OER Digest

OER Digest – March 5th, 2021

From Cailyn Nagle (PIRG) | Volume 124 | March 5th, 2021

THE OER DIGEST

Your bi-weekly newsletter for open education updates, opportunities, and reminders

HAPPY #OEWEEK: from the OER Digest team! It’s been great to see the many events happening across the globe to promote open education despite the challenges we’ve faced after nearly a year of remote instruction. From student panels to faculty workshops to regional events to round tables- Open Education week had something for everyone. Check out the list of events around the world at the official Open Education Week website, or keep up with the latest coverage on Twitter under #OEWeek.

#OPENED21 UPDATE: In case you missed the 2020 Open Education Conference, you can catch up on 100+ hours of recordings from 250+ sessions released just in time for Open Education Week. The conference also released a video update, which announced that the 2021 conference will be virtual and held October 18th through 22nd. For more information on the planning process and to join the next community conference call, check out the new call for participation.

NEW SURVEY: U.S. PIRG released the findings of their latest student survey, Fixing the Broken Textbook Market, Third Edition, on February 23rd. In September, more than 120 student volunteers asked more than 5,000 of their peers at 82 colleges and universities abou their textbook buying experiences during the pandemic. Their analysis confirmed that 65% of students reported that they skipped buying textbooks due to their high cost, and 21% skipped access codes – a slight increase from last year. More concerning, however, students who had trouble meeting their basic needs also were struggling to fully participate in class: 38% of food-insecure students had skipped buying an access code.

OPEN CONNECTIONS

Conferences, jobs, and other OER-related opportunities

REGISTER NOW: A series of excellent state and regional conferences have been announced for this summer, all of which are virtual:

The upcoming Florida OER Summit, to be held May 13th and 14th, is accepting proposals ranging from lighting talks to longer workshops. Learn more and submit proposals here by March 21st.
The Northeast OER Summit is now open for registrations and proposals. This free summit will be held May 24th-26th and is accepting registrations here until March 21st.
The Open Education Southern Symposium will be held on July 12th through 16th. Submit your proposal by the March 19th deadline.
The Michigan OER Network announced the dates for their upcoming summer MI OER Summit, which will take place on August 11th and 12th. Be on the lookout for announcements around proposals and registration, and learn more here.

APPLY NOW: The Open Education Network is looking for a digital content strategist. While the position is based at the University of Minnesota, remote applications are also accepted. Learn more and apply here.

APPLY NOW: Open Education Global and the Community College Consortium for Open Educational Resources are looking to fill several positions, including a program manager, curriculum developer and learning facilitator, director of communications, director of development, and director of technology. Learn more about all of these openings and apply here.

STORIES FROM THE FIELD

Quick snapshots of those making change on the ground level, and those impacted

FROM BRITISH COLUMBIA: Okanagan College plans to use a new $10,000 grant to create an open education strategy and plan for the campus. “This grant will enable faculty and instructors to have a point person at their own institution to learn more about developing and adopting open education content,” said web services librarian Roen Janyk. “I am looking forward to having time to devote to open education, and work with colleagues across Canada and B.C. who are working on similar projects” Read more>>

FROM TENNESSEE: Middle Tennessee State University launched a new open textbook pilot program funded by a grant from the Tennessee Board of Regents. The university plans to hold a series of workshops to help faculty incorporate open materials as well as distribute individual grants for the creation of new open resources. OER also provides an opportunity to focus on equity. “They’re really a cornerstone these days for diversity, equity and inclusion in the classroom,” said Cheryl Torsney, vice provost for faculty affairs and OER project director. “But obviously faculty retain control of their curriculum and how best to educate their students. We’re just trying to offer them options to keep their students enrolled and on track.” Read more>>

FROM DELAWARE: Faculty at University of Delaware have seen the positive impact that open textbooks can have on classrooms. Professors Eric Greska and Sheara Williamson from within the College of Health Science have saved students thousands of dollars by redesigning their Fundamentals of Anatomy and Physiology course to low cost open materials.Their focus has been making sure students learn and retain the important information in their classes. “We’re teaching future health care professionals,” Williamson said, “and anatomy and physiology is foundational material, so if they don’t know it, we’re in trouble.” The ability to completely customize their course materials and create interactive elements available on their learning management system helps students engage with the class and succeed. Read more>>

HOT OFF THE PRESS

Each edition, we highlight an interesting, new, openly-licensed resource

From the University of Texas at Austin comes a new intermediate Turkish language textbook, Her Şey Bir Merhaba ile Başlar by Dr. Jeannette Okur. The textbook features audio clips, speaking exercises, grammar, vocabulary, and cultural activities.

WEIGH IN

Great reads to repost or share and interesting discussions to consider

Great to Share >>

Letter to the Editor | The Daily Barometer

Dept. of Higher Education’s initiative helping college students save money | 22News WWLP

UTA team creating new textbooks for transportation certificate | Mirage

Four open textbook pilot grantees kick off projects to save students millions | SPARC

Textbook costs are predatory | Dartmouth Weekly

Interesting to Consider >>

Open educational resources for emergency remote teaching a new paradigm? | MENAFN

Have suggestions for the next edition? Let us know at oerdigest@gmail.com, or tweet us @OERdigest.

