March 2020 Archives

OER Digest – March 19th, 2020

From Kaitlyn Vitez and Cailyn Nagle (USPIRG) | Volume 102 | March 19th, 2020

THE OER DIGEST

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

#COVID19: As nearly all institutions of higher education and many K-12 districts shut down in response to the threat of coronavirus, remote work has become the new normal. CCCOER and TechKnowTools have started crowdsourced, comprehensive listings of helpful resources, and New America and EDUCAUSE have published resource roundups. We also want to share some of our favorite links for planning, reading, and supporting our communities:

Readings to catch up on: Achieving the Dream OER Initiative final report, U.S. PIRG automatic textbook billing report, the Bay View Analytics (formerly Babson) report, SPARC roadmap for action
Transition to online learning: guides from Canvas, tips from OpenStax, fair use guidelines for higher education from library copyright experts, OER Commons K-12 remote learning hub.
Toolkits and planning resources: OpenOregon “Getting Started with Open,” SPARC’s Connect OER, U.S. PIRG student organizing toolkit
Resources for students: University of Michigan and Johns Hopkins study tips for online students, USPIRG blog on how institutions are meeting basic needs

Here at PIRG, we’re also working to protect public health and ensure that there are enough test kits to identify and treat our sick neighbors.

Wishing you good health,

– Kaitlyn & Cailyn, on behalf of the OER Digest Team

MERGER UPDATE: The proposed merger between Cengage and McGraw-Hill is hitting road bumps both in the US and abroad. The merger would consolidate two of the three textbook publishers that control 80% of the market. Representatives David Cicilline (D-RI) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) sent a letter on March 10th to the antitrust division of the Department of Justice sharing their concerns for a further consolidated market, including the rise of “inclusive access” automatic billing. Across the Atlantic, the proposed merger is facing mounting concerns from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority who are moving the merger to a second phase of investigation. The regulatory agency cited concerns that it “may be the case that this merger has resulted or may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition.”

STUDENTS SUE: Students from New Jersey have filed a class action lawsuit against Cengage, McGraw-Hill, Pearson, and campus bookstores chains. The plaintiff alleges that automatic billing models violate antitrust laws, and amount to a “conspiracy” that eliminates cheap alternatives for students. Publishers say they are prepared to “defend vigorously” their billing program.

NEW REPORT: Bay View Analytics, formerly the Babson Survey Research Group, released their survey on attitudes and knowledge of open textbooks among faculty. The report shows knowledge of open textbooks among faculty has reached over the fifty percent mark for the first time, and that faculty using open materials rate them to the same level of quality as commercial materials. The report also cites automatic billing as a potential hazard for expanding the adoption of open materials. Read takes on the results by Inside Higher Ed and SPARC.

OPEN CONNECTIONS

Conferences, jobs, and other OER-related opportunities

REGISTER NOW: Registration is still open for the 2020 Southern California Fifth Annual #GoOpen Summit on April 2. This event will take place online. Deadline to register is March 28, 2020. Register Here

REGISTER NOW: OER20: The Care in Openness has moved online. All are now welcome to register and participate on April 1st-2nd. Register here.

REGISTER NOW: OpenStax Creator Fest has been moved online and will continue. The event is scheduled for March 24th-27th and participants will have the opportunity to attend virtual workshops and create open educational resources at this free hack-a-thon style event. Register Here

JOB OPPORTUNITY: Walla Walla Community College has an opening for a tenure track librarian. Learn more and apply for the position here.

STORIES FROM THE FIELD

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

OREGON: Mount Hood Community College’s Textbook Affordability Team celebrated Open Education Week with a series of events targeting educating students about open textbooks. The college has already saved students over $2 since 2017 yet open textbooks have low name recognition among the student body. Events included open forums, webinars, and a faculty panel. Read more >>

WEST VIRGINIA: Marshall University Student Government’s Affordable Educational Materials Committee led by Tabby Collins is continuing the work of previous student government administrations. The committee is promoting a mix of open materials, state legislation, and course reserves. Collins explained focusing on textbooks is a feasible way to reduce the cost burden [of college] on students. “A student should never have to struggle through a class, drop a class, take fewer classes or not even register for a specific course simply because they cannot afford a textbook.” Read more >>

MARYLAND: The Maryland legislature is considering a bill requiring marking classes that use free or low cost materials in the course catalogue making them easier to find. The Maryland Student Government Association’s director of government affairs, Samay Kindra, said that the bipartisan bill is a direct result of advocacy from students to the legislature. Read more >>

CALIFORNIA: Open education week has come and gone but the ripple effects are still spreading. The Claremont College Library hosted a series of educational events during OE Week including tables at dining halls where students could shared their experiences, Read more >>

HOT OFF THE PRESS

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

Michigan State University’s Melanie Cooper and Michael Klymkowsky released CLUE: Chemistry, Life, the Universe and Everything. This introductory chemistry textbook works to move students from reciting to understanding and applying foundational ideas of the subject.

