Bio
About
Bio
About
I grew up in Bay City, Michigan during the formation of the Rust Belt. Environmental degradation, the loss of manufacturing, and racial inequality fueled my interest in Political Science at Albion College, where I participated in the Gerald R. Ford Institute for Leadership in Public Policy and Service. After graduation, I headed west to Seattle and worked with homeless families for five years using first-generation mobile technology. I then obtained my Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Washington’s iSchool in 1999. I managed public libraries, academic libraries, and library technology projects for over two decades. One of the projects I led won provincial, national, and international awards (and sadly no longer exists!).
One of my greatest blessings is that I have been able to engage in meaningful work throughout my entire life.
When I was asked to teach Leadership and Management Principles for the first time, I became enchanted by the complex dynamics and enduring mystery of teaching with technology. I obtained my Doctor of Education in Distance Education through Athabasca University and served as a director of teaching and learning for over 8 years. My work continues to focus on the intersection of education and technology, with recent presentations on the confluence of generative artificial intelligence, academic integrity, and authentic assessment.
Libraries played an important role in my life. My first bookmobile check-outs - AC/DC's Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap and Billy Joel's 52nd Street - ignited a love of music and a greater love for libraries. I have served as President of the Pacific Northwest Library Association and the Library Association of Alberta, and I taught leadership and management in MacEwan University’s Information Technology Diploma Program and in the University of Alberta’s Graduate School of Library and Information Science. Academic Integrity and the Role of the Academic Library: Institutional Examples and Promising Practices (2024) also represents a confluence of my interests - teaching, edtech, academic integrity, and libraries.
Wherever I have lived, I wanted my work to help build stronger communities, most recently dedicating time as a Board member of the Community Foundation of Southeast Alberta and serving on the Advisory Board for Education and Outreach of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
Even though listed last, it is always first in my mind, and my most valuable and rewarding work will always be as a husband, father, (and now as a grandfather!).
A list of my invited lectures and conference presentations appears below. It gives a sense of some of the things I like to read, think and talk about.
Recent Presentations
Presentations
Recent Presentations
Presentations
INVITED LECTURES AND WORKSHOPS
Openo, J. (2023, October). Assessing humans in a time of artificial intelligence. Alberta Practical Nurse Programs Committee, CLPNA. Online.
Openo, J. (2023, June). Eternal principles and emerging practices: Assessment in the era of ChatGPT. Alberta Nursing Educators Association. Online.
Openo, J. (2023, May). In praise of the imperfect assessment. Manitoba Academic Integrity Network. Brandon University, Brandon, MB.
Openo, J. (2022, July). A model for high-end e-learning. Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons’ Advisory Board for Education and Outreach. The Hague, Netherlands.
Openo, J. (2022, April). The multiple realities of professional development for online contingent faculty. Centre for Innovation in Distance Education Research (CIDER). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2zILzYTA7U
Openo, J. (2022). Engineering authentic assessments. Lassonde School of Engineering, York University.
Openo, J. (2022). Authentic assessments: What they are why we need them. Northern College Learning & Innovation Department.
Openo, J. (2021). Creating engaging and authentic assessments online: Considerations for emerging practice. Manitoba Academic Integrity Network (MAIN). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrLVQHh-nOA
Openo, J. (2017, October). The Myths of ed-tech: Salvation, surveillance and self. University of Alberta’s Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Edmonton, AB.
Openo, J. (2014, April). The Lorne MacRae Intellectual Freedom lecture: I've got nothing to hide! Government surveillance and its effect on democracy. Alberta Library Conference. Jasper, AB.
PEER REVIEWED CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
Robinson, R., & Openo, J. (2023, November). Mixed feelings: A preliminary look at student reactions to using ChatGPT for academic purposes in a business marketing course. Symposium for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. Canmore, AB.
Flinn, C., & Openo, J. (2023, October). Problematizing Open Educational Resources: Generating social intelligence on the genealogy, disruptors, and resisters of OER. OE Global. Edmonton, AB.
Openo, J. (2022, June). A time of unprecedented innovation: How Canadian teaching and learning centres served part-time faculty during the pandemic. [Conference session]. Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. Ottawa, Canada.
Openo, J. (2022, June). Almost invisible: The marginal appearance of contingent faculty in Canadian academic stratgy. [Conference session]. Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. Ottawa, ON.
Openo, J. (2022, February). The real world of educational development. [Conference session]. Educational Developers Caucus, Canada.
Openo, J. (October, 2021). The expanding possibilities of professional development for online contingent faculty in Canada. [Conference session]. Athabasca University 2021 Graduate Student Research Conference, Edmonton, AB.
Robinson, R., & Openo, J. (2021, March). Oh what a tangled web we weave: How reporting academic integrity violations impacts faculty relationships. International Center for Academic Integrity Virtual Conference.
Openo, J. (October, 2020). Mind the gap: Educational development barriers and innovations for part-time online faculty in Canada [Conference session]. Athabasca University 2020 Graduate Student Research Conference, Edmonton, AB.
