OER Digest – April 25, 2024
Michel Basmajian (PIRG) | Volume 181 | April 25, 2024
THE OER DIGEST
Your monthly newsletter for open education updates, opportunities, and reminders
OPEN CONNECTIONS
Conferences, jobs, and other OER-related opportunities
REGISTER NOW: OpenCon Ohio 2024 is a virtual, free event on Friday, May 17. The event will feature two keynote presentations, a 45-minute birds of a feather event, and a one-hour panel discussion on automatic textbook billing. The registration deadline is May 10, 2024 at 12:00pm ET. Register here.
REGISTER NOW: The Florida OER Summit is on May 23-24. The theme of this year's Summit is "Innovations and Trends." Join librarians, educators, instructional designers, and OER professionals from across Florida and the U.S. as we explore existing trends, look towards innovative directions, and discover how OER positively impacts students, faculty, and institutions. Registration is free, and the event is online/virtual.
APPLY NOW: Utah State University (USU) Libraries’ is accepting applications for multiple new positions, including their Digital Scholarship, Open Education, and Instructional Design Librarians. Simultaneous submissions are welcome. Early career librarians are encouraged to apply.
APPLY NOW: Central Washington University Libraries is accepting applications for an Affordable Course Materials Librarian, Full-Time Lecturer. The position will provide oversight, strategy, advocacy, outreach, and project management for the creation, adoption, and campus knowledge of materials that will reduce costs for students in advancing equity through accessible collections. Learn more and apply.
STORIES FROM THE FIELD
Quick snapshots of those making change on the ground level, and those impacted
FROM TEXAS: The West Library at Wesleyan University launched a ‘Textbook Heroes’ campaign to highlight professors who have saved students money by implementing OER. Flyers and posters were hung throughout campus to showcase specific professors and the amount of money they’ve saved students. Digital Initiatives Librarian Meagan Morris played a big role in implementing the campaign. “Being a textbook hero just means that you’re saving your students money,” Morris said. “We want to showcase and show to the students that there are instructors doing their best to make it easy for them and lift the financial burden.” One professor, Dr. Alison Simon of the Sociology department, has saved her students over $10,000. Read More >>
FROM MINNESOTA: Rochester Community and Technical College along with six other colleges and universities in Minnesota, have committed to creating, finalizing, and implementing a new Z-degree by spring 2026. Z-degrees are degree programs in which students pay zero textbook costs using OER or other no-cost options. “Over the course of an entire degree program, textbooks can easily cost students thousands of dollars,” said Scott Olson, chancellor of Minnesota state. “Z-degrees and OER significantly reduce the cost of education.” According to a Century College study, students enrolled in Z-degree courses showed a 2.8 percent higher pass rate. Read More >>
FROM NEW MEXICO: The University of New Mexico’s College of University Libraries and Learning Sciences (CULLS) is launching an innovative OER program with AI integration and financial support. This summer, CULLS will run a Pilot Program to help faculty, instructors, and graduate students learn more about incorporating AI in OER development. “We are committed to empowering our faculty to fully explore and realize the transformative potential of artificial intelligence,” said Leo Lo, dean of the College of University Libraries and Learning Sciences. “This pilot program is designed to enhance the development of Open Educational Resources as well as to foster an environment of innovation and experimentation. By integrating AI tools into OER creation, we aim to elevate student engagement, learning outcomes, and accessibility.” Read More >>
HOT OFF THE PRESS
Each edition, we highlight interesting, new, openly-licensed resources
New from Pressbooks, Multimodal Musicianship is an open textbook for music theory by Victoria Malawey, Professor of Music, Macalester College. This OER offers multiple modes of engaging content—with text, musical examples, audio examples, video content, application activities, and links to supplemental content—designed for students to learn and reinforce their knowledge through different modes of engagement depending on their learning styles and needs.
The Private Academic Library Network of Indiana (PALNI) is pleased to announce the release of “Ultrasound Physics and its Application in Medicine.” This open textbook, made possible through a Textbook Creation Grant from the PALSave: PALNI Affordable Learning program, is set to enhance the way medical professionals learn and apply ultrasound technology.
WEIGH IN
Great reads to repost or share and interesting discussions to consider
Closing The Book On The College Bookstore Scam | Forbes
New Data From Open Syllabus: “OER Adoption Update: 2023” | Library Journal
To address cost of college for students, Valley campuses experiment with zero-cost or discounted textbooks | KPVR
The ORFG Open Scholarship Seed Award Update | SPARC Open
Panel discusses merits, limitations of open educational resources | University Times, University of Pittsburgh
Here’s some debt with your degree: College is too damn expensive | The Johns Hopkins News-Letter
Have suggestions for the next edition? Let us know at oerdigest@gmail.com, or tweet us @OERdigest.
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