The OER Digest is a public newsletter distributed to a broad group of stakeholders across the higher education community. Subscribe here.

Regular Edition

OER Digest – February 19th, 2021

From Bilan Jama (CC USA) | Volume 123 | February 19, 2021

THE OER DIGEST

Your bi-weekly newsletter for open education updates, opportunities, and reminders

OPEN EDUCATION WEEK: Open Education Week is a little over a week away! Organized by Open Education Global and held from March 1-7, institutions, organizations and individuals from around the world committed to the ideals of Open Education are welcome to join and contribute. Participation is free, and there are many different ways to engage. Check out the OE Week page for more info and register your local event, and be sure to browse their library of OE Week resources that have been compiled over the years. We hope to (virtually) see you there!

CODE OF BEST PRACTICES: The Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Open Educational Resources was released this week. This document is intended to support authors, teachers, professors, librarians, and all open educators in evaluating when and how they can incorporate third party copyright materials into Open Educational Resources to meet their pedagogical goals. The Best Practices is built on a series of workshops, interviews, and webinars that were conducted over the course of 2019 and 2020.

UMBC OER SURVEY: In a survey of more than 900 students from fall 2020 who completed courses that utilized OER, The University of Maryland, Baltimore County College (UMBC) students said they appreciated saving money on instructional materials and would recommend an OER course to others. Nearly 90% of students said the quality of the OER course materials was of similar or higher quality than non-OER course materials. In the surveyed courses, faculty replaced traditional print textbooks with OERs and provided supplemental digital homework tools. 45% of students who completed the survey said they would be fairly likely or very likely to enroll in an OER course again, while 53% said they would recommend an OER course to others.

OPEN CONNECTIONS

Conferences, jobs, and other OER-related opportunities

JOB OPPORTUNITY: Touro College Libraries is seeking an Open Educational Resources & Instruction Librarian. The job posting is available here.

REGISTER NOW: The NC Department of Public Instruction and its GoOpenNC platform are facilitating a Culturally Relevant Teaching (CRT) Intensive that engages educators on a cultural and identity reflection with direct application to curriculum resources. The deadline to register is February 24, 2021.

REGISTER NOW: Registration is now open for the collaborative UnConference led by North Carolina and Virginia to celebrate the 10th annual 2021 Digital Learning Day on February 25, 2021. Register here.

WEBINAR SERIES: Join CCCOER for their 2021 Webinar Series held Wednesdays at noon PT/3 pm ET. View sessions and register here.

WEBINAR: UMBC is hosting a webinar on How to Get Started with Open Educational Resources from 12:00-1:00pm ET, March 3, 2021. The webinar will highlight two student-centered models for textbook procurement. Learn more and register here.

REGISTER NOW: Registration is now open for the 2021 M.O.S.T. State Summit, which will take place virtually April 8-9, 2021. The theme of the 2021 conference is Using OER to Advance Equity and Inclusion. Learn more and register here.

STORIES FROM THE FIELD

Quick snapshots of those making change on the ground level, and those impacted

FROM CALIFORNIA: Hancock College and three other community colleges in California will be able to provide free textbooks and materials to students after receiving a $1.9 million U.S. Department of Education grant. Under the terms of the grant, Hancock, West Hills Community Lemoore, the College of Marin and College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita will form the California Consortium for Equitable Change in Hispanic Serving Institutions Open Education Resources, or CC-ECHO, program. “The cost of textbooks and other course materials continues to be a barrier for many students,” Hancock Superintendent and President Kevin G. Walthers said. “This grant will help remove those barriers and ensure that all of our students have equitable access to the quality education that Hancock provides.” Read more >>

FROM NEW JERSEY: Middlesex College is the statewide lead for a $1.44 million federal Department of Education OER grant. The three-year grant will engage a consortium of New Jersey community colleges and Rowan University to develop open textbooks in career and technical education STEM (science, engineering, technology, math) courses that align to career pathways in New Jersey’s growth industries including health services, technology, energy, and global manufacturing and supply chain management. “We know that the cost of textbooks can be a barrier for students as they pursue a degree,” Marilyn N. Ochoa, the college’s library director who led the effort in securing the grant, said in a prepared statement. “The grant is intended to help students in vocational and career education programs by reducing the cost of course materials and improving student learning outcomes.” Read more >>

FROM TEXAS: Architecture assistant professor Atefe Makhmalbaf is developing OER for courses in building information modeling, which will finish the development stage by June or July and give students access to free course materials. Her project is called, “Development, Adoption, and Assessment of OER to Enhance Building Information Modeling Courses,” began after Makhmalbaf received a UTA CARES Innovation grant last spring. This platform will allow students to access materials before lectures and spend more class time on projects. “For building information modeling, there was absolutely no other similar resource freely available to students and in an organized coherent way that students can access and learn from,” Makhmalbaf said. Read more >>

HOT OFF THE PRESS

Each edition, we highlight an interesting, new, openly-licensed resource

Virginia Tech Publishing and the Pamplin College of Business have released the Fundamentals of Business, third edition. The third edition includes data updates, graphic redesign over 70 figures, updated content to reflect changes in technology, law, and economics, and inclusion of company examples more familiar to today’s students. The book includes images of people that are more representative of a diverse student body.

