Shinta Hernandez

Question #4: How do you see your role in the future of open education?

There’s definitely a reason why I’ve always taught at public institutions and there’s certainly a reason why I’m at a community college today. I think my whole life I’ve seen the intersection of inequities play out in my friends’ lives, in my classmates’ lives, and even in my own students’ lives. I continue to be on this mission to empower our communities through Open Education. I think it is through this framework of teaching and learning that I truly believe we can transform our students’ lives in a way that allows them to have a more meaningful learning experience. It allows them to have a greater agency in their learning process and really allows us to better our communities through this social justice lens of Open Pedagogy in a way that matters and in a way that is impactful.

Whether I help other institutions be formal partners in that fellowship, or I help the faculty in my own department incorporate Open Pedagogy through an inclusive curriculum, or I simply help other higher ed institutions through my statewide/ nationwide committee roles; I know there’s going to be a place for someone like me in the work of Open Education because there’s still a lot more work that needs to be done.