Regular Edition
By Ethan Senack, Student PIRGs | Volume 5 | November 20th, 2015
THE OER DIGEST
Your tip sheet for U.S. OER updates, opportunities, and reminders
Hi everyone! I’m happy to announce that we’re releasing a special edition video Digest this week: check it out on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm4aVBTue-Q
Regular Edition
By Ethan Senack, Student PIRGs | Volume 4 | November 12th, 2015
With help from Amanda Cadran, Sarah Cohen, and others
THE OER DIGEST
Your tip sheet for U.S. OER updates, opportunities, and reminders
UPDATE FROM CALIFORNIA: After a few weeks of turmoil surrounding a Cal State professor who forewent an expensive textbook he was supposed to assign in favor of more affordable (and some openly-licensed) materials, the College upheld its disciplinary reprimand. The faculty board reviewing the case stated that Professor Bourget violated the university’s rules, but also recognized that his department did not have sufficient procedures to allow discussion around changing material. The case resurfaced discussions about academic freedom, and how it applies to individual faculty, departments, and institutions.
READ MORE: An interesting analysis from the Orange County Register about their local colleges’ policies around course material adoption.
NOTE ON THE TEXTBOOK BILL: The House version of Senator Durbin’s bill to create a federal grant program that provides professional development, training, and resources for faculty interested in OER picked up two new cosponsors this month: Rep. Alcee Hasting (FL) and Beto O’Rourke (TX).
IN K-12: The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) announced the launch of their new OER Portal, in partnership with iNACOL. The portal ” provides background and understanding of OER implementation at state and district levels, as well as a more detailed look at how OER can impact classroom practices.” See it for yourself here>
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last month, the Open Textbook Network – a project launched by OER advocates at the University of Minnesota – announced that their network of institutions and campus partners have saved students an estimated $1.5 million in textbook costs. Considering they only launched last year, it’s quite a feat.
CHECK OUT: The press release, or retweet their note about this milestone!
CONFERENCE SEASON: But when isn’t it, honestly. Lots of folks will be heading to Vancouver next week for OpenEd 15, an annual conference for educators, advocates, and many others. The three-day conference will feature tracks on OER and Accessibility, the Impact of OER on Student Success, OER Adoption Models, Sustainability in OER, and much more. Others are in Belgium for OpenCon.
It’s Thursday, October 15th. Ethan Senack here. I, myself, will be at OpenEd next week – look forward to seeing many of you there! Don’t forget to send tips, updates, opportunities, and feedback to @HigherEdPIRG or esenack@pirg.org with the subject “OER DIGEST”.
STORIES FROM THE FIELD
A brief snapshot of those making change on the ground level, and those most impacted
FROM VIRGINIA: “In late October, Swem [Library] posted a survey about textbook prices. Featured on the front of the College of William and Mary’s library on a large whiteboard, the survey results included 56 students who noted that high prices of textbooks caused them not to buy the required textbook, and 16 students who said they earned a poor grade as a result.
“We had quite a few students say that they didn’t purchase a textbook for a class because it was too expensive, and they thought their grade suffered because of that,” Arts Librarian and Interim Digital Scholarship Librarian Kathleen DeLaurenti said. “I don’t want to see that happening. If there’s something we can do, I want to be there to do that.” Read more about their visit with Creative Commons.
FROM OREGON: “We work with faculty—whether they teach online or whether they teach on campus—to try to help them to find no-cost course materials for their students,” said Dianna Fisher, director of Open Oregon State. “If they can’t find an open textbook that meets their needs, then we will work with them to either take an existing textbook and modify it to meet their needs, or if that’s not an option, we will work with them to create a textbook that does meet their needs, and then offer that for free to the students here at OSU and students, really, in all other places.” Read more about their program>
Have a story you’d like featured? Email it to esenack@pirg.org.