Virginia Tech Publishing and the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) will publish Introduction to Biosystems Engineering, an open textbook for university-level introductory courses in biosystems engineering. Written by an international team of authors, this is the first open textbook published as part of the University Libraries’ membership in the Open Education Network Publishing Cooperative.

WEIGH IN

Great reads to repost or share and interesting discussions to consider

Great to Share >>

Theology Department Receives $25,000 Grant To Lead “La Biblia” Workshops | The Rattler

Interesting to Consider >>

Opinion: California’s universities should back open textbooks | The San Diego Union-Tribune

Accessibility in open educational resources is resilience | OER & Beyond

Have suggestions for the next edition? Let us know at oerdigest@gmail.com, or tweet us @OERdigest.

The OER Digest is a public newsletter distributed to a broad group of stakeholders across the higher education community. Subscribe here.

Regular Edition

OER Digest – February 4th, 2021

From Hailey Babb (SPARC) | Volume 122 | February 4th, 2021

THE OER DIGEST

Your bi-weekly newsletter for open education updates, opportunities, and reminders

OPEN EDUCATION WEEK: Open Education Week is a month away! Organized by Open Education Global and held from March 1-7, institutions, organizations and individuals from around the world committed to the ideals of Open Education are welcome to join and contribute. Participation is free, and there are many different ways to engage. Check out the OE Week page for more info and register your local event, and be sure to browse their library of OE Week resources that have been compiled over the years. We hope to (virtually) see you there!

EBOOK PRICE GOUGING: Almost 3,000 librarians in the UK have signed onto an open letter outlining their frustrations with the academic ebook market, citing it as “unaffordable, unsustainable and inaccessible”. With COVID-19 exacerbating the urgent need to provide digital course materials to students, libraries say the matter has come to a head and are now seeking a public investigation into the matter. The article went viral on Reddit, amassing over 3,600 comments. Many of these comments raised OER as an alternative to traditional ebook publishing and advocated for their adoption.

OPEN CONNECTIONS

Conferences, jobs, and other OER-related opportunities

CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS: Achieving the Dream is seeking 8–10 institutional partners to participate in a study on OER in community colleges, with a goal to better understand how OER leads to the adoption of new pedagogical strategies in the classroom. Learn more here.

CALL FOR PROPOSALS: The Open Education Southern Symposium has opened both it’s call for proposals and registration for their 2021 conference. The CFP deadline is Friday, March 19th.

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS: The Coko Foundation is once again hosting the Open Publishing Awards in 2021. For more information or to submit a nomination, click here.

JOB OPPORTUNITY: SPARC is seeking a full-time, remote, U.S.-based candidate to join their Open Education Team as an Open Education Coordinator. The job posting is available here.

JOB OPPORTUNITY: Bellevue College is currently recruiting for a tenure-track OER Librarian Assistant. The job posting is available here.

JOB OPPORTUNITY: George Mason University is hiring for an Open Educational Resources & Scholarly Communication Lead. The job posting is available here.

JOB OPPORTUNITY: The University System of New Hampshire is hiring an Instructional Designer with preference for an OER-experienced candidate. The job posting is available here.

WEBINAR SERIES: Beginning on Thursday, February 11th at 10am, join North Carolina State University Libraries for the recurring weekly Open Café Express – an open education themed drop-in series. View sessions and register here.

WEBINAR: OpenOregon is hosting a webinar on Innovative Textbook Procurement Models from 12:00-1:00pm Pacific time, February 19, 2021. The webinar will highlight two student-centered models for textbook procurement. Learn more and register here.

STORIES FROM THE FIELD

Quick snapshots of those making change on the ground level, and those impacted

FROM CANADA: AtlanticOER will officially launch on February 9th as Canada’s first multi-provincial OER repository. Funded by the Council of Atlantic University Libraries, AtlanticOER will provide OER development grants to educators in Canada’s Atlantic region. Stay tuned for more details!

FROM NORTH CAROLINA: The North Carolina Community College System launched it’s cloud-based library of open educational content on February 1st to provide faculty and students with free digital materials to enhance teaching and learning. OpenNCCC, which replaces the North Carolina Learning Object Repository (NCLOR), will support new approaches to teaching and provide equitable access to quality educational materials throughout the state. Read more >>

FROM LOUISIANA: Students and professors at Louisiana State University are speaking out about the rising cost of textbooks and other educational resources amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. “The increase in textbook prices is a red flag; it is a cash grab,” says Mass Communication Professor David Stamps. “They are not as updated as they should be and ultimately it will put students into deeper debt.” Students like Mary Grace Parks are advocating for the adoption of free or low-cost materials like OER instead. “Professors, especially for lower level classes, should look into free online resources,” Parks said. “It gives every student the same learning opportunity without a financial barrier.” Read more >>

