When you think about Open Educational Resources (OER) – which we hope you do, and often – your first thought is probably open textbooks. But did you know that OER can take many forms, including videos? In this episode of ‘Stories of Openness’, Lauren sits down for a chat with Dr. Nateque Mahmood, co-creator of the unique OER, ‘Building Futures: Construction Career Collection’. Nateque’s OER is special because it is entirely video-based. The collection celebrates the unique qualities of the construction industry in Australia. Viewers can step into the shoes of a graduate project coordinator, site supervisor, health and safety advisor, project coordinator, senior project engineer, senior site manager, social procurement manager, or construction director. Connect with this episode to hear Nateque’s stories about creating the OER, the impact it’s had on Deakin students, and how the experience has shaped his teaching.

Guest bio:

Dr. Nateque Mahmood is an associate professor and head of discipline of Construction Management in the School of Architecture and Built Environment at Deakin University. Nateque is exactly the kind of person you want teaching our future construction managers – one with hands-on professional experience. Nateque comes his teaching and research work with over 14 years of as a professional civil engineer.

Links:

Access the OER via YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnPz8ejtXPEvSecvP4lw7kngP3qoriA4v&si=hEpjv8ATDX1kcSYO

View Nateque Mahmood at Deakin: https://experts.deakin.edu.au/51229-nateque-mahmood

Connect with Nateque Mahmood via LinkedIn:

Find out more about this podcast: https://www.deakin.edu.au/library/teach/open-education/podcast

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): https://doi.org/10.26187/deakin.28426142

Deakin University CRICOS Provider Code: 00113B

What do you get when you mix anatomy, 100,000+ images of the human body, open licensing, a sprinkle of innovation, and a whole lot of hard work? Tune in to Episode 8 of ‘Stories of Openness’ to find out…

In this episode of ‘Stories of Openness’, we meet Cailin Mellberg, a lecturer of anatomy in Deakin’s School of Medicine. Cailin is the lead creator of the SPATIAL Project, a world-first openly licensed resource that allows anatomy students around the world to access high-resolution 3D images of the human body… for free (yes, free!). In a discipline where learning materials can set individual students back hundreds of dollars for a book, and cost institutions tens-of-thousands of dollars for equipment and subscription fees, the SPATIAL project is revolutionising anatomy education. Cailin shares stories about how he did it, how it’s shaping learning, and the impact the experience has had on him as a teacher.

Cover image: This episode’s artwork is an AI-generated illustration created using ChatGPT, based on a cross-sectional image from the US National Library of Medicine’s Visible Human Project. The original data is public domain and freely usable with attribution to NLM. The illustrated version reinterprets the source image to make it appropriate for general audiences while remaining recognisable as anatomical cross-section imagery

Corrections:

The company referenced as “IMOS” is actually IMAIOS. Pricing is $209.99 USD/year, roughly $145 USD/year (not the figure stated in the episode).

Complete Anatomy pricing is $119/year for students and $149/year for professionals (with a $59 first-year student discount), which is higher than the estimate given in the episode.

Moore’s Clinically Orientated Anatomy costs $162–$184 AUD per student (no figure was given during the conversation; added here for context).

Anatomedia costs $99 USD/student and $297 USD/professional per year (not covered with pricing during the conversation).

Links:

Access the OER via Deakin Research Online: https://dro.deakin.edu.au/collections/The_SPATIAL_Project/8030365/1

View Cailin Mellberg at Deakin: https://experts.deakin.edu.au/40756-cailin-mellberg

Find out more about this podcast: https://www.deakin.edu.au/library/teach/open-education/podcast

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): https://doi.org/10.26187/deakin.c.8030365

Deakin University CRICOS Provider Code: 00113B

‘Neonatal Care Essentials for Nursing and Midwifery’, published in 2025, is an openly published and first-in-Australia resource for student midwives and nurses. It aims to provide an entry level understanding of the role of the nurse/midwife in the neonatal environment and is uniquely structured around the key concepts of warm, sweet, pink, and calm. In this conversation, Jacqui shares her stories of creating the book, how it’s impacting students’ learning, and how it’s shaping her own teaching practice.

Guest bio:

Links:

Access the OER via Deakin Open eBooks: https://deakin.pressbooks.pub/neonatalcareessentials/

View Jacqui McGregor at Deakin: https://experts.deakin.edu.au/63369-jacqui-mcgregor

Connect with Jacqui McGregor on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacqui-mcgregor-81b89334/

Find out more about this podcast: https://www.deakin.edu.au/library/teach/open-education/podcast

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): https://doi.org/10.26187/deakin.30907220

Deakin University CRICOS Provider Code: 00113B

‘Mathematical Reasoning and Investigation’, was published in 2023 and is an open textbook designed for people who think they’re not good at mathematics. This episode features conversations with and stories from co-authors Simon James and Chris Rawson alongside illustrator Erin Cheffers. They share how they came to create an OER, how Erin’s illustrations shaped the book, and how the book is changing the way they think about teaching, learning, and unit resources.

