OER Digest – June 10, 2021

From Aishah Abdullah  | Volume 131 | Date June 10, 2021

THE OER DIGEST

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

CALIFORNIA FUNDING: A coalition of advocates are calling on Californians to support Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposal to invest $115 million in expanding the state’s Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) Degree program at community colleges. The program builds on a successful state-funded pilot that developed 37 ZTC programs including 404 ZTC courses which participating colleges project will save students more than eight times the original investment. California’s community college system is the largest higher education system in the U.S., enrolling more than 2 million students annually. Governor Newsom and the state legislature are expected to reach a deal on the budget by early next week.

OPEN CONNECTIONS

Conferences, jobs, and other OER-related opportunities

CALL FOR PROPOSALS & REGISTER NOW: The 2021 Open Education Conference (#OpenEd21) has opened registration. The annual conference will be held virtually on October 18-22. The registration rates are $75 USD or $25 USD if you are a student, and scholarships are available. Interested in presenting? The call for proposals is open until June 21.

CALL FOR PROPOSALS: The 2021 Creative Commons Global Summit call for proposals is now open. This virtual conference will be held September 20-24. The deadline to submit your proposal is June 23. You can submit and learn more here. 

REGISTER NOW: Registration is open for the Open Education Global 2021 Online Conference. The conference will begin on September 27 and you can register here. 

WEBINAR: BCcampus is hosting a webinar “Adult Basic Education OER Showcase”. In this webinar, they are showcasing over 30 open educational resources created for their new tuition and textbook-cost-free program for adult basic education. This webinar will be taking place on June 17th. You can register and learn more here. 

GRANT OPPORTUNITY: Atla is offering a grant opportunity for open educational resources that are focused on theology or religion. The deadline to submit an application is July 30th. Learn more about eligibility and apply here. 

STORIES FROM THE FIELD

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

FROM COLORADO:  The University of Northern Colorado Open Educational Resources Committee has awarded several faculty members grants to assist them in implementing OER in their courses in replacement of their commercial textbooks. These faculty members will use the funds to create, adopt, and adapt OER for their courses in Fall 2021. This is the third cohort of faculty who are dedicated to OER that the UNC OER committee has awarded. David Greene, a past grant winner, shared “I believe educating Human Services workers needs to be adaptable to our rapidly changing environment, funding, and community needs. Traditional textbooks are behind the curve.” Read More>>

FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE: Plymouth State University (PSU) has saved students over $1.2 million in textbook related costs. These savings date back to 2015 when PSU started participating in an University System of New Hampshire initiative dedicated to teaching faculty how to curate and create openly licensed texts in place of commercial textbooks. With nearly 30% of PSU’s students being low-income, these savings are a huge accomplishment. CoLab Associate Director Martha Burtis shares how “The savings came out of a lot of people’s hard work and effort and we have tremendous evidence that it paid off.”  Read More>>

OPENSTAX EXPANDS COHORT: OpenStax has welcomed a new cohort of 12 colleges and universities to take part in their institutional partnership program. This program focuses on assisting these colleges and universities implement OER on their respective campuses. Rice University officials shared how “This OpenStax program has helped over 70 colleges and universities expand the use of open educational resources on their campus.” Last year’s cohort member University of Texas Rio Grande Valley saved students over $400,000 while being part of OpenStax’s program. This highlights the impact the program has on the participating campuses. 

HOT OFF THE PRESS

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

Common Lit released a comprehensive OER English Language Arts curriculum titled Common Lit 360. This curriculum can be used for grades 6-10 and is a completely free and digital resource. 

WEIGH IN

Great reads to repost or share and interesting discussions to consider

Great to Share >> 

Rising Cost of Textbook an Academic Threat | Santa Cruz Sentinel

Interesting to Consider >> 

How the Pandemic Boosted Ed Tech Adoption | Campus Technology

OER Digest – May 14th, 2019

From Bilan Jama (CC USA)  | Volume 129 | May 14th, 2021

THE OER DIGEST

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

UNESCO RECOMMENDATION: This week, the Intergovernmental Special Committee Meeting of UNESCO approved the draft text of a Recommendation on Open Science. The Recommendation outlines common definition, shared values, principles and standards for Open Science at the international level  and  proposes  a  set  of  actions  conducive  to  a  fair  and  equitable operationalization of Open Science  at  individual,  institutional,  national,  regional  and  international levels. The Recommendation explicitly recognizes OER within the definition of Open Scientific Knowledge, building on the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Educational Resources adopted in 2019.