FROM LOUISIANA: Also from Louisiana, LOUIS: The Louisiana Library Network, is announcing $26.8 million in reported student savings by utilizing more open and affordable textbooks and materials since 2012. “Post-secondary education students in Louisiana spend an average of $1200 per year on textbooks and materials for their classes,” says Dr. Teri Gallaway, Associate Commissioner and Executive Director for LOUIS. “In Louisiana we have the second highest rate of food insecurity in the United States. When students are struggling to afford the most basic life necessities, we want to do all we can to reduce the financial burden of textbook and material costs.” Read more >>

FROM OREGON: The Student’s Association at the University of Oregon is supporting state legislation that would increase the transparency of fees related to course materials. Oregon Students Association Legislative Director Emily Wanous, states that knowing course material fees in advance will allow students to adequately budget for classes before the course begins rather than learning about textbook costs on the first day. ASUO State SecretaryAaron Lewis agrees, saying that fee transparency is especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic because many students are spread more financially thin. Read more >>

HOT OFF THE PRESS

Each edition, we highlight an interesting, new, openly-licensed resource

Lumen Learning has recently released a new set of courseware focusing on Abnormal Psychology.

Siobhán McElduff has released Spectacles in the Roman World: A Sourcebook, created for a second-year undergraduate class on spectacles in Greece and Rome at the University of British Columbia.

WEIGH IN

Great reads to repost or share and interesting discussions to consider

Great to Share >>

Inflated textbook prices reflect larger issues in the education system | The Pitt News

Interesting to Consider >>

Co-creating OER with Students in the Trades | BcCampus News

Bookstores adapt to pandemic, increasing digitization of textbooks | The Post

Have suggestions for the next edition? Let us know at oerdigest@gmail.com, or tweet us @OERdigest.

The OER Digest is a public newsletter distributed to a broad group of stakeholders across the higher education community. Subscribe here.

Regular Edition

OER Digest- January 21, 2021

From Cailyn Nagle (PIRG) | Volume 121 | January 21st, 2021

THE OER DIGEST

Your bi-weekly newsletter for open education updates, opportunities, and reminders

OPEN TEXTBOOK PILOT WINNERS ANNOUNCED: The U.S. Department of Education announced their fourth round of grants to support open textbook creation and adoption. The federal Open Textbook Pilot grant program continues to save students across the country millions and with the changes to the program, this year is set up to have the largest impact yet. Congratulations to the winners of the 2020 Pilot-

West Hills Lemoore College’s California Consortium for Equitable Change in Hispanic Serving Institutions Open Educational Resources
Middlesex County College’s Open Textbook Collaborative Project with 17 other New Jersey institutions
The Louisiana Board of Regents’ Interactive Dual Enrollment
University of Texas at Arlington’s OERTransport: Enabling Transportation Planning Professional Advancement project

CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR’S BUDGET: Gavin Newsom revealed his proposed budget for 2021 featuring $36.1 billion in funding for higher education with $15 million of that being set aside for zero textbook cost degrees in the California Community Colleges. During the announcement, Newsom called out the commercial textbook industry as a “racket” and committed the state to fixing the “usurious costs associated with textbooks.” In last year’s 2020 budget, Newsom had originally proposed $10 million for the program, but the line item was cut due to projected budget shortfalls.

OPEN CONNECTIONS

Conferences, jobs, and other OER-related opportunities

JOB OPPORTUNITY: SPARC is seeking a full-time, U.S.-based candidate to join their Open Education Team as an Open Education Coordinator. The job posting is available here.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY: The Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communications is looking for a new managing editor. Deadline for applications is February 14th. The details are available here.

JOB OPPORTUNITY: The Rebus Foundation is looking for a new Assistant Program Manager to help develop new programs, lead training, and more. Application deadline is January 31st. Learn more here.

STUDENT OPPORTUNITY: The Open Education Southern Symposium has opened a student contest for their new logo. The student artist who wins will receive a monetary prize and their artwork will be featured in the 2021 conference. Deadline for submissions is January 31st. Read more here.

CALL FOR PROPOSALS: Applications for the statewide Spring 2021 Missouri Affordable and Open Educational Resources Symposium are now open. The deadline for submissions is February 1, 2021. Learn more and submit a proposal here.

STORIES FROM THE FIELD

Quick snapshots of those making change on the ground level, and those impacted

FROM FLORIDA: Over this past fall semester, University of Central Florida saved students over $750,000 with open educational resources. Physics faculty alone saved students $232,000 after ten faculty made the switch to free open materials. “The free online textbook has enhanced students’ accessibility,” said Dr Ellen Kang, a physics professor. “The fact that the e-textbook can be customized for each instructor has allowed for greater flexibility in the preparation of my course materials.” Read more >>

FROM UTAH: Through a letter to the editor from Dixie State Provost Michael Lecourse, the university lays out an exciting path forward that places the principles of openness front and center. Using OER as a key element of their vision to build access. “We believe every person has the potential to succeed in work and life if given access and opportunity to learn,” wrote Lecourse. Read more >>

FROM MICHIGAN: Michigan State University is launching “BIG Collection,” a collection that unites the Big Ten university libraries, which together own 22 percent of the printed word in English. Directing this project is the Steering Committee which will connect the fifteen universities in the network and has committed itself to an OER program, in addition to uniting their book and journal collections. “The BIG Collection is really about collaboration, impact, and efficiency,” said Joseph Salem, Dean of MSU Libraries. “This will increase access to materials for all of our users. It’s just a tremendous initiative!” Read more >>

HOT OFF THE PRESS

Each edition, we highlight an interesting, new, openly-licensed resource

From North Broad Press, a joint publishing project from Temple University Press and Temple University Library, comes Bridges: United States Academia for First-Generation and International College Students by Dr. Shawn Higgins. This book prepares new college students with straightforward information about university life. From useful lists to writing and speaking templates, this publication will help prepare new students for success.

