learning, self-directed learning, multimodal learning, OER, blended learning, e-learning, multiliteracies, multicultural education, language planning and subtitling. He has acted as editor for the books Contextualised open educational practices: Towards student agency and self-directed learning, Open Educational Resources in Higher Education, and Radical Solutions for Education in Africa: Open education and self-directed learning in the continent.
Travis N Thurston, PhD
Utah State University
travis.thurston@usu.edu
Dr. Thurston is the Executive Director of the Center for Empowering Teaching Excellence at Utah State University. He earned his Master of Educational Technology degree from Boise State University, and earned his P.hD. in Curriculum and Instruction with emphasis on Instructional Leadership from Utah State University. His teaching and scholarship focus on digital-age teaching and instructional design, creating autonomy-supportive learning environments, and student-centered engagement strategies. Dr. Thurston has published interdisciplinary studies on the scholarship on teaching and learning, and is the lead editor of Resilient Pedagogy: Practical Teaching Strategies to Overcome Distance, Disruption, and Distraction.
About Empower Teaching Open-Access Series
The Empower Teaching Open-Access Book Series features a variety of peer-reviewed books focused broadly on the multi-disciplinary work of teaching in higher education. Books in the series align with the mission of the Center for Empowering Teaching Excellence (ETE) to bolster the culture of teaching excellence for students, staff, faculty and administrators. The books in this series share insightful and innovative perspectives on teaching and learning, and through a partnership with USU Libraries the books are offered in an online and open-access format to amplify the voices of authors and contributors in the series.