READ THE FINE PRINT: SPARC has released a new resource about the legal agreements behind automatic textbook billing programs. Their Automatic Textbook Billing Contract Library offers a structured breakdown of more than 70 contracts with major vendors obtained through public records requests. The library includes contracts previously published by U.S. PIRG, whose 2020 report highlights the differences between OER and “inclusive access” style programs.

ACHIEVING THE DREAM: Achieving the Dream (ATD) has selected eight colleges to participate in the next phase of its research on OER. The goal of ATD’s Teaching and Learning with OER study is to understand whether and how faculty’s use of OER leads to the adoption of new pedagogical strategies in the classroom. ATD has partnered with SRI Education to conduct the research, which will include interviews and focus groups with students, faculty, and administrators, as well as observations of OER classrooms during the 2021 spring and summer academic terms. Researchers will be looking for evidence of innovative teaching practices, such as open pedagogy and culturally responsive teaching practices (CRT), in classes using openly licensed course materials. ATD and SRI will release a final report in early 2022. ATD will develop a set of tools and resources based on the study outcomes to help faculty effectively integrate new teaching practices with their openly licensed materials. 

OPEN CONNECTIONS

Conferences, jobs, and other OER-related opportunities

REGISTER NOW: Join the National Science Education Leadership Association for “Have your cake and eat it too – Utilizing Open Educational Resources to Transform Science Learning”, a webinar on May 19th at 2 pm CDT. Learn more here. 

REGISTER NOW: Join Michelson 20MM on May 26th at 10 am PST to learn about their upcoming Spark Grants Open Educational Resources funding cycle. This Open Educational Resources Spark Grants funding cycle will open June 2nd and close June 23rd. Through this cycle, Michelson 20MM seeks to fund projects in California that support systems-level strategies with the potential to create positive impact at scale and inform public policy. You can register for the event here. 

 APPLY NOW: Applications are open for the SPARC Open Education Leadership Program 2021-22 cohort. The year-long program is available for open education professionals in the US and Canada. Apply by May 28. 

JOB OPPORTUNITY: Michelson 20MM Foundation is looking for an Open Education Resources (OER) Program Manager. The manager will be responsible for managing and supporting the foundation’s long term commitment to OER. The role will require strong research capabilities, strategy refinement, and cross-sector coordination with partners.This full-time position is fully remote. Learn more and apply here. 

JOB OPPORTUNITY: Texas Tech University is looking for a new Open Educational Resources Librarian. The position is full-time and review of applications begins soon. Learn more and apply here.

STORIES FROM THE FIELD

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

FROM MASSACHUSETTS: 27 UMass Lowell faculty members were recently honored at the university’s first “OERscars” ceremony. Organized by UMass Lowell’s MASSPIRG Student’s chapter and Student Government Association, the virtual OERscars event recognized UML faculty who use free or low-cost digital textbooks and OER in their courses. UMass Lowell has taken a series of steps in recent years to encourage faculty to use e-books to help students save money and keep them in school. “The faculty honored here today have been leaders in advocating for students and keeping this issue in the foreground in their departments and colleges,” said Julie Nash, the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs. “It says a lot about our students that they organized this event so they could say thank you.” Read More>>

FROM NEW YORK: Open@RIT, the Rochester Institute of Technology open programs office, has established a fellowship program to support faculty and staff with their work in the open community. Twenty-one projects have been selected from across the university for open work in everything from game development to ASL linguistics. Chris Kurz, professor in the Master of Science in Secondary Education program at NTID, was among seven people with a project in the first cohort. Kurz is leading a project, aimed at increasing global literacy for deaf children. The platform includes a repository of multilingual stories for deaf and hearing children. “They shared with us their research and recommendations for the platform to make it more interactive and engaging for our end users,” said Kurz. “They are professional with their work and they welcome our feedback. My team is looking forward to continuing this collaboration with the program to make stories accessible to children worldwide.” Read More>>

HOT OFF THE PRESS

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

Open Oregon Educational Resources has released Interpretation of Metal Fab Drawings by Cameren Moran. The book introduces the principles of interpretation and application of industrial fabrication drawings. 

