The 5Rs of Openness - UNC Greensboro

– Retain – the right to make, own, and control copies of the content

– Reuse – the right to use the content in a wide range of ways (e.g., 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 (e.g., translate the content into another language)
– Remix – the right to combine the original or revised content with other open content to create something new (e.g., incorporate the content into a mashup)
– Redistribute – the right to share copies of the original content, your revisions, or your remixes with others (e.g., give a copy of the content to a friend)

https://uncg.libguides.com/oer

Open Educational Resources, Vital To Advancement Of Education – EdTech - Chris, Leadership

Speaking at the virtual roundtable titled”  Open Educational Resources (OER): Should EdTech  Harness Open Licenses”, the environmental engineer turned EdTech entrepreneur, Mr. Kelechi Uchenna stressed that parents and teachers cannot afford to ignore the significance of OER in the 21st-century learning environment. According to him, it is high time that stakeholders in the sector move away from the traditional way of learning and teaching if they hope to advance educational growth in Nigeria.

https://leadership.ng/open-educational-resources-vital-to-advancement-of-education-edtech/ 

Farewell Print Textbook Reserves: A COVID-19 Change to Embrace - Steven Bell, EDUCAUSE Review

The current turn of events points to the future demise of print textbook reserves. It should spur librarians and their faculty colleagues to imagine higher education with fully digital e-reserves and a commitment to born-digital, zero- or low-cost learning materials that all students can equitably afford to access. We should adopt Open Educational Resources (OER) to the fullest extent possible. Together, let us learn from this COVID-19 experience and move forward by eliminating our fragile dependence on course content that commercial publishers refuse to make available to libraries in digital format. Any sustainable future for affordable and accessible digital learning materials must come from within the academy.

https://er.educause.edu/articles/2021/1/farewell-print-textbook-reserves-a-covid-19-change-to-embrace

New Open Knowledge Center focused on educational resources’ accessibility - Sam Overton, NCSU Technician

NC State University Libraries announced a new department to help students and faculty understand open educational resources: the Open Knowledge Center (OKC), formerly known as the Copyright & Digital Scholarship Center (CDSC). Offering expertise in copyright, licensing, publishing, open education and more, the OKC is now run by a six-membered staff to involve the campus community in open educational resources. OKC Director and Head of Information Policy Will Cross leads the department alongside Scott Bailey, digital research and scholarship librarian and Micah Vandegrift, open knowledge librarian.

https://www.blogger.com/blog/posts/5033927483425759062

Texas Tech looking to make education more accessible, more affordable - KCBD

From the proliferation of distance learning options to a wealth of community collaborations, Texas Tech University has worked for decades to make information and new knowledge more widely accessible. Now, the university is taking yet another step forward in that journey. Texas Tech is one of a dozen institutions joining the 2021-22 Institutional Partner cohort of OpenStax, Rice University’s educational technology initiative. OpenStax produces open educational resources in the form of textbooks and ancillary materials, as well as nonprofit technologies. The OpenStax program has helped more than 65 colleges and universities expand the use of open educational resources on their campuses, saving students money and putting more flexible course materials into the hands of educators and learners.

https://www.kcbd.com/2021/06/25/texas-tech-looking-make-education-more-accessible-more-affordable/

OER Advocacy Crash Course - Lyrasis

 November 4, 2021:  OER Advocacy Crash Course will prepare attendees to implement OER advocacy campaigns on their campus. The class will focus on advocacy communication centered on audience, messaging, and framing. Attendees will be presented with communication best practices and examples of student advocacy initiatives to inspire actions that best fit their institutional context. This interactive presentation will equip attendees with basic advocacy communication skills and encourage attendees to take action by leaving the session with established actions to implement at their institution next week, in one month, and in six months. Attendees will be provided with an advocacy campaign worksheet that they can begin to complete during the class or later as “homework” when developing plans for actions on their campus.

https://www.lyrasis.org/Content/Pages/Event-Details.aspx?Eid=008E2524-64B7-EB11-80EF-00155D0A2721

Nicholls faculty members to help develop free dual-enrollment courses - The Courier and Daily Comet

Four Nicholls State University educators will help develop free interactive courses for Louisiana high school students seeking college credit. The project is part of the federal Open Textbooks Pilot Program, funded by a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Participants from Nicholls, selected by the Louisiana Library Network, are Elizabeth Batte, director of the Ellender Memorial Library; Brandy Burbante, cataloging librarian; James Gilley, assistant professor of political science; and Kevin McQueeney, assistant professor of history and geography. The goal is to create 25 general-education courses available for free with an open license, officials said. The classes will reduce the cost for over 250,000 students across the state.