WEIGH IN

Great reads to repost or share and interesting discussions to consider

Great to Share >>

Professors have students paying for their homework | Dakota Student

Teaching: New Tools for Course Transparency | The Chronicle of Higher Education

Interesting to Consider >>

Staff Opinion: Don’t buy textbooks | The Daily Universe

Have suggestions for the next edition? Let us know at oerdigest@gmail.com, or tweet us @OERdigest.

The OER Digest is a public newsletter distributed to a broad group of stakeholders across the higher education community. Subscribe here.

Regular Edition

OER Digest – January 7th, 2021

From Bilan Jama (CC USA) | Volume 120 | January 7th, 2021

THE OER DIGEST

Your bi-weekly newsletter for open education updates, opportunities, and reminders

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

OPEN TEXTBOOK PILOT: Just before the end of the year, the U.S. Congress passed a comprehensive spending package that included renewal funding for the Open Textbook Pilot grant program for a fourth year! Congress matched last year’s investment with another $7 million, which will be awarded to higher education institutions for open textbook projects by September 30th. Under instructions from Congress, the Department of Education is expected to run a new competition following similar terms as the one run in 2020, including a 60 day application period and multiple awards. The renewal brings the total funding to $24 million for since 2018. Meanwhile, the Department has also completed its process for the previous round of funding and is expected to publicly announce the winners of the approximately $6 million in awards soon.

HIGHER EDUCATION COLLAB: State leaders, postsecondary education institutions, and education leaders are working across state lines to promote the adoption of OER to help millions of students access high-quality learning materials that are free to use, customize, and share. With renewed support from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the four regional higher education compacts—the Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC), the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE), the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), and the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE)—will coordinate in a joint effort to provide policy leaders, institutional leaders, and researchers and practitioners with research and tools to support the use of these openly-licensed materials.

SIGNING OFF (from Digest co-author Mo Nyamweya): Hi everyone, and happy new year. As of the end of last month, I have transitioned out of my role as Open Education Coordinator at SPARC. This community is so vibrant and supportive, and I’m so thankful to have contributed my piece as OER Digest co-author. I’ll be working on applying to graduate school in 2021 and continuing to support the OER community and all the incredible work you do. Thanks for everything, and feel free to reach me via email: moige.nym@gmail.com.

OPEN CONNECTIONS

Conferences, jobs, and other OER-related opportunities

CALL FOR PROPOSALS: The Open Language Resource Center (OLRC) and the Center for Open Educational Resources and Language Learning (COERLL) are seeking proposals for a joint online conference to be held on Saturday, March 6th, 2021. The deadline for proposal submission is Friday, January 15th, 2021.

CALL FOR PROPOSALS: Submit your proposals for the Cascadia Open Education Summit here. The deadline for proposal submission is Friday, January 15th, 2021.

REGISTER NOW: Registration is now open for the 2021 Arizona Regional OER Conference. January 29th is the kickoff date and the virtual conference will continue each Friday in February and ending on the first Friday in March (1/29/21 – 3/5/21).

CALL FOR PROPOSALS: Applications for the Spring 2021 Missouri Affordable and Open Educational Resources Symposium are now open. The deadline for submissions is February 1, 2021, and proposals can be submitted here.

STORIES FROM THE FIELD

Quick snapshots of those making change on the ground level, and those impacted

FROM PENNSYLVANIA: The state Department of Education (PDE), through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries (OCL), announced $500,000 in funding to support affordability and equity in higher education. These funds will be offered through a new OER Grant Program (OER) funded by the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER) established by the CARES Act of 2020. The grant program will provide a series of mini-grants and stipends to encourage and support faculty in creating, adapting, and adopting OER and other zero-cost materials in institutions of postsecondary and higher education across Pennsylvania. “Improving access to resources and materials for some students of the commonwealth is a step toward improving student success,” said Acting Secretary of Education Noe Ortega. “The department is excited about the opportunity to award grants that will result in more affordable textbook options for students during a moment in time where financial relief is certainly welcomed and needed.” Read more >>

FROM TENNESSEE: Columbia State was awarded approximately $60,000 in funding for two Tennessee Board of Regents Digital Engagement Initiative OER grants. The new grant program will increase access to quality, low or no cost, and inclusive educational materials through innovative programs focused on providing OER. “We want to remove cost as a barrier for students. The idea is that we will have online materials that students will be able to access from the first day of class. They can also print out copies of the materials if they want hard copies. They won’t have to wait to purchase their textbooks,” said Judy Westley, Columbia State associate professor of English. The overall program goal is to increase success rates and improve educational outcomes for traditionally underserved students, such as students of color, first-generation college students and economically disadvantaged students. Read more >>