WEIGH IN

Great reads to repost or share and interesting discussions to consider

Great to Share >> 

Op-Ed: When reading to learn, what works best for students — printed books or digital texts? | Los Angeles Times 

7 Projects Granted Open Educational Resources Funding | Pittwire 

How MIT OpenCourseWare Became an Educational Resource to Millions Around the World | The MIT Campaign for a Better World

The Impact of OER at the University | The Tech Advocate

Interesting to Consider >> 

Clarification of Free Cultural Works, Open Educational Resources and Open Access | Medium 

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.

OER Digest – April 29, 2021

From Aishah Abdullah (SPARC) | Volume 128 | April 29, 2021

With updates from Hailey Babb

THE OER DIGEST

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

OER IN COVID RELIEF: Several states have leveraged COVID-19 relief funding from the federal government to expand OER programs, recognizing the benefits of OER in distance learning. The latest is Oregon, which has awarded a $1.2 million grant from the federal Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER) to Oregon’s statewide open education program. With this grant, Open Oregon Educational Resources will launch new initiatives, including hiring a statewide Open Education Instructional Designer, translating OER into languages other than English, designing a related professional development course for non-faculty roles, and developing openly-licensed materials with an equity lens. Meanwhile, Pennsylvania is implementing a $500,000 OER Grant Program and Texas established an OER Course Development and Implementation Grant Program through their respective GEER funds.

COLORADO RENEWS FUNDING: The Colorado legislature passed a bill that would renew funding for the state’s successful OER program. The bill will provide $1 million in state funds annually for the next five years. Governor Jared Polis, a long time champion of OER while serving in Congress, is expected to sign the bill. Colorado’s OER program has funded numerous initiatives that focused on OER. Institutions, small groups, and faculty members have received funds to assist in the implementation of OER at their institutions. More than 300 OER course titles have been addressed by the grantees, which has led to students saving over $4 million.

OER IN ALBERTA: The Government of Alberta, Canada has released its long-awaited Alberta 2030 review, which is described as “a transformational vision, direction and new way of working for our province’s higher education system.” Explicitly mentioned in the report is a recommendation to “support the expansion of Open Educational Resources, such as course materials and textbooks,” as a key objective to achieve the Government’s goal of improving access and student experience.Meanwhile, at the national level, the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) recently hosted a webinar on developing a national strategy for OER, which is available in English and French.

OPEN CONNECTIONS

Conferences, jobs, and other OER-related opportunities

CALL FOR PROPOSALS: Open Education Global 2021 Conference has launched their call for proposals. The deadline to submit is May 7th. You can learn more and submit here. 

APPLY NOW: Applications are now open for the SPARC Open Education Leadership Program 2021-22 cohort. The year-long program is available for open education professionals in the US and Canada. Apply by May 28. 

REGISTER NOW: OpenCon Cleveland 2021 is open for registration. This free, virtual conference celebrates the benefits of open education to student learning. This three day event begins on May 13th. You can register for the event here. 

JOB OPPORTUNITY: Texas State University has a position open for an Open Education Resources Librarian. You can learn more and apply to the job here. 

JOB OPPORTUNITY: Open Oregon Educational Resources is hiring an Open Education Instructional Designer. This a grant-funded, two year position. You can learn more and apply here

STORIES FROM THE FIELD

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

FROM ALBERTA: Students at the University of Calgary have been pushing for the adoption of open educational resources at their university and successfully managed to secure a grant. The grant is $500,000 which they expect will create over 50 OERs for students to utilize within the classroom. Student leaders have recognized that there is a huge need for learning materials to be more affordable. “We’re hoping for some kind of movement, some kind of commitment to fund it potentially because there is a very high demand for it and need for it” said student Semhar Abraha who is the Vice President Academic of the Student Union. Read More>>

FROM HAWAI’I: Students at Leeward Community College, which is located in Hawai’i, have saved over $6 million from the adoption of open resource. In the University of Hawai’i 10-campus system, Leeward CC are the leaders of zero-cost textbook classes. The campus has been conducting zero-cost textbook classes for a few years and during the pandemic, their usage increased. In Spring of 2021, over half their classes were instructed using zero-cost textbooks. These savings are benefiting students immensely. Genesis Larson shares how, “With the money I didn’t have to spend on a textbook, I saw the world I was learning about.” Leeward CC plans to only increase their usage of free educational resources within their classrooms. Read More>>

FROM OHIO: The Ohio State University has completed an evaluation of an Ohio statewide textbook affordability initiative. The report is titled “Try it, Make it Better, Perfect it: Implementing a Statewide Textbook Affordability Initiative” and focuses on the Ohio Open Ed Collaborative (OOEC). OOEC is a statewide initiative to develop open and affordable college course materials. Within this report, they analyze the implementation of this program in areas that improvement can be made as well as the successes where other institutions can learn from. Read More>>

HOT OFF THE PRESS

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

Talea Anderson, a Scholarly Communication Librarian at the Washington State University, has released an open textbook titled Accessibility Case Studies for Scholarly Communication Librarians and Practitioners. This open resource is filled with case studies to help guide librarians, and those with similar professions, to implement accessible open education, open access, and open data initiatives. 

