UTSA receives new grant to expand and enhance free textbook program for students - UTSA

 UTSA has received a $10,000 grant to promote faculty adoption and student awareness of Open Educational Resources (OER), learning, teaching and research materials distributed under an open license and available to students at no cost. The Driving OER Sustainability for Student Success (DOERS3) Collaborative, a group of 30 public higher education systems, including the University of Texas System, awarded the grant to UTSA.

https://www.utsa.edu/today/2023/03/story/utsa-receives-grant-to-enhance-free-textbook-program.html

Using Open Educational Resources to Promote Social Justice - CJ Ivory and Angela Pashia, ALA Store

Using Open Educational Resources to Promote Social Justice explores the opportunities and challenges of moving the discussion about open educational resources (OER) beyond affordability to address structural inequities found throughout academia and scholarly publishing. OER have the potential to celebrate research done by marginalized populations in the context of their own communities, to amplify the voices of those who have the knowledge but have been excluded from formal prestige networks, and to engage students as co-creators of learning content that is relevant and respectful of their cultural contexts.

https://www.alastore.ala.org/content/using-open-educational-resources-promote-social-justice

Reducing the Choice Between a Textbook and Your Next Meal - James Paradiso, UCF

With textbooks and other required course materials proven to be costly, UCF faculty, staff and students have come up with creative, yet practical, solutions through the creation of Open Educational Resources (OER), which include free teaching, learning and research materials. “There has always been a need for open educational resources in higher education,” says Nicole Lapeyrouse, a UCF chemistry professor and 2023 Affordable Instructional Materials (AIM) High Impact Award winner. “By adopting or creating OER, you are able to further support students by making your courses more affordable and helping reduce the financial burden on students.”

https://www.ucf.edu/news/reducing-the-choice-between-a-textbook-and-your-next-meal/

NMU explores Open Educational Resources program - Caiden Meines, Upper Michigan Source

NMU’S Lydia M. Olson Library is looking to make materials more affordable for students. The library, along with the Center for Teaching and Learning, is exploring the use of Open Educational Resources, which are materials that are available for free or little cost to students or teachers. Lydia M. Olson’s Collection Management Librarian Emera Bridger Wilson said teachers can apply for this program. “We’ve created a two-year initiative to support faculty in switching their courses over from a traditional textbook based or purchase based course to an OER course,” Wilson said. “So, we are going to provide them a small stipend to help with the effort of creating or recreating their courses.”

https://www.uppermichiganssource.com/2023/03/20/nmu-explores-open-educational-resources-program/

OCC adopts ‘open educational resources’ - Mark Vest, C & G Newspapers

A press release from Oakland Community College states that faculty at OCC are helping students with the cost of college, reducing barriers and improving completion rates by adopting open education resources for their classes. Those resources encompass free and low-cost teaching, learning and research resources with legal permission for open use, including textbooks, videos, labs, course modules, assignments and assessments, the release states.

https://www.candgnews.com/news/occ-adopts-open-educational-resources-2102

Polk State’s Open Educational Resources save students $2.5 million - Polk State College

More than 25,000 Polk State students have saved $2.5 million in textbook costs thanks to faculty and staff who have worked to implement Open Educational Resources in College courses. Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching, learning, and research materials available in the public domain or released under open licenses that permit free access, use, and adaptation, as well as redistribution by others with no or limited restrictions. The initiative was launched at Polk State in 2017 with the assistance of a Complete Florida Grant and Staff and Program Development Funds.

https://www.polk.edu/news/polk-states-open-educational-resources-save-students-2-5-million/

AAC&U Suggests Ways to Align Open Educational Resources and DEI Goals - Jon Edelman, Diverse Education

Open educational resources (OER)—learning materials, such as online textbooks, with licenses that allow them to be freely used, edited, and shared—are natural tools for achieving DEI goals. OER are free, demolishing the cost barrier that prevents some underserved students from getting more traditional textbooks. But the benefits go beyond the financial. OER can be revised and expanded, allowing students to incorporate their perspectives about subjects that affect them. Students can even make sure that the images in an OER represent them by contributing their own. However, although OER and DEI are aligned, the people responsible for their implementation on campus often aren’t.

https://www.diverseeducation.com/reports-data/article/15383710/aacu-suggests-ways-to-align-open-educational-resources-and-dei-goals