WEIGH IN

Great reads to repost or share and interesting discussions to consider

Great to Share >>

Open Educational Resources Are ‘Moving Up the Adoption Ladder’ Around the World | EdSurge

Interesting to Consider >>

Covid19 could kill the for-profit science publishing model. That would be a good thing. | LA Times

Your Suddenly Online Class Could Actually Be a Relief | 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 – March 5, 2020

From Bilan Jama and Torrey Feldman (CCUSA) | Volume 101 | March 5th, 2020

With updates from Kennina Ip and Kaitlyn Vitez

THE OER DIGEST

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

#OEWEEK: It’s Open Education Week! Be sure to check out #OEWeek and follow @OEWeek for updates on what’s going on this week and to engage with the community.

“INCLUSIVE ACCESS” UNCOVERED: On Thursday, USPIRG released their latest report on textbook costs, Automatic textbook billing: an offer students can’t refuse? They found that many partnerships between institutions and publishers to charge students for digital course materials on their tuition bill fail to deliver real savings for students, reduce faculty and student choice, and give even more power to a handful of big publishing companies. Key findings include the discovery that half of contracts fail to fully disclose their discount structure, and 68 percent of contracts have quotas that, if missed, would result in the loss of federally-mandated discounts. The report provides examples of troubling contract clauses and recommendations for re-negotiating automatic billing partnerships to better meet student and faculty needs.

COLORADO: The Colorado Commission on Higher Education approved $1 million in OER funding. “With this year’s $1 million investment in open education, Colorado is signaling that we support our faculty and institutions in their innovative teaching practices,” said Brittany Dudek, Colorado Community Colleges online librarian and Open Educational Resources Council Chair. The commission projects that the projects will save students $3.4 million. There will be an additional $1 million for another round of awards next year. Meanwhile, Colorado is celebrating #OEWeek, including an official proclamation from Governor Jared Polis.

ACHIEVING THE DREAM: Achieving the Dream shares its third, and final, report on the Open Educational Resources Degree Initiative. The study found that the initiative saved students nearly $10.7 million in instructional material costs. Instructors were also found to be mostly optimistic about the sustainability of OER degree programs. Furthermore, more than 8 in 10 of those faculty members reported that for courses they’d taught as OER, they’d never go back to the “traditional materials.”

OPEN CONNECTIONS

Conferences, jobs, and other OER-related opportunities

PARTICIPATE: The planning process for #OpenEd20 and the future of the OpenEd conference is starting to get underway. To participate, join the community discussion list here. To receive announcements only, sign up here.

REGISTER NOW: Registration is now open for the 2020 Southern California Fifth Annual #GoOpen Summit on April 1-2, 2020 in San Marcos, CA. The deadline to register is March 28, 2020.

REGISTER NOW: Registration is now open for the fourth annual Northeast Regional OER Summit on May 28 – 29, 2020 at the University of Massachusetts Amherst Campus Center. The deadline to register is May 14, and the deadline to submit proposals is March 20.

PROPOSALS: Submit your proposals for the Michigan OER Summit by April 13th here. The summit will be held on August 28, 2020, at Michigan State University Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center in East Lansing, MI.

JOB OPPORTUNITY: The Open Textbook Network is hiring a Communications Specialist. Click here to read more about the position and apply.

JOB OPPORTUNITY: SPARC is hiring a Programs & Operations Specialist. Click here to read more about the position and apply.

STORIES FROM THE FIELD

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

FROM NORTH CAROLINA: The Elon University Student Government Association passed Bill S.B. 20-2.3 by a majority vote. The bill allocates $50,000 towards OER, and interested faculty members can apply for a $1,000 grant to implement OERs into their classes. Robbie Miley, the author of the bill, expects approximately 50 faculty members to opt into OER because of this legislation. Read more >>

FROM BRITISH COLUMBIA: The University of Victoria adds to its elections ballot the question of whether to add a $1.50 full-time fee and $0.75 part-time fee per semester to fund OER. Jonathan Granirer, UVSS Director of Outreach and University Relations, is the official proponent of this referendum, and aims to reduce the cost of course materials and make education more accessible. “If this referendum passes, it will save students money by decreasing textbook costs,” said Granirer. Read more>>>

HOT OFF THE PRESS

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

The Smithsonian Museum announces the launch of Smithsonian Open Access. Roughly 2.8 million of the museum’s digital image and data collections have been made free to access, download, transform, and use for any purpose without further permission from the Smithsonian.

WEIGH IN

Great reads to repost or share and interesting discussions to consider

Great to Share >>

Why Are Textbooks So Expensive? | Teen Vogue

That Digital Textbook? Your College Has Billed You For It l The New York Times

Interesting to Consider >>

Why We’re Advocating for a Cautious Approach to Copyright and Artificial Intelligence | Creative

Commons

Promising but tough road for OER degree pathways | Community College 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 – March 19th, 2020

OER Digest – March 5, 2020

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