WEIGH IN

Great reads to repost or share and interesting discussions to consider

Great to Share >> 

It’s Time for Open Educational Resources | Inside Higher Ed

Investing in Textbook Alternatives Makes Post-Secondary Education More Affordable | Edmonton Journal 

Interesting to Consider >> 

4 Strategies this Administrator uses to Evaluate Free Resources | eSchool News

Leveraging Creative Common License with Dr. Amy Nusbaum | Open Knowledge Spectrums

Open Education Resources to Shape Post-Pandemic World | University World News

Platforms Like Canvas Play Fast and Loose With Students’ Data | The Nation

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.

OER Digest – April 15, 2021

From Cailyn Nagle (PIRG)  | Volume 127 | April 15th, 2021

THE OER DIGEST

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

UPDATES FROM THE STATES: In Colorado, bi-partisan legislation that would expand the statewide OER grant program to include zero textbook cost degree pathways is moving through the state senate. The bill would also provide $1 million in annual state funding for the next five years. Meanwhile, legislation that would regulate automatic billing for course materials has met with strong resistance from the commercial publishing industry, who have framed the legislation as OER vs automatic billing. California’s AB403, which would require automatically billed materials to allow students to opt-in, has stalled in the Committee on Higher Education for now. Two bills in Texas remain under consideration after hearings last month, HB 1707 and HB 1027.

UCF CHOOSES OPT-IN: Students at University of Central Florida have won their campaign to maintain the opt-in structure of their campus’s “First Day” Barnes and Noble program. After a strong grassroots effort of a broad coalition of student groups including WikiKnights, FloPIRG Students, College Republicans, College Democrats, and Young Socialists of America, UCF has decided to not move forward with the proposed opt-out change to their automatic billing program, and will allow students to choose whether to get billed. 

MIT OCW TURNS 20: On April 7th, MIT OpenCourseWare celebrated its 20th anniversary. One of the first large-scale open education programs, MIT OCW has become an invaluable resource to millions of learners around the world. “The idea for OCW came from MIT faculty: to give away MIT’s course materials to the world online,” said MIT President L. Rafael Reif. Over the last two decades, people of all ages and all walks of life have used the lectures, videos, problem sets, and other content. 

OPEN CONNECTIONS

Conferences, jobs, and other OER-related opportunities

REGISTER NOW: The Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) is hosting a webinar on Thursday, April 22 at 1pm ET investigating how stakeholders in Canada can successfully collaborate to advance national capacity for OER. Learn more and register here. 

REGISTER NOW: The webinar, OER in Dual and Concurrent Enrollment Programs: Current Practice and Best Practice, shares the findings and best practices of a study funded by the Midwestern Higher Education Compact and the Southern Regional Education Board. The webinar will take place May 26th from 1:00 – 2:00 PM CT. Learn more and register here.

JOB OPPORTUNITY: University of Tennessee at Chattanooga library is looking for a new Director of Acquisitions and Content. The position is tenure track and the review of applications begins May 10th. Learn more and apply here.

JOB OPPORTUNITY: Utah State University Library is looking for a new Open Educational Resource and Outreach librarian.  This is a tenure track position and review of the applications begins April 26th. Learn more and apply here.

JOB OPPORTUNITY: Texas Tech University is looking for a new OER Librarian. This full-time position assistant librarian position is based in Lubbock. Learn more and apply here. 

CALL FOR PROPOSALS: The Open Learning & Teaching Collaborative and the Interdisciplinary Studies Department at Plymouth State University have a paid opportunity to contribute to a new textbook. The chapter must be on the history of disciplinarity. Submit a cover letter, writing sample, and outline by May 14th. Special preference will be given to graduate students and adjunct faculty. Learn more here.

