Benny Ng, Pierce College Professor, spoke with Cailyn Nagle, Michelson 20MM OER Program Manager, about his unique and interactive open-source chatbots created as part of the Creative Commons (CC) Bootcamp. Funded by a Michelson Spark Grant, the gathering was held at San Bernardino Valley College (SBVC).
Faculty from across the California Community Colleges (CCCs) gathered at SVBC to earn a certification in CC Licensing last December. As the CCC system goes all-in on Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) degrees, having educators on the ground who understand the licenses that underpin much of the open educational resource (OER) ecosystem is an asset for the entire campus community.
Participants in the Creative Commons Bootcamps not only learn in more traditional classwork settings, but also experientially. As part of their certification, participants create a material that is then shared back to the commons under a CC license. Here is their conversation:
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Could you share a little bit about yourself?
My name is Benny Ng. I am a Chemistry Professor at Los Angeles Pierce College. I am also the College Outcomes Coordinator and Instructional Excellence Specialist at my college, as well as the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI) Chemistry Discipline, lead.
Why did you attend the Creative Commons Bootcamp and how was your experience?
I am a strong believer in open-access education. I was the first person in my department to adopt an OER chemistry textbook and to create a master Canvas shell in General Chemistry II with OER content. The Canvas shell enables my colleagues to add their assignments and styles. I am building another master shell in Introductory Chemistry this semester, which I hope will help more colleagues in chemistry transition to OER.
Honestly, I was worried at the “kick-off” online meeting. Unlike other participants who already had clear project(s) in mind, I just wanted to learn more about CC licensing to support my college’s effort in ZTC implementation and didn’t have a project in mind. I was uncertain how and where I would fit in before the Bootcamp.
Once I started the Bootcamp, my worry quickly dissipated. It was an amazing experience because it cultivated an environment for other like-minded faculty, librarians, and counselors from different CCCs to focus on building and creating OER. We began as strangers on day one and became a team by day five.
The collective effort and support for each other amplifies what an individual can accomplish. A great shoutout to our facilitators, Jennryn Wetzler and Shanna Hollich, who struck the perfect balance between educating us about CC licensing and allocating time for our projects.
Part of the Bootcamp involves creating openly licensed material that can then be shared into the commons. You made something pretty unique! Could you tell us a bit about what you made and why you chose to make it?
Absolutely! I used the existing data from Creative Commons to build two chatbots. The first bot answers common questions when applying for CC licensing. The second bot is a CC quizbot, which serves as a quick review for future CC Bootcamp participants. With the emergence of GenAI, I think it is worth developing bots as a proof of concept to help others use CC licensing without searching through pages and pages of websites.
Knowing you are a professor, do you mostly picture other professors using your bot, or is it something that could have a wider impact?
I think most faculty, librarians, and staff who work in open education will find the bot useful because we (faculty) may not work on CC licensing daily. I hope it will have a wider impact on others who have just begun the open access journey with a virtual CC assistant that is readily available to them anytime at their fingertips.
Coming out of the Bootcamp, how have you been able to apply the information in the work you do back at Pierce College?
I informed my librarian, who is in charge of the ZTC grant, that I received the CC training. I will also assist other faculty members with CC licensing when they build their own OER content.
Is there anything else you would like to share?
The CC Bootcamp was fantastic. It was the first multi-day in-person professional training event I have attended since the pandemic, and it was great to have a physical team working on a project together.
In addition to working on the Intro Chem Master Canvas shell, I will continue to expand more knowledge in open education. I also completed the LibreText Adapt training at California State University, Northridge, so that I can start building questions and contributing to the platform.
I encourage others to join forces and contribute open educational resources. The goal is to lower the financial burden on students by making education more accessible, while also liberating faculty members from copyrighted content from publishers.
Michelson 20MM is a private, nonprofit foundation working toward equity for underserved and historically underrepresented communities by expanding access to educational and employment opportunities, increasing affordability of educational programs, and ensuring the necessary supports are in place for individuals to thrive. To do so, we work in the following verticals: Digital Equity, Intellectual Property, Smart Justice, Student Basic Needs, and Open Educational Resources (OER). Co-chaired and funded by Alya and Gary Michelson, Michelson 20MM is part of the Michelson Philanthropies network of foundations.
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