Research assistant – casual position
Start date: May 01, 2025
Application deadline: April 22, 2025
Supervisor: Dr. Connie Blomgren
Faculty: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Overview
The OER Educator Community of Practice research project will examine how educators employed with organizations (e.g. Art Canada Institute, museums etc) create open educational resources for a K-12 audience. It is divided into two phases.
Phase one will involve desk research of locating, curating and contacting a list of educators suitable for phase two where the online Community of Practice will be developed.
Specific activities include, but are not limited to
The primary job duties for the Phase One field research assistant GRA 2 or GRA 1 will include:
- Conduct website searches to locate Canadian non-profit organizations, including galleries and museums, who create educational assets for K-12;
- Determine the name, role, and email of the educator(s) at the non-profit organization;
- Create a spreadsheet of relevant organization’s key information and educator contact;
- Create outreach materials (e.g. invitation emails, processes and technologies to support this Community of Practice);
- Begin designing and creating a series of free professional learning webinars to encourage interest in OER for K-12;
- Leverage the website Open Teacher AB as part of this research project;
- Support the development of a successful research ethics application attached to the webinars;
- Support other OER asset maintenance as required;
- Support exploration of new K-12 OER partnerships (e.g. a Connection grant).
The successful candidate will work with, and directly report to, Dr. Constance Blomgren at Athabasca University. All meetings, individual, and collaborative work will be conducted online.
Qualifications
- A graduate degree or a graduate student with an interest in open education.
- Good communication and organization skills required.
- There is an opportunity to be co-author of a research article in an education journal.
- The duration of this position is for 4 months. The number of weekly hours will vary but are equivalent to 2-3 hours per week. Rate of pay commensurate with experience and collective agreement provisions.
Benefits for the successful candidate include: applying project management skills to an online and distributed context, developing a shared Zotero library, developing a Community of Practice outreach materials, and learning about the growing interest in open educational practices.
How to apply
Qualified individuals are encouraged to submit their application by email to Dr. Constance Blomgren at connieb@athabascau.ca. Applications should include a brief cover letter that summarizes your skills, interests and experience; a current resume or curriculum vitae. Evaluation of applications will begin immediately and will continue until a suitable candidate is found. All applicants are thanked for their interest in this position; however, only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.
Athabasca University and the researchers are committed and seek to support equity in employment and research opportunities. We strongly encourage applications from Indigenous people, people of colour, people with disabilities, 2SLGBTQ+ people, women, and other historically marginalized groups. Applicants are welcome, but not required, to self‐identify in their letter of application.
For more information on this Research Assistant Opportunity, please contact Dr. Constance Blomgren (connieb@athabascau.ca) with “RA position” in the email RE line, before April 22, 2025.
Hours per week are approximate and may vary based upon activity. This position has a maximum of 40 hours. This opportunity is only available to Athabasca University students.
Supervisor Contact Information
Dr. Constance Blomgren: connieb@athabascau.ca