STORIES FROM THE FIELD

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

FROM NEBRASKA: At University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the Successful Teaching with Affordable Resources initiative has saved students over $3.5 million in textbook costs since it was created in 2019. The program encourages faculty to use cheaper or free textbooks through participating in an automatic billing program or adopting an open textbook. “The other big win is that no matter what area a student is struggling in we can provide them a textbook in that area without any costs (through OER),” said Nathan Wakefield, director of first-year mathematics programs. “So there’s the real cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars we’re saving, but I think there’s also this big benefit of access. We’re giving the book to them at their fingertips without any extra expenses.” Read more>>

FROM MICHIGAN: Grand Valley State University plans to expand the use of OER on campus through their Innovation Fund. “If you imagine OER as a bus line, we’re adding more stops so that people who are interested in getting involved don’t have to walk all the way to the early adopter station,” said Matt Ruen, scholarly communications outreach coordinator for University Libraries. The program will fund a student editorial assistant, adjunct OER coordinator, a faculty workshop, and stipends for reviewing an open textbook. Read more >>

FROM WISCONSIN: Starting next fall, students in statistics courses across the Chippewa Valley Technical College campus will be using Lori Ann Simmons’ new OpenStax textbook, saving $200 each. Simmons wrote the book after attending an OER class funded by the Federal Open Textbook Pilot. This is the second open textbook to come out of CVTC, and while this statistics book is currently an on campus project Simmons is working to make it available on more campuses.  Read more >>

FROM INDIANA: The Private Academic Library Network of Indiana’s PALSave Program has created a grant to fund six new open textbooks. The grant has funded textbooks in subjects from religion and theater to mathematics and actuarial science. The textbooks funded by the program will be available for the public in 2023, tentatively. Read more >>

HOT OFF THE PRESS

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

From Florida A&M University comes From Growing to Biology: Plants, by Dr. Gokhan Hacisalihoglu. This “voyage through plants” features horticultural information suitable for both academic and industrial audiences. The textbook comes with assessments, vocabulary, learning outcomes, and identification information for over 120 plants. 

WEIGH IN

Great reads to repost or share and interesting discussions to consider

Great to Share >> 

Our OER Epiphany: Advocating for Open Educational Resources as Tools for Affordability and Equity | Association for American Colleges and Universities

Boosting Adoption of Open Educational Resources | Inside Higher Ed 

Interesting to Consider >> 

Opinion: Buying college textbooks is an avoidable stress | Taunton Daily Gazette

The Challenge of OER and Experiential Learning | CUNY Academic Commons

Student Council legislation reiterates financial need of U.Va. community, supports access to open textbooks | The Cavalier Daily  

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.

OER Digest – April 1, 2021

From Bilan Jama (CC USA)  | Volume 126 | April 1st, 2021

THE OER DIGEST

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

NEW REPORT: Bay View Analytics has released their latest report on Digital Texts in the Time of COVID on behalf of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. The Fall 2020 academic semester saw a shift in the proportion of higher education faculty teaching online, driving a transition of existing courses and educational materials into digital formats, according to a survey of faculty conducted by Bay View Analytics. Survey results also show that while the level of awareness of OER grew for the fifth straight year, OER adoption rates remained stable. The results reflect responses from over 3,200 faculty and department chairpersons. The report shows improvements in faculty satisfaction with OER textbooks and an increased reliance on digital materials to meet online instruction demands.

OPEN CONNECTIONS

Conferences, jobs, and other OER-related opportunities

CALL FOR PROPOSALS: The 2021 Michigan OER Virtual Summit is accepting session proposals until Friday, April 9th. You can submit a proposal here.

SAVE THE DATE: Join North Carolina State Libraries every Thursday for a casual Café via Zoom and enjoy a relaxed, coffee shop-style chat about open educational topics. Next session, “Libraries Programs in Support of Open Education Initiatives” will be held on April 8th. Click here for more information. 

JOB OPPORTUNITY: OpenStax is seeking a Community Relations Specialist. The job posting is available here.

GRANT OPPORTUNITIES: The National Endowment for the Humanities has created the Fellowships Open Book Program designed to make outstanding humanities books available to a wide audience. Applications for the competition are due July 15th, 2021. Click here for more information. 

JOB OPPORTUNITY: Pressbooks is hiring a Technical Support & Documentation Specialist to support their Open Publishing team. More information is available in the job posting. 