Guest bios:

Chris Rawson was - at the time of writing the textbook - a Senior Educational Designer for Deakin with a background in learning design and librarianship. Chris now works in the Deakin Library as a Scholarly Services Librarian.

Erin Cheffers is a graphics and user interface designer for Deakin’s Strategic Educational Initiatives unit. At the time of writing the textbook, Erin was a student of Design and Visual Communication and was a part of the project via Deakin’s Students as Partners program

Links:

View Simon James at Deakin: https://experts.deakin.edu.au/29627-simon-james

Connect with Simon James on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-james-2a13b8123/

Connect with Chris Rawson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-rawson/

Connect with Erin Cheffers on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-cheffers-558520219/

Find out more about this podcast: https://www.deakin.edu.au/library/teach/open-education/podcast

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): https://doi.org/10.26187/deakin.24086916

Deakin University CRICOS Provider Code: 00113B

‘Workplace Role Play Scenarios’, published in 2023, is an internationally-recognised OER about helping students navigate difficult conversations, negotiation, and mediation in the workplace. In this episode, author Dr Sarah Steen generously shares her stories about how the OER came to be, it’s impact learners in and beyond Deakin, and how it’s shaping her own teaching practice in the brave new world of AI-enabled education.

Guest bio:

Links:

View Dr Sarah Steen at Deakin: https://experts.deakin.edu.au/40976-sarah-steen

Connect with Dr Sarah Steen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drsarahsteen/

Find out more about this podcast: https://www.deakin.edu.au/library/teach/open-education/podcast

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): https://doi.org/10.26187/deakin.24233626

Deakin University CRICOS Provider Code: 00113B

Dr. Siva Krishnan shares his stories about co-authoring ‘Communication and Teamwork Skills to Support Neurodiversity’, an OER published in 2025 and designed for staff and students to support the neurodiverse student body with communication and teamwork skills. Siva’s stories touch on his experiences of collaborating with a student as co-author, the impact the experience has had on him as an educator, and the impact the OER is having beyond Deakin.

Guest bio:

Links:

View Dr. Siva Krishnan at Deakin: https://experts.deakin.edu.au/10101-siva-krishnan

Connect with Dr. Siva Krishnan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siva-krishnan-4890861aa/

Find out more about this podcast: https://www.deakin.edu.au/library/teach/open-education/podcast

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): https://doi.org/10.26187/deakin.28693058

Deakin University CRICOS Provider Code: 00113B

Dr. Patricia (Trish) Corbett shares the story behind ‘Sustainable Marine Futures’, an Open Educational Resource (OER) that explores how ocean science, sustainability, policy and community intersect to address key marine challenges. Trish shares how she came to create an OER, the impact it’s having on her students, and how it’s shaping her teaching practice. And, if you are wondering about the picture of the penguins on the cover, Trish has a story about that too!

Guest bio:

Links:

View Dr. Patricia Corbett at Deakin: https://experts.deakin.edu.au/45265-patricia-corbett

Connect with Dr. Patricia Corbett on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patricia-corbett-3589a4122/

Find out more about this podcast: https://www.deakin.edu.au/library/teach/open-education/podcast

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): https://doi.org/10.26187/deakin.30907151

Deakin University CRICOS Provider Code: 00113B

Associate Professor Sagarika Mishra shares the story of why she wanted to create an Open Educational Resource (OER) about corporate finance. In a world where finance textbooks can be overwhelming for both students and teachings, ‘Business Finance’. Sagarika explains how she designed the book to make business finance concepts more easily understood, what it’s meant for her students, and how it’s changing the way she thinks about teaching.

Guest bio:

Links:

View A/Prof Sagarika Mishra at Deakin: https://experts.deakin.edu.au/1151-sagarika-mishra

Connect with A/Prof Sagarika Mishra on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sagarika-mishra-64850b6/

Find out more about this podcast: https://www.deakin.edu.au/library/teach/open-education/podcast

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): https://doi.org/10.26187/deakin.24239683

Deakin University CRICOS Provider Code: 00113B

Associate Professor Danielle Hitch is an occupational therapist, academic, an Open Educational Resource (OER) creator, and a great storyteller. In 2023, Danielle published ‘Enabling and Optimising Recovery from COVID-19’, an invaluable resource focused the assessment, management and support of people experiencing Long COVID. This episode features stories about creating an OER about long covid, including how storytelling is used in the book itself, as well as how it’s shaping learning and teaching at Deakin.

Guest bio:

Links:

View A/Prof Danielle Hitch at Deakin: https://experts.deakin.edu.au/1035-danielle-hitch

Connect with A/Prof Danielle Hitch on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-hitch-38318581/

Find out more about this podcast: https://www.deakin.edu.au/library/teach/open-education/podcast

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): https://doi.org/10.26187/deakin.24239785

Deakin University CRICOS Provider Code: 00113B