SYLLABUS
Readers Will Shape the Future | The Bookseller
(an interesting take on the publishing industry)
http://www.thebookseller.com/insight/readers-will-shape-future-316074
Harvard Law School launches “Free the Law” project | Harvard Law Today
(on digitizing US case law and providing free access)
http://today.law.harvard.edu/harvard-law-school-launches-free-the-law-project-with-ravel-law-to-digitize-us-case-law-provide-free-access/
This important conversation between Phil Hill and Mike Caulfield:
(discussing the merits of textbook price data vs student spending data)
Regular Edition
By Ethan Senack, Student PIRGs | Volume 3 | October 29th, 2015
With help from Hal Plotkin, Lisa Petrides, Nicole Allen, Timothy Vollmer, and others
THE OER DIGEST
Your tip sheet for U.S. OER updates, opportunities, and reminders
LAUNCHING THE ‘DEPARTMENT OF OPEN’: Based on how focused they’ve been on OER this week, it might be time to rename the Department of Education. OER advocates were at the White House today for a symposium on open education, which featured the launch of the Department’s “Go Open” campaign. As we celebrate some of their historic commitments to OER, here’s a sampling of what’s been going on.
MORE OPEN GOVERNMENT ACTION: Earlier this week, the White House released their third Open Government Partnership National Action Plan. The plan, which includes dozens of commitments to transparency and openness by the government, also includes a strong commitment to open education and open access to research. The plan specifies three general activities the government will take to advance open education:
FROM MEXICO CITY: A number of OER advocates were south of the border for the Open Government Partnership Summit this week. The Open Education workshop there was cosponsored by the US and Slovakian Governments, Creative Commons US, and SPARC. Read more about it from CCUS’ Hal Plotkin.
MORE COVERAGE FOR DURBIN BILL: All told, the introduction of Senator Durbin’s Affordable College Textbook Act generated more than 60 news articles about open textbooks and OER, including positive coverage from the traditionally skeptical Fox News. Congressman Grijalva (D-AZ) has been added as a cosponsor as well.
PARALLEL VICTORY ON OPEN ACCESS IN CALI: Through a new Presidential Open Access Policy, the University of California is allowing their researchers, faculty, and others to grant rights to the University prior to any contracts with a publisher. The new policy means that, while researchers are free to publish in journals of their own choosing, this large body of research will be available to the public and liberated from paywalls.
BUT ALSO, OER TROUBLE: A math professor at Cal State-Fullerton was reprimanded for assigning a different textbook than he was instructed to by his Department head. The course – one in a set of successive courses – was supposed to use the $180 textbook authored by Chair and Vice Chair of said Department. Instead, Professor Bourget assigned one textbook costing $75 and other openly licensed materials that he says teach the same content as the expensive textbook. His disciplinary case is currently before a faculty grievance committee – but is being closely watched by OER advocates as well. An underlying question: does academic freedom apply to individual faculty? or to departments and institutions?
STUDENT DEBT HITS NEW HIGH: A new report from The Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS) sheds new light on affordability and access concerns in higher education. Their 10th annual report looks at state-by-state and national-level data. From the report:
SOME STABILITY AHEAD?: Congress is only a few short steps away from reaching agreement on a deal to raise the debt ceiling and fund the government for two full years! Could this be brief respite from jumping from shutdown to shutdown? Budget stability means that Congress might – just might – be able to move on to reauthorizing the HEA, ESEA, and other education-related bills.
It’s Thursday, October 15th. Ethan Senack here – so many updates this week! Halloween is just a couple days away, and I don’t have a costume. I’m guessing that going as “Guy who forgot his costume” won’t fly this year… Don’t forget to send tips, updates, opportunities, and feedback to @HigherEdPIRG or esenack@pirg.org with the subject “OER DIGEST”.