STORIES FROM THE FIELD

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

FROM FLORIDA: The Nelson Poynter Library at University of South Florida St. Petersburg adopted the Textbook Affordability Project in 2016, saving USF students a total of $1 million and helping library staff move toward their goal of making textbooks entirely open universitywide. The Textbook Affordability Project received a $3,500 grant from St. Pete campus-based nonprofit Town and Gown to buy books and spent over $4,000 to acquire multidisciplinary resources for student access. “We’ve reached out to faculty and built very strong relationships with them to help them get into their Canvas courses,” said Catherine Cardwell, regional associate vice chancellor of academic affairs and dean of the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library. “Overall, I think our experience is that faculty want to do what is right for students.” Read more >>

FROM NORTH CAROLINA: The University of North Carolina System is launching a new website, OpenUNC, to make it easier to access research and other educational resources. System leaders said the website helps advance open research practices, open access publication methods, open dissemination of research outputs, and open educational resources. It also provides easy access to all open access journals published at UNC System institutions, as well as open access monographs published by the UNC Press. OpenUNC also provides links to repositories and open publishing contacts at each university. “Universal access to knowledge in an environment of open scholarship and shared creativity supports UNC’s mission to discover, create, transmit, and apply knowledge to address the needs of individuals and society,” said Janice S. Lewis, director of Academic Library Services at East Carolina University. Read more >>

FROM WASHINGTON: Faculty from across the Washington State University system are developing innovative course materials that are saving students thousands of dollars in textbook costs each semester. Affordable Learning Grants issued in 2020 helped fund transitions from traditional textbooks to open educational resources (OER) – openly licensed digital textbooks and course materials. Collectively, the projects saved students nearly $200,000 in textbook costs in 2020-21 alone. “We found last fall based on reflections that students wrote that the instruction was much more concrete and they were able to really tie it to the University’s land grant mission,” said Johanna Phelps, an assistant professor and director of Technical and Professional Writing at WSU Vancouver. “We found there was a gap in the instructional and reading content for community engagement in undergraduate technical communication classrooms. And it’s not just for students, but the OER is something we can share with colleagues at other institutions – it’s a way to give back to the field.” Read more >>

HOT OFF THE PRESS

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

Virginia Commonwealth University has released Language and Culture in Context – A Primer on Intercultural Communication by Robert Godwin-Jones. The text introduces some of the key concepts in intercultural communication as traditionally presented in (North American) courses and textbooks, namely the study of differences between cultures, as represented in the works and theories of Edward Hall and Geert Hofstede.

WEIGH IN

Great reads to repost or share and interesting discussions to consider

Great to Share >> 

The Rising Cost of Textbooks in the US | The Cooper Point Journal

UW universities lowering costs by using open-source textbooks | WTMJ-TV Milwaukee 

Interesting to Consider >> 

The Pandemic’s Impact on Open Educational Resources (OER) | Inside Higher Ed

High-Quality Curriculum as a Transformation Tool for Equity | ASCD Express

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.

OER Digest – March 18, 2021

From Aishah Abdullah (SPARC) | Volume 125 | March 18th, 2021

With updates from Hailey Babb

THE OER DIGEST

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

STOP ANTI-ASIAN RACISM: The OER Digest stands against the recent attacks in Atlanta targeting Asian-American women, and all other acts of racism and gender-based violence. up//root knowledge, a publication of We Here (an organization that seeks to provide a safe and supportive community for Black and Indigenous folks, and People of Color in library and information science professions and educational programs), have put together a Twitter thread of organizations that fight anti-Asian hate as well as a list of other resources for supporting this work. Please share other anti-racism resources with oerdigest@gmail.com for our next edition.

NEW CO-AUTHOR: Hello Everyone! My name is Aishah Abdullah and I am the new Open Education Coordinator at SPARC. I am excited to be joining as a co-author of the OER Digest! I graduated in May of 2020 from the University of Maryland at College Park with an undergraduate degree in Education Policy. I also attended and graduated from Montgomery College, a nearby community college. On both campuses, I promoted OER to faculty on behalf of my fellow students, and I also have a passion for anything education related that focuses on making our system more equitable. I look forward to joining this community!

#OPENED21 VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: The Open Education Conference is recruiting volunteers to be part of the conference planning team. To be considered for a committee role, you must apply by Friday March 19th. The deadline for proposal reviewers is April 30th.