Robinson, R., & Openo, J. (2020, March 7). The emotional labour of reporting academic integrity violations: How does it feel? Paper presented at the 2020 International Center for Academic Integrity Conference, Portland, OR. (paper in press).
Openo, J. (2019). Somewhere on the border between marginal and mainstream: SoTL’s prevalence and purpose in Canadian academic strategy. Paper presented at the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning, SoTL Without Borders: Engaged Practices for Social Change, Atlanta, GA.
Openo, J. (2019). The real-world of technology re-visited. Paper presented at Mount Royal University’s Liberal Education Conference, Liberal Education in an Age of Automation, Calgary, AB.
Openo, J. (2019). The international dimension of academic integrity: An integrative literature review. Paper presented at the Canadian Symposium on Academic Integrity, Calgary, AB
Openo, J. (2018, November). From the margins to the mainstream: A documentary and discourse analysis affirming the central importance of SoTL in core academic strategic documents in Canada. Paper presented at Symposium on Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Building SoTL Communities: Within, Between, and Beyond, Banff, AB.
Openo, J. (2018, October). Can (post-heroic conceptions of) leadership be taught (online)? Designing a graduate leadership course in a feminized profession. Paper presented at Global Online Learning Summit & Tech Expo, Toronto, ON.
Openo, J. (2018, October). The projected reality of professional development: Exploring professional development for online contingent faculty. Paper presented at Global Online Learning Summit & Tech Expo, Toronto, ON.
Openo, J. (2018, May). The discourse of crisis in higher education: Fake news or real emergency? Paper presented at Mount Royal University’s 2nd Liberal Education Symposium. Calgary, AB.
Openo, J. (2018, February). Developing the “doubly invisible” in Canada: The prickly and perplexing issue of online contingent faculty. Educational Developers Caucus. Victoria, BC.
Wilson, M., Loblaw, T. & Openo, J. (2018, February). Educational development on the razor’s edge: Including the chef’s knives, the welder’s torch, and the paramedic’s scissors. Educational Developers Caucus. Victoria, BC.
Openo, J. (2017, October). Faculty care about quality, they just hate quality assurance: Is SoTL the bridge? PDQ. Medicine Hat College, Medicine Hat, AB.
Openo, J., & Kolomitro, K. (2017, October). Aligning SoTL within auality assurance policies and processes. Poster session presented at the meeting of the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Calgary, AB.
Openo, J. (2017, October). The Myths of EdTech: Salvation, surveillance and self. A guest lecture delivered at the University of Alberta’s Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Edmonton, AB.
Laverty, C. Openo, J. & Kolomitro, K. (2017, June). Bridging the divide: Leveraging the scholarship of teaching and learning for quality enhancement. Society for Teaching in Learning in Higher Education. Halifax, NS.
Openo, J. (2017, June). You can fast forward your instructor: An interpretive phenomenological analysis of blended learning. Society for Teaching in Learning in Higher Education. Halifax, NS.
Openo, J. (2017, May). Leadership as personal metanarrative: Understanding your personal leadership journey. President’s Student Leadership Summit. Medicine Hat College, Medicine Hat, AB.
Openo, J. (2017, May). Leadership as disruption: Understanding leadership as strategic change management. President’s Student Leadership Summit. Medicine Hat College, Medicine Hat, AB.
Openo, J. (2016, December). An introduction to Appreciative Coaching. Facilitated at the City of Lethbridge’s Family and Child Support Service Agency. Lethbridge, AB.
Openo, J. (2016, November). Building organizational resilience with Appreciative Inquiry. Presented at the Family and Child Support Service Agencies of Alberta conference. Edmonton, AB.
Openo, J. (2016, November). Will data really change everything? Exploring the connections between learning analytics and the scholarship of teaching and learning. Symposium on Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Learning in and across disciplines. Banff, AB.
Mueller, K., & Openo, J. (2016, November). Using the Echo technique and interpretive phenomenological analysis to understand the student experience of blended learning. Symposium on Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Learning in and across disciplines. Banff, AB.
Openo, J. (2016, September). Creating connections, collaboration and community with Appreciative Inquiry. Keynote presentation at the Community Futures Conference. Medicine Hat, AB.
Openo, J. (2016, June). Using Appreciative Inquiry to strengthen successful teams. Facilitated at the City of Lethbridge’s Family and Child Support Service Agency. Lethbridge, AB.
Openo, J. (2016, May). High impact educational practices: A closer look. Learning Without Borders Liberal Education Symposium, Medicine Hat College. Medicine Hat, AB.
Henning, D. & Openo, J. (2016, May). Generating positive change with Appreciative Inquiry. 77th Annual Alberta Chambers of Commerce Conference. Medicine Hat, AB.
Henning, D., Penner, J. & Openo, J. (2015, January). A College in Transition: Appreciative Inquiry as a Transformative Force. Appreciative Education Conference. Myrtle Beach, SC, USA.
Openo, J. (2014, November). Why Medicine Hat? Presented at Pecha Kucha Medicine Hat, Volume 5. Medicine Hat, AB. Retrieved from http://www.pechakucha.org/cities/medicine-hat/presentations/why-medicine-hat