FROM WEST VIRGINIA: Students at West Virginia University at Parkersburg have saved $140,860 during the 2019 to 2020 academic year through the use of no-cost and OER in 38 courses, according to the school. “The benefit of creating and providing OER courses are shared among students, faculty, the college, parents and so many more,” said Dave Thompson, a professor and chairman of the WVU Parkersburg Humanities, Fine Arts and Social Sciences. “Easy access, low costs, diverse instruction methods and user-friendliness are a few of the most valuable features.” Read more >>

HOT OFF THE PRESS

Each edition, we highlight an interesting, new, openly-licensed resource

Dr. Yongyeon Cho from Iowa State University has recently published Tutorials of Visual Graphic Communication Programs for Interior Design. This book is for the beginning level of both architecture and interior design students who learn computer graphic communication software.

WEIGH IN

Great reads to repost or share and interesting discussions to consider

Great to Share >>

Five Federal Institutions with Free Education Materials | Department of Education Homeroom Blog

Interesting to Consider >>

Interrogating and Supplementing OER Through a Decolonized Lens | International Journal of Open Educational Resources Blog

Teaching | The Chronicle of Higher Education

Have suggestions for the next edition? Let us know at oerdigest@gmail.com, or tweet us @OERdigest.

The OER Digest is a public newsletter distributed to a broad group of stakeholders across the higher education community. Subscribe here.

Annual Review

OER Digest: Year in Review – December 17, 2020

From Hailey Babb (SPARC) | Volume 119 | December 17th, 2020

THE OER DIGEST – A YEAR IN REVIEW

A look back at the big updates from 2020

COVID-19: Throughout 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the world around us. The impact has been felt in every corner of society, from how we teach and learn to how we connect and communicate to how we are able to care for each other. The rapid pivot online in the spring and continued uncertainty throughout the fall has had a significant impact on all levels of education, worldwide. During the first months of the pandemic, the OER Digest brought you biweekly updates on stories and resources for adapting to the virtual environment, and has continued to cover the efforts at the local, national and international level to adjust to the new environment and leverage the benefits of OER.

INTERNATIONAL: After formally adopting an OER Recommendation at the end of 2019, UNESCO was poised to draw connections between the challenges created by the pandemic and the opportunities of OER, issuing a joint call for action and guidance for using OER during school closures. The OECD released a report entitled The Impact of COVID-19 on Education outlining the impact of the pandemic on the world’s educational systems.

HIGHER ED: Many organizations working within the higher education space published documents and statements making the case for OER during COVID, including DOERS3, ISKME and NEBHE. OERu launched an OER support group, and ALT created the Open COVID Pledge for Education.

K-12: The K-12 community also saw major pushes for OER during the pandemic. New America has curated a list of OER for K-12 students, and OpenStax has been supporting educators by sharing resources (such as this list of free and open resources for K-12) and facilitating conversations about OER. Countless school districts have also promoted the adoption of open materials to support students in their remote learning.

RACIAL JUSTICE AND EQUITY IN OPEN EDUCATION: The Black Lives Matter movement and protests over the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and others in 2020 are now considered by many to be the largest civil rights movement in U.S. history. In light of these events, many organizations in the open education community have renewed, strengthened, or created commitments to anti-racist work in education. These include The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation’s $15 million pledge to support organizations working to combat systemic racism and recent award to the Community College Consortium for OER (CCCOER) for an Open for Anti-Racism (OFAR) Project for the California community colleges. Program officer Angela DeBarger also wrote a powerful articulation of the Foundation’s approach to systemic racism in open education.

CONNECTING VIRTUALLY: Nearly all of the gatherings of open education community members this year moved online. While we all may feel some nostalgia for hallway chats over lukewarm coffee and serendipitous connections, moving events online also created new opportunities for people to engage. The 2020 virtual CC Global Summit and Open Education Global Conference defied traditional conference schedules by running programs around the clock, and breaking down barriers to welcome those who may not have been able to attend in the past due to financial or travel restraints.

OPENED20: One the top stories in our 2019 annual review was entitled “OpenEd20?” as the fate of the open education field’s largest and longest standing annual convening was in question—and that was even before the pandemic hit. As many readers know, the 2020 Open Education Conference not only took place this November, but it included a record breaking 1,500 participants, representation from 70+ countries, and five days of programming. Organized through a collaborative, community-driven process that included hundreds of contributors, the conference will continue to evolve toward independent governance over the next year. Stay tuned for opportunities to get involved in the 2021 virtual conference.

FAILED MERGER: We entered 2020 with apprehension about the future of the textbook market, as the second and third largest publishers, Cengage and McGraw-Hill Education, were on track to merge—in spite of widespread opposition from students, university groups, libraries, bookstores, and others. After mounting pressure from antitrust authorities, the two companies officially called off the merger in May. Had it not failed, the merger would have turned the textbook market into an effective duopoly, which would have stifled competition and caused prices to rise. The merger’s failure effectively maintains the status quo, but avoids what opponents say would have been a significant roadblock to the continued expansion of OER.