STORIES FROM THE FIELD:
A brief snapshot of those making change on the ground level, and those most impacted
A STUDENT EDITORIAL IN ILLINOIS: ” I didn’t receive enough financial aid to cover the cost of textbooks, and coming up with the money to pay for my textbooks was hard. I had to wait to buy a lot of my textbooks because I didn’t have enough money to buy them all right away… The cost of my textbooks was more than a biweekly paycheck, and it’s hard seeing the money I worked for going down the drain on textbooks — some of which have barely been used. One of my classes requires a textbook with Connect Plus that ended up being about $120. Because it had Connect Plus, I couldn’t buy it used. This class has been going on for eight weeks and we haven’t used the Connect Plus once… An open-source textbook program would make college less financially stressful than it already is.” Read More>
A STUDENT LETTER FROM MA.: “My name is Thi Bui. I’m a freshman Biochemistry major. I came to school never having experienced the nightmare called “overpriced textbooks.” Then came my French class. I added it on the last day of add/drop. On the first day of class, the teacher handed out the syllabus. “Voila! + access code: $154” It hit me like a PVTA bus. I spent two hours that evening asking peer mentors and resident assistants for advice. Some told me to ask the teacher whether she could give me a free code. Some told me to quit the class since it didn’t fulfill any requirements. I even thought of sacrificing 10 percent of my score and changing the course to pass/ fail. However, my RA, who is taking a Spanish class, told me that without the homework, I wouldn’t learn anything. In the end, I had to drop the class. My education is not the only one that is jeopardized because of ridiculously expensive textbooks. We, the students, desperately need more affordable textbook options.” Read More>
Have a story you’d like featured? Email it to esenack@pirg.org.
SYLLABUS
Ed Source | Free online content helps teachers meet Common Core demands
(featuring ISKME)
http://edsource.org/2015/free-online-content-helps-teachers-meet-common-core-demands/88916
Inside Higher Ed | Getting There From Here: Confessions of a Community College Dean
(a field perspective on OER adoption models)
https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/confessions-community-college-dean/getting-there-here
T.H.E. Journal | The Promise (and Perils) of Digital Textbooks
(an interesting read on digital and OER in K-12)
https://thejournal.com/Articles/2015/10/28/The-Promise-and-Perils-of-Digital-Textbooks.aspx
Minnesota Daily | As prices soar, U expands oasis of free textbooks
(a local spotlight on the Open Textbook Network)
http://www.mndaily.com/news/campus/2015/10/27/prices-soar-u-expands-oasis-free-textbooks
Campus Technology | Penn State Technology Allows Faculty and Students to Build Their Own Textbooks from OER
(AI built textbooks?)
https://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/10/22/penn-state-technology-allows-faculty-and-students-to-build-their-own-textbooks-from-oer.aspx
Chronicle of Higher Ed | Campus Tech Leaders Report More Support for Free Educational Materials
(latest from the Campus Computing Survey)
http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/campus-tech-leaders-report-more-support-for-free-educational-materials/57551
Regular Edition
From Ethan Senack, Student PIRGs | Volume 2 | October 15th, 2015
With help from Nicole Finkbeiner, Nicole Allen, and others
THE OER DIGEST
Your tip sheet for U.S. OER updates, opportunities, and reminders
DURBIN BILL A HIT: Late last week, Senators Durbin (D-IL), Franken (D-MN) and King (I-ME), along with Congressmen Hinojosa (D-TX) and Polis (D-CO) introduced federal legislation to support OER adoption and development on college campuses. The Affordable College Textbook Act establishes a federal grant program to incentivize adoption. To discuss the bill, Senators Durbin and Franken joined advocates on a press call for campus journalists and national reporters. The press call generated almost 50 media hits that discuss the bill, define OER, and educate the public.
CALIFORNIA STEPS UP: Earlier this week, California Governor Jerry Brown signed the College Textbook Affordability Act into law. Under the law, championed by Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla, Academic Senates in the state that pass OER supportive resolutions become eligible for grants up to $50,000 to provide training, incentives, and other resources to help their faculty adopt OER. However, the bill requires that any money spent by the state must be first matched with private funds, the same condition that advocates feel hindered the implementation of California’s 2012 OER bill.
DUNCAN STEPS DOWN: Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan recently announced that he is stepping down after nearly 7 years in office. Duncan is the longest serving member of President Obama’s cabinet, and presided over a large expansion of the Department’s responsibilities. In his place, the President has tapped John King Jr. (formerly the NY Education Commissioner and a Senior Advisor in the Department) to assume the reins. King has been briefed on OER, and members of the community are hopeful that he will continue to support the progress being made at the Department. You can read more about him in his Department biography.
