OER Digest

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.

Regular Edition

OER Digest – September 24th, 2020

From Bilan Jama (CC USA) | Volume 114 | September 24th, 2020

THE OER DIGEST

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

APPLY NOW: The 2020 application period for the Open Textbook Pilot program is now 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. This is a great opportunity to seek funding to support effective and impactful open education work.

Applications are due November 16, 2020. See the notice inviting applications for further instructions.
U.S. institutions of higher education and state higher education agencies are eligible to apply.
The maximum grant size is up to $2 million for a period of up to 36 months.
Grants are awarded on a competitive basis according to their score. A call for reviewers is also currently open.

Regular Edition

OER Digest – September 10th, 2020

From Mo Nyamweya | Volume 113 | September 10, 2020

THE OER DIGEST

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

OPENSTAX MILESTONE: OpenStax has officially surpassed $1 billion in student savings since publishing their first open textbook in 2012. In just under a decade of operation, OpenStax has had a massive impact on teaching and learning, serving over 14 million students worldwide. They’ve also just announced that they have plans to double their library of open textbooks with $12.5 million in grant support from various national foundations, marking the largest investment in OER to date. Read more “OER Digest – September 10th, 2020” →

Regular Edition

OER Digest – August 27th, 2020

From Cailyn Nagle and Kaitlyn Vitez (USPIRG) | Volume 113 | August 27th, 2020

THE OER DIGEST

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

FEDERAL UPDATE: The U.S. Department of Education is seeking peer reviewers to read and evaluate grant applications for the Open Textbooks Pilot program. This pilot program supports projects at eligible institutions of higher education that create new open textbooks and expand the use of open textbooks in courses that are part of a degree granting program, and particularly those with high enrollments. The program has been funded for two cycles already, each for $5 million dollars. The Department is interested in peer reviewers from various backgrounds and professions including: administrators, college and university faculty, educational strategists and evaluators, grant makers, and others with expertise in adult and postsecondary education, open educational resources and practices, work-based learning, and career and technical education. Check out the call for reviewers for more information and instructions on how to apply. Read more “OER Digest – August 27th, 2020” →

Regular Edition

OER DIGEST – August 13, 2020

From Bilan Jama (CC USA) | Volume 112 | August 13th, 2020

THE OER DIGEST

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

NEW FACULTY SURVEY: Bay View Analytics has released a new survey in partnership with the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education’s Cooperative for Educational Technologies (WCET). The survey found that initiatives to raise awareness of OER are having a measurable impact on the number of faculty members using OER in their classrooms. Faculty members who are aware of one or more OER initiatives are much more likely to be adopters of OER. This is true regardless of the instructors’ type of institution, the level of course they teach, or where they are located in the U.S. “If you’re aware of an OER initiative, you’re much more aware of OER in general, much more likely to adopt, and if you haven’t adopted, you’re much more likely to say that you will adopt in the future,'” said Jeff Seaman, director at Bay View Analytics. A total of 4,399 faculty and 1,431 chairpersons responded to the survey, which took place in the fall of 2019. The results do not capture the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on OER awareness and decisions, but OER proponents told Inside Higher Ed that they have seen a notable increase in interest since March.

NEW PUBLICATION SERIES: The National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education has announced the creation of new publication series focused on OER and open educational practices. The widespread interest in the National Forum Open Licensing Toolkit, published in June 2019, and accompanying webinar, ‘Introduction to Open Educational Resources (OER) & Open Licensing’, prompted the National Forum to establish a series of guides and associated webinars focused on the topic of OER/OEP. The second guide in the series, ‘How to Choose an Open Licence’, has now been published.

OPEN CONNECTIONS

Conferences, jobs, and other OER-related opportunities

CALL FOR PROPOSALS: The call for proposals is now open for #OpenEd20. The conference will be held virtually on November 9-13, 2020. Proposals are due September 1, 2020. Learn more and submit your proposal here.

CALL FOR ENTRIES: The Library Publishing Coalition (LPC) is seeking submissions for its 8th annual Library Publishing Directory. They are surveying the landscape of scholarly publishing in libraries across the globe, and invite you to share information about your library’s scholarly publishing activities. The call for entries will close on Monday, September 14, 2020. Learn more here.

CALL FOR PROPOSALS: The call for chapter proposals is now open for the forthcoming book from ACRL Press, Using Open Educational Resources to Promote Social Justice. Email an abstract (up to 500 words, submitted as a Word document) and author(s) CV to OERsocialjustice@protonmail.com. The deadline to submit is October 30, 2020.

STORIES FROM THE FIELD

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

FROM ALBERTA: University of Alberta Libraries and other post-secondary institutions across the province are collaborating to provide students and instructors with the ability to access and create digital learning materials for free. The service, Open Education Alberta, is a platform that enables the adaptation, creation and use of open education resources (OERs) in post-secondary courses. As universities move to online learning in the wake of COVID-19, “Faculty [members] are already looking at ways to revisit how they’re going to deliver their courses for the fall, and OERs might solve some of the problems that they’re encountering in terms of student access to learning materials,” said project co-lead Cari Merkley, a librarian at Mount Royal University. Read more >>

FROM NEW JERSEY: Rutgers University Libraries have created a program that incentivizes faculty to use free or low-cost learning materials that save students money. The Open and Affordable Textbooks (OAT) program is projected to save over 16,400 students a total of more than $2.1 million in the cost of textbooks and other course materials over the next year.“With the ongoing pandemic putting financial pressures on so many families, it is more important than ever to do what we can to keep our students’ education affordable,” said Krisellen Maloney, vice president for information services and university librarian. “I’m proud that the Libraries can offer a program like OAT that not only helps relieve financial burdens for our students but can also help foster their academic success.” Read more >>

FROM TEXAS: DigiTex has launched Texas Learn OER, a set of ten peer-reviewed, openly licensed, self-paced modules for faculty, staff, and administrators. The modules include information on understanding OER; open licensing, including Creative Commons; finding and evaluating OER; accessibility; adapting, creating, and sharing OER; and OER in Texas. DigiTex has worked with Carrie Gits, Head Librarian and Library Services OER Team Leader at Austin Community College, to adapt for a wider audience modules she created for ACC as a part of her capstone project for the 2018-19 SPARC Open Education Leadership Program. Read more >>

HOT OFF THE PRESS

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

A new memoir published on the CUNY Manifold platform My Slipper Floated Away has been released. My Slipper Floated Away is an anthology of fresh, compelling essays written by students at Lehman College in the Bronx. The writers are immigrants or the children of immigrants and/or POC.

Kwantlen Polytechnic University recently published Doing Research, an open textbook that highlights a modules-based approach to learning research skills that emphasizes the reflective nature of information discovery, the contextual basis for evaluating that information, and a recognition that information has value.

WEIGH IN

Great reads to repost or share and interesting discussions to consider

Great to Share >>

Why It’s So Hard to Lower the Cost of Textbooks | EdSurge

How to Make Lessons Cohesive When Teaching Both Remote and In-Person Classes | Education Week

Back to School Resources for Distance Education | Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

Interesting to Consider >>

Colleges’ Pivot to Remote Education Has Some Upsides, Too | 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.

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