OPEN TEXTBOOK PILOT: This year, the Open Textbook Pilot grant program was renewed for $7 million. The US Department of Education also held a public comment period to solicit community feedback on the program, and garnered over 70 formal comments. This year’s grantees are expected to be announced by the end of 2020, and the $7 million grant is expected to be renewed by Congress in the next fiscal year.

OPEN CONNECTIONS

Conferences, jobs, and other OER-related opportunities

CALL FOR PROPOSALS: The Cascadia Open Education Summit invites you to share your groundbreaking ideas, research, and best practices for using OER or engaging in open educational practices. The virtual event will take place from April 27-29, 2021. Apply by January 15th here.

JOB OPPORTUNITY: Boise State University is hiring for an OER Librarian. The deadline to apply is January 4, 2021.

JOB OPPORTUNITY: The Midwest Higher Education Compact (MHEC) is hiring for a part-time OER consultant. For more information, read the job description here.

WEBINAR: DigiTex is hosting a free webinar on OER Sustainability on January 27 at 2:00 PM CDT. Presenters will discuss the topic in the context of the work of CCCOER and DOERS3. To register for this event, please click here.

CALL FOR PAPERS: The International Journal of Open Educational Resources (IJOER) has released its Fall 2020/Winter 2021 issue. If you are interested in submitting a paper, or joining the editorial peer reviewer board please contact Dr. Melissa Layne at mlayne@apus.edu.

STORIES FROM THE FIELD

Quick snapshots of those making change on the ground level, and those impacted

FROM ONTARIO: In light of COVID-19, the Ontario government has announced a new Virtual Learning Strategy through the Ontario Onwards Action Plan. To support these activities, Ontario is making an historic investment of $50 million in 2020-21 to support the postsecondary sector in driving innovation and expanding access to Ontario’s postsecondary system for domestic and international students. The strategy will build on and leverage Ontario’s existing digital learning organizations – Contact North and eCampusOntario – that improve access and drive innovation in virtual teaching and learning. Read more >>

FROM MANITOBA: Devin Latimer from the University of Winnipeg has completed the province of Manitoba’s first-ever full-text OER adaptation, a collaborative project on Chemistry 2e (OpenStax). His work has resulted in the creation of a new OER, Chemistry and the Environment, and has saved his students a cumulative total of more than $8500. “I simply believe in the idea of openly sharing content”, says Latimer. “… The fact that we can then offer resources for free to our students, [and also have] a way to support education around the world, is a major bonus and makes the work even more important for me.” Read more >>

HOT OFF THE PRESS

Each edition, we highlight an interesting, new, openly-licensed resource

The Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) has released a new OER called Copyright for University Instructors and Staff. In a series of seven short self-directed modules, university employees are guided through instructional videos and brief quizzes that will help them navigate the complexities of copyright law in Canada.

Beau Branson from Brescia University has released the fourth book in the Introduction to Philosophy open textbook series: Philosophy of Religion. The text explores various arguments for and against belief in the existence of God, ranging from the most common and traditional to more recent and less well known.

WEIGH IN

Great reads to repost or share and interesting discussions to consider

Great to Share >>

A Fall Like No Other | Inside Higher Ed

Interesting to Consider >>

The Strange Case of the Exploding Student Workload | Inside Higher Ed

Have suggestions for the next edition? Let us know at oerdigest@gmail.com, or tweet us @OERdigest.

The OER Digest is a public newsletter distributed to a broad group of stakeholders across the higher education community. Subscribe here.

Regular Edition

OER Digest – December 3rd, 2020

From Cailyn Nagle (PIRG) | Volume 118 | December 3rd, 2020

With updates from Kaitlyn Vitez

THE OER DIGEST

Your bi-weekly newsletter for open education updates, opportunities, and reminders

U.S. FEDERAL UPDATE: Final negotiations for the Fiscal Year 2021 federal budget are underway in Congress ahead of the December 11th deadline to fund the government. House Democrats and Senate Republicans have both issued budget proposals that differ significantly, and failure to reach an agreement would have dire consequences. One bright spot, however, is that both have pencilled in renewed funding for the Open Textbook Pilot grant program, which is expected to announce its third round of funding later this month. Especially at a time when campuses are seeking to expand their digital programs, there is a need to develop high quality, flexible materials that students can access no matter where they are. Track the process of renewing funding here. Read more “OER Digest – December 3rd, 2020” →

Regular Edition

OER Digest – November 19th, 2020

From Hailey Babb (SPARC) | Volume 117 | November 19th, 2020

THE OER DIGEST

Your bi-weekly newsletter for open education updates, opportunities, and reminders

COMBATTING SYSTEMIC RACISM: The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation has pledged $15M to groups working across a range of issues—from health to education to human rights—to advance racial justice by centering Black communities. “Realizing the potential of open education is only going to be possible to the extent that it roots out structural racism”, says Angela DeBarger, Education Program Officer at the Hewlett Foundation. “We must be more ambitious about dismantling racist policies, practices, and ideas through our work”. Read more “OER Digest – November 19th, 2020” →

Regular Edition

OER Digest – November 5th, 2020

From Bilan Jama (CC USA) | Volume 116 | November 5th, 2020

THE OER DIGEST

Your bi-weekly newsletter for open education updates, opportunities, and reminders