https://www.houmatoday.com/story/news/2021/06/21/four-nicholls-faculty-help-develop-dual-enrollment-courses-using-open-resources/5296442001/

Textbooks are expensive. Universities should use Open Educational Resources instead. - VERONICA MENENDEZ, San Diego Union-Tribune

 According to a survey released by the California Student Aid Commission, nearly two-thirds of California students say their biggest obstacle to succeeding in college is costs and juggling jobs with school. Many do not have the financial means to cover the costs of college, unfortunately skipping meals, sleeping in cars or falling deeper into poverty due to student debt. Ultimately, students should not have to worry about the price of materials in a course they already paid to take. This issue has a simple solution — adopting university-wide Open Educational Resources. These are free, peer-written and peer-reviewed materials that are downloadable and published under an open access license — allowing professors to assign them to students without purchase.

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/commentary/story/2021-06-21/textbook-cost-open-educational-resources-ucsd

Will Open Access Destroy the Quality of Research? Debunking This and Other Myths About Open Access Journal Publishing - Marissa Massare, IGI Global

While open access (OA) publishing is gaining traction in the publishing industry, there are many myths and misconceptions that are being shared within the academic community that can deter researchers from considering it as a possibility when submitting their work to scholarly journal publications. 

https://www.igi-global.com/newsroom/archive/will-open-access-destroy-quality/4872/

The top 9 myths about OER publishing - Eric Schmeider, TAA Online

 In a recent blog post, we explored some of the questions authors are asking about open textbooks. In this post we have continued the discussion with several leaders in the open textbook movement to identify some of the common misconceptions associated with open educational resources (OER) publishing. Below, Barbara Illowsky (co-author of one of the first open textbooks, Introductory Statistics), Amy Hofer (Open Oregon Educational Resources), Apurva Ashok and Zoe Wake Hyde (Rebus Foundation), and Nicole Finkbeiner (OpenStax, Rice University), share the top nine myths they have identified, and the facts related to each.

https://blog.taaonline.net/2018/10/the-top-9-myths-about-oer-publishing/

Open Education Resources - Oklahoma Education

OpenSciEd is now embarking on developing and piloting free and open high school biology, chemistry, and physics curriculum, with integrated earth and space science standards. A major part of the development process is involving educators in field testing units. Oklahoma has been selected to participate and we are looking for high school teachers! Participating teachers will implement units and provided feedback throughout the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years. Educators will receive professional development and support throughout the school year, beginning summer 2021. To find out more about the OpenSciEd High School Science Pilot check out the recorded informational webinar and presentation slide deck. One update since the webinar was filmed is that the OpenSciEd High School pilot will include chemistry and physics, along with biology in the first year.

https://sde.ok.gov/hqim/oer

Open RN and XanEdu announce the launch of Nursing Skills, the second textbook in Open RN's series of 5 OER Nursing Textbooks - Open RN and XanEdu announce the launch of Nursing Skills, the second textbook in Open RN's series of 5 OER Nursing Textbooks

 XanEdu, an educational products and services company working with the higher education and K-12 markets, in partnership with Open RN, creator of OER (Open Educational Resource) nursing textbooks, is pleased to announce the launch of Nursing Skills, the second textbook in the 5 book series of OER nursing education titles.   Nursing Skills is now available for free digital download, a low-cost print text is also available.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/open-rn-and-xanedu-announce-the-launch-of-nursing-skills-the-second-textbook-in-open-rns-series-of-5-oer-nursing-textbooks-301315594.html

Minnesota State Colleges Earn Grant to Supply Education Students with Open Course Materials - Dene Dryden, KSNI

 Education students at St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud Technical and Community College and four other Minnesota State institutions will now have free, open textbooks and course materials for some of their classes as part of a new grant program. The U.S. Department of Education recently awarded the consortium of Minnesota State colleges a $978,332, three-year grant to provide open educational resources for education students in six of their core classes. Open educational resources (or OERs) are textbooks and other learning materials that are free of cost for students.

https://knsiradio.com/2021/06/18/minnesota-state-colleges-earn-grant-to-supply-education-students-with-open-course-materials/

Michigan Tech University Professor Earns Statewide Award - Jack Hall, Radioresultsnetwork

 Michigan Technological University Professor Thomas Werner has been recognized as one of the state’s three recipients of the Michigan Distinguished Professor of the Year award, which recognizes the outstanding contributions and dedication exhibited by the faculty from Michigan’s 15 public universities to the education of undergraduate students. Dr. Werner has also co-authored a two-book series of free, open-source textbooks on fruit flies with Ms. Steenwinkel. These open source textbooks have been downloaded on all seven continents, helping students everywhere keep textbook fees down.