NEW RESEARCH: Researchers at Brigham Young University just published “A Multi-Institutional Study of the Impact of Open Textbook Adoption on the Learning Outcomes of Post-Secondary Students,” in the Journal of Computing in Higher Education. The study compares data from more than 15,000 students, and in the words of SPARC’s Nicole Allen, identifies “a striking trend that students assigned free, open textbooks do as well or better than their peers in terms of grades, course completion, and other measures of academic success.”
#OAWEEK! In related worlds, next week (Oct 19th – 25th) is International Open Access Week. Academics and researchers around the world will be hosting workshops, discussions, and presentations to educate their peers about the benefits of Open Access research. Read more about it on the event website.
NEW, FROM OPENSTAX: OpenStax College, an open textbook publisher based at Rice University in Texas, just released four new titles, all of which are available on their website. The subjects are Pre-Algebra, Physics, Macro- and Micro- Economics.
It’s Thursday, October 15th. Ethan Senack here, realizing that somehow, half of October is already behind us. I’ve Googled “What time is it in Seoul” a dozen times this week because many folks in the Open movement are there for CC Global Summit (#ccsummit15). Don’t forget to send tips, updates, opportunities, and feedback to @HigherEdPIRG or esenack@pirg.org with the subject “OER DIGEST”.
STORIES FROM THE FIELD:
A brief snapshot of those making change on the ground level, and those most impacted
UCONN GALORE: The University of Connecticut is driving OER hard this year. The UConn Libraries recently posted this blog about their new Open Textbook Initiative, citing “overwhelming faculty support” and saying that “students truly make the difference in moving [these] critical initiatives forward.” Additionally, UConn Professor Edward Neth is partnering with OpenStax to adapt their chemistry book, saying about his decision to go open: “The (open-source) textbook is as good as anything else out there and that was the tipping point.” Read the Article>
CENTRAL VALLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE: As one of 16 of colleges in Virginia piloting the “Textbook-Free Degree” program (inspired by the Z-Degree at Tidewater Community College), CVCC is diving into the training and necessary preparation for their faculty to make the switch to OER. They’re planning to launch associate degrees in General Studies and Business Administration that can be obtained using entirely open educational resources. While the transition is a significant investment, reactions are positive. “Will we be working? Oh yeah we will, but we are excited,” CVCC Vice President Muriel Mickles said. Read the Article>
Have a story you’d like featured? Email it to esenack@pirg.org.
SYLLABUS
How ‘open textbooks’ could ease college sticker shock
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2015/1014/How-open-textbooks-could-ease-college-sticker-shock
Partial Credit: The 2015 Survey of Faculty Attitudes on Technology
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/survey/partial-credit-2015-survey-faculty-attitudes-technology
An open letter from UNC Student Stores employees
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/community/chapel-hill-news/chn-opinion/article37847853.html
Durbin Pushes Bill to Lower College Textbook Costs
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-durbin-textbook-costs-1008-biz-20151008-story.html
CGCC librarian receives excellence award for OER work
http://www.thedalleschronicle.com/news/2015/oct/02/cgcc-librarian-receives-excellence-award/
Regular Edition
From Ethan Senack, Student PIRGs | Volume 1 | October 1st, 2o15
With help from Nicole Allen, Sarah Cohen, Meredith Jacob, and others
HELLO! Welcome to the inaugural edition of the OER DIGEST – your monthly tip sheet on everything open education. Want information faster? Sign up for the weekly update, or tell your friends and peers to do so: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/get-the-oer-weekly. It only takes two seconds, promise.
THE OER DIGEST
Your one-stop-shop for OER updates, opportunities, and reminders
DURBIN READIES TEXTBOOK BILL: Senator Durbin (D-IL) has informed advocates of the impending introduction of federal legislation supporting OER – likely next week. Although the bill doesn’t authorize new spending, it establishes a competitive grant program to allow universities to access funding for launching OER adoption programs at their campuses. The House companion bill will be introduced by Congressman Hinojosa (D-TX).