OPEN CONNECTIONS

Conferences, jobs, and other OER-related opportunities

GRANT OPPORTUNITY: The Pedagogy Lab at the Center for Black, Brown and Queer Studies have established a summer fellowship with a $5000 stipend for a cohort of graduate students and early career scholars and teachers to create BIPOC and/or queer studies-focused OER. Interested applicants can learn more here. 

CALL FOR REVIEWERS: The Rebus Community is seeking peer-reviewers for an upcoming publication, The OER Starter Kit for Program Managers. The call will close on Monday, April 5th, 2021. You can view the full text of the call for reviewers here. 

CALL FOR PROPOSALS: The call for proposals for the Open Education Southern Symposium closes this Friday March 19th. You can submit your proposal here. 

CALL FOR PROPOSALS: The Florida Virtual Campus OER Summit is accepting session proposals until Sunday, March 21. You can submit a proposal here. 

CALL FOR PROPOSALS: The call for proposals for The Northeast OER Summit are due Sunday, March 21. You can submit your proposal here. 

WEBINAR: Register for this free webinar, hosted by the New England Board of Higher Education, that focuses on best practices of inviting students into the creation process of high-quality, open educational resources. Registrants will learn how students can help diversify OER and the best ways to effectively collaborate with them. The webinar is March 29th at 10:00 am EDT. You can read more and register for the event here. 

WEBINAR: The National Forum, based in Ireland, is hosting the National Webinar Series focused on “Using OER and OEP for Teaching and Learning.” Registrants will learn about how they can explore and support the use of open educational resources in their own situations. The webinar is taking place on March 26th at 8:30 am EDT. You can register for the event here. 

STORIES FROM THE FIELD

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

FROM COLORADO: The Colorado Commission on Higher Education has approved $875,000 for OER projects. These grants will be spread out to several institutions across the state who will utilize the money in different ways. The planned projects range from redesigning individual course materials as well as aiding overall institutional efforts when it comes to promoting OER. This grant will help continue the state’s work towards expanding OER within their institutions. Their efforts thus far have already saved Colorado students over $4,000,000.  Read more>>

FROM ILLINOIS: The College of Dupage, based within Illinois, has begun a new OER program. By pushing for the usage of OER in more classrooms, it has resulted in students saving approximately $660,000 in the Fall 2020 semester. The provost of Dupage, Mark Curtis-Chavez states how, “students who might have forgone buying an expensive textbook in the past are able to access and utilize OER content, ideally contributing to their academic success.” The provost shares how making OER  standard helps level the playing field, especially for those who come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Read More>> 

FROM ALABAMA: The Alabama Community College System and the Alabama Commission on Higher Education are working in partnership to provide grants for educators to be professionally trained in producing free online textbooks for students in Alabama colleges. The training will consist of acquiring a Creative Commons Certificate, which is gained after a 10-week online course focused on teaching about Creative Commons licensing and how to create and share their work openly. The goal of this grant is to have more teachers be qualified to release open educational resources and in return give students more access to textbook free classes. Read More>> 

FROM TEXAS: The University of Texas at Arlington is including OER in their postbaccalaureate certificate in Transportation Planning and Policy. The open resources were able to be created through an Open Textbook Pilot grant from the U.S. Department of Education. This grant allowed for the funding of six open textbooks, three which are being produced by UTA. Numerous UTA faculty members have made developments for utilizing OER in their respective departments; however, when it comes to transportation planning there is still minimal OER content. Read More>>

HOT OFF THE PRESS

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

Hannah Kosick, a student at Cape Breton University (CBU), released an openly licensed book called Bumble Bees of Unama’ki: A Guide to Becoming a Buzzing Naturalist. This book was published through CBU’s Pressbook’s site. This open resource is accompanied by interactive quizzes, videos, and texts. Readers can learn more about bumble bees and actions they can take to protect them.

WEIGH IN

Great reads to repost or share and interesting discussions to consider

Great to Share >> 

Open Textbooks Open Doors | The Highlander

As Schools Reopen Teachers Need Materials That Can Keep Their Students Engaged & Learning. Open Educational Resources Can Help | The 74

Interesting to Consider >> 

Amazon Refusal to Let Libraries Lend Ebooks Shows Why Controlled Digital Lending is so Important | Tech Dirt

Increasing Student Engagement and Learning with OERs: An Interview with Paul Heideman | William and Mary Libraries

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.

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. Read more “OER Digest – March 5th, 2021” →

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!  Read more “OER Digest – February 19th, 2021” →

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!  Read more “OER Digest – February 4th, 2021” →