Open Educational Practices - Texas Woman's University

Open Educational Practices (OEP) work closely with Open Educational Resources (OER) to create a learner-driven classroom environment that values access, affordability, and cultural responsiveness. OEP are a set of pedagogical practices that include engaging students in content creation and making their learning accessible.

https://twu.edu/tlt/information-for-faculty/open-educational-practices/

How and Why to Evaluate Open Educational Resources (OERs) - Brenda Thomas, Faculty Focus

The free material my instructors used in those courses was high quality, and I came away with a positive perception of OER use in higher education. As a result, I expected a good experience when I was asked to review an online course in the spring of 2022 that was comprised of OERs. Unfortunately, as I began reviewing the course the saying, “You get what you pay for” kept going through my mind. But fortunately, it was a good reminder of how to avoid potential pitfalls when using OERs

https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/course-design-ideas/how-and-why-to-evaluate-open-educational-resources-oers/

Student Spending on Course Materials Falls to Decade Low - Susan H. Greenberg, Inside Higher Ed

Average annual spending on college course materials fell to a decade low of $285 in the 2022–23 academic year, Student Watch found, according to a press release from the Association of American Publishers. That marks a 57 percent decline since 2012–13. “We’ve noticed a really consistent decrease in student course material spending over time,” said Lacey Wallace, research analyst for the National Association of College Stores, which produced the Student Watch report. “As the space shifts to digital, costs do decrease. A lot of inclusive-access programs are digital first.”

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2023/06/16/student-spending-course-materials-falls-decade-low

Open Educational Resources National Strategy - CARL OBRC

The Open Educational Resources (OER) National Strategy – Stratégie nationale en matière de ressources éducatives libres (REL) group was formed in June 2021 and is facilitated by the the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) who began to engage diverse stakeholders, including national student groups, representatives from provincial open education organizations, scholars and advocates in open education, and individuals and groups representing institutions of higher education, to develop a strategy for open educational resources in Canada.

https://www.carl-abrc.ca/advance-teaching-learning/open-education/open-educational-resources-national-strategy/

EdTech-Universidade Eduardo Montlane Project - OER Africa

This EdTech course was originally developed in 2018-19 and piloted as a blended workshop series to support academic staff capacity building within the Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM, Mozambique) Ed Tech project funded by the Sweden International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). The core course activities were designed and developed by the Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching (CILT) at the University of Cape Town (UCT, South Africa) in partnership with CIUEM and the Education Faculty (CDA, UEM). The fully online version of the course was initially developed and piloted in 2020 in a partnership between the Association of African Universities (AAU) and the e/merge Africa professional development network using the materials developed for the original workshop series at UEM. The latest version of the EdTech course includes significant revisions and enhancements since the AAU online pilot.

https://www.oerafrica.org/resource/edtech-universidade-eduardo-montlane-project

OER Deep Dive progam opens future with many possibilites - The Manila Times

KaISIPan Inc., a 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation registered in Florida, US, with a principal address in Naples, Florida, envisioned transforming learning and teaching through digital educational solutions. Its mission is to deliver digital capabilities to all educators and learners. A program promoting free open education resources (OER) was launched on January 10, 2023. It was a collaboration between the Department of Education (DepEd) Manila, KaISIPan, and Portland State University and sponsored by MetroBank Foundation. As communities opened up to the new normal, a hybrid event launch dubbed "OER Deep Dive," was hosted by Aurora Quezon Elementary School in Quirino, Manila. Around 150 DepEd teachers joined the face-to-face launch led by Education Program Supervisor Amcy Esteban, with welcome speech by school principal Randy Emen.

https://www.manilatimes.net/2023/06/08/campus-press/oer-deep-dive-progam-opens-future-with-many-possibilites/1895089

Prof. Thompson's Building OER Capacity in Math Courses at York - York College

Many institutions have adopted the use of OER (Open Education Resources), saving students money by eliminating the need to purchase textbooks. “OERs are educational materials made freely and legally available on the internet for anyone to reuse, revise, remix and redistribute,” (‘Hewlett Foundations, 2013, p.4’). Students gain immediate access to content material and homework at the start of the semester free of charge when OERs are used in a course. Instructors can introduce, remove, and customize content materials at any time, not having to stick with the textbook chosen for the course. Since the pandemic, the Mathematics and Computer Science department has gained momentum in exploring and embracing the OER movement, led by Professor Virginia Thompson, saving students "tons of money" by not having to purchase the traditional hard copy textbook for their course.

