OER Digest – December 21, 2023
Michael Basmajian (PIRG) | Volume 177 | December 21, 2023
THE OER DIGEST
Your monthly newsletter for open education updates, opportunities, and reminders
OPEN CONNECTIONS
Conferences, jobs, and other OER-related opportunities
CALL FOR PROPOSALS: The Texas Woman’s University Center for Development, Design, and Delivery is hosting a virtual Open Educational Practices Conference on April 4, 2024. The conference covers Open Educational Practices (OEP) including OER. They are accepting proposal submissions for presentations until February 25, 2024
VIRTUAL CONFERENCE: The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s (THECB) Division of Digital Learning and OpenStax at Rice University are hosting the Open Nursing Education Summit on February 27-28, 2024. The free, virtual event will explore the effective implementation of eight soon-to-be-released nursing open textbooks.
SAVE THE DATE: The Florida OER Summit has been set for May 23-24, 2024. The conference is a free, virtual event. The theme is "Innovations and Trends," and topics will include ZTC degrees and pathways, gamification and adaptive learning, library digital content and archives, and more.
REGISTER: The University of Wisconsin - Madison iSchool is offering a continuing education program entitled Open Educational Resources 101. The course will run February 12 - March 24, 2024 (six weeks) and costs $275.
STORIES FROM THE FIELD
Quick snapshots of those making change on the ground level, and those impacted
FROM UTAH: The OER textbook Foundations of Aural Skills, which was authored by Utah State University music Professor Timothy Chenette, was recently awarded the Pedagogy of Music Theory Award by the Society of Music Theory. This annual award is given to exceptional pedagogical scholarship and resources. Chenette writes that values like empowerment, inclusivity, creativity and holistic assessment are not yet “adequately represented in current textbooks.” In response, he aims in his textbook to recognize and cultivate a diverse set of skills to prepare students for success in a variety of musical practices. Read More >>
FROM WISCONSIN: The Western Michigan University library awarded seven OER adoption grants and three OER creation grants to WMU instructors this month. The grants are anticipated to save students in 10 courses over $170,000 in textbook costs based on course enrollments. “We are pleased to see that instructors are continuing to understand the value of open textbooks for themselves and their students,” says Michele Behr, scholarly communications and OER librarian. “The financial savings are a huge benefit to students. Instructors and students both report an increase in student achievement since open textbooks mean students always have access to the textbook.” Read More >>
FROM VIRGINIA: Beginning with the Spring semester, Christopher Newport University students will be able to see in advance which classes offer low-cost or no-cost textbook options. Classes which require either no textbooks or textbooks that cost $50 or less are noted in the class schedules. “It’s important because the cost of higher education is going up every year, and anything we can do to give students options to lower those costs, we should do,” said Provost Quentin Kidd. “This allows students to make their own choices about enrolling in courses/sections where textbook costs will be above or below $50.” Virginia has required universities to put in place a policy to identify courses with lower textbook costs. Read More >>
HOT OFF THE PRESS
Each edition, we highlight an interesting, new, openly-licensed resource
The University of West Florida is pleased to announce the completion of two new OER books: Charting Your Course: A roadmap for thriving in the field of health and Can't We Just Get Along: Dealing with difficult people. Both were written by the university’s Health Services Administration Program Coordinator Susan Fried.
WEIGH IN
Great reads to repost or share and interesting discussions to consider
Great to Share >>
How much should a textbook cost? Try '$0.00' | Phys.org
COC awarded $600,000 for OER/ZTC materials | The Signal
Durbin, Colleagues Urge Department Of Education, OMB To Prioritize Funding For Open Textbook Pilot In Fiscal Year 2025 | Dick Durbin Press Release
SU Hosts Open Pedagogy Summit | Salisbury University
Interesting to Consider >>
Colleges want to move away from expensive textbooks. Can it be done? | Higher Ed Dive
CSULB’s new flat-fee textbook program faces opposition from some faculty | Long Beach Post
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