https://www.radioresultsnetwork.com/2021/06/16/michigan-tech-university-professor-earns-statewide-award/

Cleveland State Awarded SERS And OER Grants - the Chattanoogan

 Cleveland State Community College has received three new grants. The college was awarded two Student Engagement Retention and Success Grants and one Open Ed Resources and Digital Engagement Grant from the Tennessee Board of Regents. In total, these three projects bring over $75,000 in new funding to the college. 

https://www.chattanoogan.com/2021/6/17/430083/Cleveland-State-Awarded-SERS-And-OER.aspx

Not OER, However North Carolina A&T Provides Free Textbooks - Sara Weissman, Inside Higher Ed

Students at North Carolina A&T State University will be provided free textbooks for the next two academic years starting in fall 2021. The institution announced Thursday that it is buying all course materials for undergraduates using federal stimulus relief funds. Each student will save more than $1,000 in textbook costs per year, Robert Pompey, vice chancellor for business and finance, said in a press release.

https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2021/06/18/north-carolina-provides-free-textbooks

SETDA Names Dr. Karen Richardson the Recipient of the 2021 Candice Dodson Influencer Award - eSchool News

 The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) announced that Dr. Karen Richardson, Executive Director, Virginia Society for Technology in Education (VSTE) was selected as the recipient of the inaugural Candice Dodson Influencer Award (CDIA). The recipient of the Candice Dodson Influencer Award was selected through a competitive application process and was presented to Dr. Richardson during the 2021 SETDA Emerging Trends Forum on June 15, 2021. Her work with her state conference has empowered educators, her guidance has developed a state Open Educational Resources (OER) project, and her love of learning inspires those who flock to attend her presentations.

https://www.eschoolnews.com/2021/06/17/setda-names-dr-karen-richardson-the-recipient-of-the-2021-candice-dodson-influencer-award/

Misericordia University professors receive PA GOAL Grants - Misericordia University

 Misericordia University was recently awarded two Pennsylvania Grants for Open and Affordable Learning (PA Goal Grant) with funding provided by the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER), and the state Department of Education (PDE), Office of Commonwealth Libraries (OCL). The funding will support pedagogy in the College of Arts and Sciences, in the Department of History and Government, and in the Physics Department. For more information on these grants managed by PALCI, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization visit The PA Department of Education, GEER Funding.

https://www.misericordia.edu/news/news-post-page/~board/news/post/misericordia-university-professors-receive-pa-goal-grants

Implementing UNESCO’s OER Recommendation In Francophone Africa - India Education Diary

The Workshop on OER in Francophone Africa, organized by the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) in partnership with UNESCO and the Digital University (France) addressed capacity building and awareness raising on policy issues supporting OER development in Francophone Africa focusing on institutions on 9 June 2021 (online). Representatives from Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Ivory Coast, Mali, the Republique of Congo and Senegal, as well as from France and Norway focused on strengthening dialogue and interaction between the ministerial and institutional levels. They also shared experiences on the potential of OER in Francophone Africa for quality, innovation and access to learning in the current Covid 19 context.

https://indiaeducationdiary.in/implementing-unescos-oer-recommendation-in-francophone-africa/

How Open Education Enables Culturally Responsive Teaching - Ruanda Garth McCullough and Richard Sebastian, Faculty Focus

If students can see themselves and their communities in what they’re learning, then they learn differently—and better. This is the idea behind culturally responsive teaching (CRT). With CRT, students’ cultural knowledge is seen as an asset in the classroom, not something that should be checked at the door. Cultural responsiveness is not new, but in this year of reckoning with racial inequity, there is renewed interest among higher education instructors. Bringing cultural responsiveness into teaching isn’t just about checking a box or making an instructor feel good about doing “the equitable thing.” CRT yields tangible benefits for students, facilitating brain processing and cultivating critical thinking skills. Research has shown that students are most satisfied with instructors who respect and are inclusive of cultural differences.

https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/equality-inclusion-and-diversity/how-open-education-enables-culturally-responsive-teaching/

Creating Winning Strategies for Higher Ed, Students and Publishers, BibliU Reports Triple-Digit Growth - Bibliu

 BibliU’s unique Universal Learning solution is a campus-wide offering that guarantees all students have access to the content they need on the first day of class. BibliU aggregates digital content from thousands of publishers and OER sources on one platform, providing content for a low fixed price per student per class. Using BibliU, institutions save hundreds of hours in manual administrative overhead via the automation of activities related to evaluating content, comparing book lists to catalogs, purchasing content, integrating with financial aid, integrating content within the learning management system (LMS), and budget optimization. Optionally, schools can generate auxiliary revenue, typically used to subsidize student support services.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/creating-winning-strategies-higher-ed-110000597.html