A LONG-AWAITED ALLY: During his “Ready for Success” bus tour, Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan stopped at the tiny, 500-person town of Williamsfield, IL. Williamsfield’s school district recently decided to forego purchasing a new math textbook and used the money to build infrastructure for using OER instead. The impact has been stellar in such a small town – “The walls break down,” said their K-12 Principal. At the event, the Secretary announced the creation of a first-of-its-kind Advisor on Open Education in the Department. Kudos to all those who worked tirelessly to make that a reality.
MEETING OF THE MINDS: Earlier this week, the State Department organized an OER workshop in conjunction with the UN General Assembly meeting in New York. The meeting was designed to connect OER advocates, US policy staff, and diplomats from around the world. Participants discussed the barriers they face, unique ways OER is being used, and what the real-world impacts are for different countries.
STATE OF MASS. CONSIDERS ACTION: In an interview with the Gazette, UMass’ daily newspaper, MA Sen. Eileen M. Donoghue (Vice Chairwoman of the Higher Ed Committee) said she was interested in creating a MA digital library of open-source textbooks. Earlier this year, the Chair of the Higher Ed Committee, Senator Moore, introduced a bill that would take similar measures, met with a students and librarians from around the state, and held a public hearing for feedback on improvements to the bill.
It’s Thursday, October 1st. Ethan Senack here, dreading grocery store lines as people prepare for the landfall of Hurricane Joaquin. Don’t forget to send tips, stories, updates and opportunities to @HigherEdPIRG or esenack@pirg.org with the subject “OER WEEKLY”. Also, don’t forget to follow the OER advocacy coalition at @OER_USA.
STORIES FROM THE FIELD:
A brief snapshot of those making change on the ground level, and those most impacted
IN TENNESSEE: The Tennessee School Board announced a partnership with Apple to launch the Tennessee Digital Learning Project – designed to save their schools money and deliver up-to-date content through OER. The School Board’s Director, on the project: “All of our jobs nowadays, everything is online and immediate and up to date. And that’s what we want for our kids. We want all of our kids in the state to be prepared, whether they’re going straight into the workforce or to college, to be able to utilize all resources out there because all of our workplaces use things digitally.” Read the article>
IN MARYLAND: A few weeks ago, University of Maryland University College announced that it would start a major transition to OER in place of traditional textbooks. UMUC’s President, Javier Miyares, speaks: “Today, the classroom is untethered by time and space…Let’s get rid of textbooks and instead ask what are the best open, freely available resources out there.” An immigrant himself, he’s sensitive to the cost barriers that many face: “For quite awhile there’s been a narrative out there that college has become very expensive. That has discouraged new immigrants and minorities to think college is not for them. We want to push back with another narrative: If you choose the right path, college can become not only affordable, but you can do it without debt.” Read the article>
IN COLORADO: Last week, the Open Textbook Network joined Colorado State University’s Morgan Library for a faculty workshop on open textbooks. 50 faculty in attendend – double the size of OTN training’s traditional number. The event was a prequel to their Open-tober events, when they will welcome Nicole Allen and David Wiley as keynote speakers. From Sarah Cohen, OTN Managing Director, “We’re proud to see this OTN member engaging their community in open in bold and dynamic ways!”
Have a story you’d like featured? Email it to esenack@pirg.org.
SYLLABUS
Education Week: “Ambitious Initiative Blends Adaptive Tech, Open Ed. Resources”
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/09/09/ambitious-initiative-blends-adaptive-tech-open-ed.html
Inside Higher Ed: “A Textbook Market Strategy That Moves Beyond Professors”
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/09/09/textbook-publishers-explore-direct-student-marketing-and-sales
Information Today: “Cengage Learning Acquires Learning Objects”
http://news.cengage.com/corporate/cengage-learning-acquires-learning-objects/
Sonoma State Star: “Textbook Act Aims to Relieve Debt”
http://www.sonomastatestar.com/news/2015/9/28/texbook-act-aims-to-relieve-debt
TIME: “Is This the Solution to Crazy High Textbook Prices?”
http://time.com/money/4017003/high-text-book-prices-solution/
Education Dive: “Why open educational resources aren’t catching on with some faculty”
http://www.educationdive.com/news/why-open-educational-resources-arent-catching-on-with-some-faculty/405162/