https://www.york.cuny.edu/news/prof-thompsons-building-oer-capacity-in-math-courses-at-york-

Stanly Community College receives $25,000 Spotlight on Humanities grant - Stanley News and Press

Stanly Community College has received a $25,000 National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Spotlight on Humanities in Higher Education Grant.  “Spotlight on Humanities in Higher Education supports humanities teaching and research projects that benefit underserved populations at small- to mid-sized colleges and universities. Thirty new Spotlight grants will fund an array of curriculum and program development projects, teaching resources, and community engagement efforts,” press release from the NEH stated.  

https://www.thesnaponline.com/2023/06/05/stanly-community-college-receives-25000-spotlight-on-humanities-grant/

A Perfect Match: How UMGC Leveraged MyLab to Improve Student Outcomes - Faculty Focus

In 2014, UMGC decided to move away from publishers to adopting Open Educational Resources (OER) to ease the financial burden for students. In 2018, there was a state-wide initiative to reduce or eliminate developmental math as a pre-requisite. At this time, John Beyers, math and statistics program director and instructor, partnered with Tiffany DePriter, statistics coordinator and instructor, to investigate reducing the number of prerequisites for college algebra and statistics courses. Because OERs poorly supported students not yet ready for college-level courses, they decided to use an adaptive resource that allowed for differentiation in a way that did not overburden faculty.

https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-with-technology-articles/a-perfect-match-how-umgc-leveraged-mylab-to-improve-student-outcomes/

5 R's of OER - UNESCO

The five freedoms most commonly exploited by OER adopters under Creative Commons licences are formulated as the ‘5Rs’:

Retain: the right to make, own and control copies of the content (for instance, to download, duplicate, store and manage).

Reuse: the right to use the content in a wide range of ways (such as in a class, in a study group, on a website, in a video).

Revise: the right to adapt, adjust, modify or alter the content itself (for example, to translate the content into another language).

Remix: the right to combine the original or revised content with other material to create something new (such as to incorporate the content into a mashup).

Redistribute: the right to share copies of the original content, your revisions or your remixes with others (for instance, to give a copy of the content to a friend).

https://unevoc.unesco.org/home/TVETipedia+Glossary/lang=en/show=term/term=5+Rs+of+OER

Open Solutions: A lever to achieve access to information and knowledge - UNESCO

The UNESCO OER Dynamic Coalition organized a webinar on 4 May 2023 to highlight the effective use of open licenses in promoting inclusive knowledge societies. Open solutions refer to digital public goods that are available under open licenses, respecting the intellectual property rights of the copyright owner. These solutions enable users to reuse, repurpose, adapt and redistribute content.

https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/open-solutions-lever-achieve-access-information-and-knowledge

McMaster expands Open Educational Resources Grant Program - Tina Depko, McMaster Library

A grant program that makes it easier for McMaster University instructors to create and adapt free, high-quality open textbooks and course material to improve teaching and learning is expanding. This means that double the funding of $60,000 will now be available each year for the next three years through the Open Educational Resources (OER) Grant Program. It is supported by the Office of the Provost, McMaster University Library, the Health Sciences Library, the MacPherson Institute and McMaster Students Union.

https://library.mcmaster.ca/news/mcmaster-expands-open-educational-resources-grant-program

Ministers’ call for free open science publishing backed - Nic Mitchell, University World News

Publicly funded research outputs should be immediately and openly available to all without barriers such as subscription fees or paywalls, say European scientific community leaders who welcomed a recent 20-point plan agreed by the Council of the European Union to encourage open science.

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php

Open Textbooks- Elon Libguides

Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching, learning and research materials in any medium that reside in the public domain and have been released under an open license that permits access, use, repurposing, reuse and redistribution by others with no or limited restrictions 

(Atkins, Brown & Hammond, 2007).