OER & ONLINE LEARNING: ISKME has just released OER & Online Learning: Faculty Quick Start Guide, Strengthening the Shift to Online Learning in California Community Colleges Through the Use of OER. The guide is supported by a grant from the Michelson 20MM Foundation, to conduct a study and develop a set of resources to accelerate OER use for distance education, especially the urgent shift to remote learning during the pandemic in 2020. Tailored to faculty and campus administrators both in California, the Guide has the aim is to enable system-wide shifts to meet postsecondary institutions’ long term goals for distance learning, and faculty’s emergency plans for remote learning in response to the COVID-19 and potential future crises. Read more “OER Digest – November 5th, 2020” →

Regular Edition

OER Digest – October 8th, 2020

From Cailyn Nagle (PIRG) | Volume 115 | October 8th, 2020

THE OER DIGEST

OPENED20: With the theme of “Reimagining Open Education” the 2020 Open Education Conference (#OpenEd20) is now open for registration. The conference is virtual this year and will take place from November 9-13th. Currently, the conference is being redesigned through community input. Early registration runs until October 30th. Scholarships are available.

COPYRIGHT AND FAIR USE FOCUS GROUPS: The next week is the last chance to participate in this stage of the development of the best practices in fair use and fair dealing for open educational resources. Come take part in a focus group to help document the pedagogical, social, and emotional purposes for including third party materials in OER. These workshops are currently focused on fair use in the United States and fair dealing in Canada – so we encourage participants in both of those jurisdictions to participate. Register for the K-12 or higher education track.

OPEN CONNECTIONS

Conferences, jobs, and other OER-related opportunities

APPLY NOW: The 2020 application period for the Open Textbook Pilot program is open. The grant competition will award approximately $6 million in federal funds to higher education institutions to create or expand the use of open textbooks. Applications close November 16th, 2020. Learn more and apply here. There is also a call for reviewers.

CALL FOR PROPOSALS: The Scholarly Communication Notebook is accepting proposals. The SNC is a collaboration of libraries creating OER for library students. They are looking for OER around scholarly communication and are offering a financial award to participants. Review of proposals will begin October 20th. Read more and apply here.

REGISTER NOW: Kennesaw State University has opened their Open Access Week events to the broader community. They have a different event Monday-Friday, from panels to film screenings. See the complete list of events and register here.

REGISTER NOW: Virginia Tech’s OA week has been going strong since 2012! This year they are hosting discussions and webinars every day of the week. See their event descriptions and register here.

SAVE THE DATE: The Open Education Policy Forum is scheduled for October 29th. This international conversation has gone virtual and with the main session focused on the results of their study on Open Education’s responses to the pandemic. Read more here.

STORIES FROM THE FIELD

Quick snapshots of those making change on the ground level, and those impacted

FROM CALIFORNIA: Saddleback College has added 15 zero textbook cost (ZTC) pathways, which means students can complete these degrees and certifications without purchasing a single textbook. The college has embraced the ZTC movement in fields ranging from economics to aging studies. “Sometimes a textbook can be more expensive than the class,” said one student at Saddleback College. “One of the textbooks for a non-ZTC class was around $200. I was able to take an extra class with the money I saved from enrolling in a ZTC course instead.” Read more>>

FROM NEBRASKA: First launched in 2015, University of Nebraka Kerny’s OER initiative has grown to include 50 faculty teaching 83 classes. The program has saved students nearly half a million dollars since it’s start and continues to expand its impact. The university is currently working to include course designations for OER classes during the registration process. In addition to savings, faculty are seeing additional benefits to participating in the program. “The dollar amount is obviously very important, but what really resonates with me is the interactivity and engagement in OER courses. The material is always very relevant,” said Jane Petersen, UNK director of Academic Technology and Client Services. Read more>>

FROM KENTUCKY: This fall term, West Kentucky University’s Affordable Textbook Initiative has saved students nearly $70,000 in textbook costs. The new program, run out of the library, worked with eight faculty and are planning to continue the program into 2021. Read more>>

HOT OFF THE PRESS

Each edition, we highlight an interesting, new, openly-licensed resource

Dr. Brain Weidner from Butler University released Brass Techniques and Pedagogy. This guide for the band music educator focuses on beginner level brass instruction and includes the horn, trumpet, tuba, euphonium, and trombone.

DePaw University’s Dr. Humberto Barreto released a second edition of Intermediate Microeconomics with Microsoft Excel.The book’s interactive examples use Excel to let students manipulate live graphs to learn by doing. While it uses Excel 2019, it is also compatible with older versions.

WEIGH IN

Great reads to repost or share and interesting discussions to consider

Great to Share >>

Open Educational Resources are Helpful | Pierce College Round Up
Professors, Help Your Students Succeed By Adopting No Cost, Open Textbooks | Michelson 20MM
How can teaching materials promote equity? | William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

Interesting to Consider >>

Pandemic Amplifies Trouble with Restrictive Licensing and E-Textbooks | SPARC

Have suggestions for the next edition? Let us know at oerdigest@gmail.com, or tweet us @OERdigest.

The OER Digest is a public newsletter distributed to a broad group of stakeholders across the higher education community. Subscribe here.

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