OER are not just textbooks.  Examples include case studies, assignments, assessment tools,

software, simulations, videos, workshops, lab manuals, test banks.

https://elon.libguides.com/oer/opentextbooks

Open Educational Resources: Textbooks and OER Search Engines - CARLI

CARLI is a membership organization for libraries, providing services at scale to Illinois academic and research libraries. CARLI provides value to members libraries and Illinois higher education by freeing dollars within each member organization—including each University of Illinois campus—to do mission-critical work. The University of Illinois System supports CARLI and reaffirms the central role that education and higher education can play in promoting the public good for the entire State of Illinois and beyond.

https://www.carli.illinois.edu/products-services/collections-management/open-ed-resource-textbooks

Open Educational Resources Guide: Open Textbooks - University of Washington Libraries

Open textbooks are books covered by an open copyright license and availabe freely to students, teachers and members of the public. Often, though it depends on the specific license, anyone will have the right to access, download, revise, or customize the content.

https://guides.lib.uw.edu/bothell/open/textbooks

Episode 154 | EdTechBooks for this EdTech Age - Curtis Bonk, Silver Lining for Learning

And then there is Royce Kimmons from Brigham Young University (BYU) who has ingeniously designed and developed a website for free and open educational technology textbooks and journals called EdTechBooks. Royce, along with Rick West and Jason McDonald of BYU have been active in using, promoting, and sharing the award-winning project. Attend this Episode #154 of Silver Lining for Learning and hear stories about their successes, challenges, and work left to accomplish at EdTechBooks. During the hour, Rick, Royce, and Jason will discuss different educational technology topics and trends in some of their most popular books as well as books and journal issues on emerging technology trends and topics that are about to be published. Come learn about this liberating world of open educational resources.

https://silverliningforlearning.org/episode-154-edtechbooks-for-this-edtech-age/

Open Educational Resources: OER 101 - York University

On Wednesday, March 27, 2019, York University Libraries hosted an introductory workshop on open education for faculty, librarians, educational developers, and students. This event was generously sponsored by eCampusOntario. This Google Drive folder provides access to all of the materials from the presentation. 

https://researchguides.library.yorku.ca/OER

Open Education - CARL-ABRC

In June 2021, the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) began to engage diverse stakeholders, including national student groups, representatives from provincial open education organizations, scholars and advocates in open education, and individuals and groups representing institutions of higher education, to help facilitate the development of a National advocacy strategy for open educational resources in Canada. Through these efforts, the Open Educational Resources (OER) National Strategy – Stratégie nationale en matière de ressources éducatives libres (REL) group was formed. CARL’s Open Education Working Group is responsible for developing leadership opportunities for librarians and other professionals active in open education.

https://www.carl-abrc.ca/advance-teaching-learning/open-education/

33 Websites to Get Free College Textbooks - Olivia Smith, Book Scouter

As a college student who wants to make the best grades, you need textbooks to aid your studies, understand your lectures, and in the end, pass your exams without fuss. However, buying these textbooks can be a hassle due to their high prices, low availability, and minimal usage. Also, there are some textbooks that you won’t utilize fully as you only need a few chapters’ worths of information but no one is going to sell part of a textbook to you. Luckily, there are 33 websites where you can get college textbooks for free! Let’s have a look, shall we?

https://bookscouter.com/blog/free-college-textbooks/

Free textbooks for university students - Bookboon

People often ask us about the meaning of our name, Bookboon. According to Oxford Dictionaries a “boon” is “a thing that is helpful or beneficial”. That is what we have set out to do when it comes to eBooks. With a mission to provide everyone access to helpful and practical personal development content on an easy-to-use platform, a “boon” is exactly what we hope to deliver.

https://bookboon.com/en/textbooks

10+ BEST Websites To Download Free PDF Textbooks [2023 List] - Software Testing Help

Download Free PDF Textbooks. Compare their features for selecting the best PDF college textbooks downloader websites: The ongoing global pandemic has made us realize how helplessly dependent we are on technology for all our needs. As nation after nation announced countrywide lockdowns due to a surge in the Covid-19 cases, people were forced to turn to technology for all their needs.

https://www.softwaretestinghelp.com/download-free-pdf-textbooks/

Transform Higher Education and Student Learning - University of Minnesota, Open Education Network

Transform Higher Education and Student Learning

Open textbooks are licensed by authors and publishers to be freely used and adapted. Download, edit and distribute them at no cost. Now offering 1247 open textbooks, the Open Textbook Library is supported by the Open Education Network.

https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks