Using OER to promote cultural competency, student engagement - LISSETTE ACOSTA CORNIEL AND JANELLE POE, CC Daily

As Ethnic Studies professors in the City University of New York (CUNY) system, we believe in the importance of teaching Black history in an authentic way. Naturally, we were thrilled to help build and facilitate the Black Studies Across the Americas (BSAA) undergraduate research program at the Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC). The materials the program participants produce are all open educational resources (OER), meaning they are openly licensed and thus free for everyone to use, customize and distribute. Students share these materials through the OpenLab site where anyone can review and share the infographics, presentations, zines, podcasts, cookbooks and other resources with corresponding lesson plans on countries and communities like Brazil, Haiti, Peru, the Dominican Republic and the Garifuna of Central America.

https://www.ccdaily.com/2024/05/using-oer-to-promote-cultural-competency-student-engagement/

Transforming Education at UNM: CULLS launches innovative OER Programs with AI integration and financial support - UNM

This summer, CULLS will run a Pilot Program to help faculty, instructors, and graduate students learn more about AI and OER. This pilot program for AI-Enhanced Creation of Open Educational Resources consists of a cohort of 6-10 faculty members and instructors. The pilot will help CULLS develop the AI section for an OER guidebook currently in development, and cohort members will receive a stipend of $1,000, as well as three months’ subscription to Open AI’s GPT-4, for their involvement in the program. This eight-week cohort-based program is designed to support faculty and instructors across diverse disciplines, by providing the tools needed to incorporate AI in OER development. Additionally, it offers a collaborative space for sharing insights and learning alongside peers. Participating researchers will have the opportunity to develop resources for their individual courses or initiate larger-scale OER projects.

https://news.unm.edu/news/transforming-education-at-unm-culls-launches-innovative-oer-programs-with-ai-integration-and-financial-support

RCTC to offer no cost ‘Z-degrees’ by spring 2026 - KTTC

 RCTC, along with six other colleges and universities in Minnesota, has committed to creating, finalizing, and implementing a new Z-degree by spring 2026. Since its inception in 2020, ten Minnesota State colleges have offered Z-degrees. Z-degrees are degree programs in which students pay zero textbook costs using Open Educational Resources or other no-cost options. Open Educational Resources are digital textbooks and other educational materials that are freely licensed and available at no cost, potentially saving students thousands of dollars.

https://www.kttc.com/2024/04/04/rctc-offer-no-cost-z-degrees-by-spring-2026/

Penn State Lehigh Valley to hold Open and Affordable Showcase - Sara Karnish, Penn State

Penn State Lehigh Valley will hold the 3rd Annual Open Affordable Showcase on May 9. This event is open to any faculty or staff member within the Penn State network interested in making students’ Penn State experience more affordable; exploring best practices around open educational resources (OER); discovering new ways to use materials in classes, assignments or activities; or how open pedagogy can help advance teaching and learning goals. The conference will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., primarily in room 224.

https://www.psu.edu/news/lehigh-valley/story/penn-state-lehigh-valley-hold-open-and-affordable-showcase/

Creative Commons USA Releases Legislative Guide to Open Educational Resources - Washington University

Last week, Creative Commons USA released a new resource for state policymakers interested in tackling the high cost of college textbooks and improving student outcomes in the process. The resource, an “OER State Legislative Guide,” is meant to provide policymakers and staff with a cross-sectional, annotated set of legislative texts that help expand the use of OER (open educational resources), a powerful alternative to the broken textbook market. OER are learning materials published under a license that gives users permission to share, adapt, and retain them – at no cost to the user. Openly licensed materials, unlike traditional books, leverage modern technology to reduce costs and deliver knowledge in a more accessible way. As a result, open licensed works have far fewer barriers between them and the end user – which alleviates the negative consequences of the traditional textbook market, improves access and performance as a result, and opens the doors to far greater innovation and development.

https://www.wcl.american.edu/impact/initiatives-programs/pijip/news/creative-commons-usa-releases-legislative-guide-to-open-educational-resources/

CC OPEN EDUCATION PLATFORM ACTIVITIES: 2023 IN REVIEW - Jennryn Wetzler, et al; Creative Commons

The CC Open Education community had a busy 2023!  Five project teams, spanning nine countries, worked on open education projects ranging from developing STEAM, interactive, and climate change-related OER, to international curriculum alignment and translation work. Community members also worked on multimedia resources supporting the UNESCO Recommendation on OER, and presented in CC’s biannual Open Education Lightning Talks. Community members reflect on their accomplishments, lessons learned and what is next below. CC staff lightly edited text for clarity.

https://creativecommons.org/2024/01/31/cc-open-education-platform-activities-2023-in-review/

English Medium Education and Gender Equality (EMEGen) Open Educational Resources

1 Role of digital in girls’ lives

The British Council carried out a global research exercise on the role of digital and technology in the lives of adolescent girls in:

Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia.

Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Nepal.

Myanmar, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Syria.

Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Sudan and Ethiopia.

One of the questions was:

What is girls’ level of digital literacy and what access do they have to digital technology and platforms?

https://www.open.edu/openlearncreate/mod/book/view.php?id=219037

Open-source intelligence and online investigations in focus at OSCE training course for law enforcement in Uzbekistan - OSCE

Seventeen representatives from Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and Law Enforcement Academy took part in the course, which was held at the Law Enforcement Academy and delivered by two international experts from Georgia and Lithuania. The course’s ten modules covered topics such as relevant open-source intelligence process and information theory; web and internet fundamentals; operational security in online investigations; analysis of websites, emails, social networks, images and other open sources; preservation of online evidence; and human rights in the context of open-source intelligence. The training materials were based on a new e-learning course developed by the OSCE in 2023.

https://www.osce.org/secretariat/567379

New Data From Open Syllabus: “OER Adoption Update: 2023”- Gary Price, Library Journal

With the release of version 2.11 of the OS dataset, we can update our reporting on adoption rates for open educational resources (OERs) — specifically, open textbooks and ‘open access’ monographs. We track OER adoption via the appearance of titles on syllabi — the point of use rather than the point of sale or distribution. In 2013, OER textbooks were barely on the scene and used in only around 1 in 400 classes. By 2023, it was 1 in 80. Over the past 10 years, the growth rate in OER textbook use has averaged around 17.5% per year in the US.

https://www.infodocket.com/2024/04/11/new-data-from-open-syllabus-oer-adoption-update-2023/

Transforming Education at UNM: CULLS launches innovative OER Programs with AI integration and financial support

The College of University Libraries and Learning Sciences (CULLS) is supporting faculty and instructors interested in researching and developing Open Educational Resources (OER) for use in higher education. Both programs offer monetary support for selected applicants. This summer, CULLS will run a Pilot Program to help faculty, instructors, and graduate students learn more about AI and OER. This pilot program for AI-Enhanced Creation of Open Educational Resources consists of a cohort of 6-10 faculty members and instructors. The pilot will help CULLS develop the AI section for an OER guidebook currently in development, and cohort members will receive a stipend of $1,000, as well as three months’ subscription to Open AI’s GPT-4, for their involvement in the program.

https://news.unm.edu/news/transforming-education-at-unm-culls-launches-innovative-oer-programs-with-ai-integration-and-financial-support

Elon University guide to Open Educational Resources (OER)

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: Find Open Textbooks - UIC

These search engines are a great place to start your OER search, especially if you're not tied to textbooks. They search across a variety of OER collections, databases, and repositories to make your search a bit easier. 

OASIS https://oasis.geneseo.edu/

Openly Available Sources Integrated Search (OASIS) is a search tool that aims to make the discovery of open content easier. OASIS currently searches open content from 98 different sources and contains 368,234 records. Created by SUNY Geneseo's Milne Library.

Mason OER Metafinder (MOM)-Provides a simultaneous search across 20 different sources of open educational materials. Created by George Mason University.

https://researchguides.uic.edu/opentextbooks/search

Open Textbooks - OER Commons

ISKME's digital librarians have curated collections of Open Textbooks and full courses to help leverage OER in your classroom. Whether you are looking for more affordable options for your students, or dynamic content to inspire your own teaching and learning practice, this hub, organized by discipline and provider will help you discover the resources you need at your fingertips.

https://oercommons.org/hubs/open-textbooks

AtlanticOER development grants - Dal Libaries

The Council of Atlantic Academic Libraries (CAAL) has announced that the AtlanticOER Development Grants 2024 cycle is now open for applications.  AtlanticOER Development Grants are intended to encourage and support educators in the Atlantic Region in the adaptation, adoption, creation, and curation of open educational resources (OER), and to increase access to course materials for students. The AtlanticOER Development Grants Program is made possible through funding from the provincial governments of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland & Labrador.

https://www.dal.ca/news/today/2024/04/25/atlanticoer_development_grants_deadline.html

Introduction to Accessibility for OER - the Shorthorn

In this virtual workshop, staff members from the UTA Libraries' OER Department will give a brief overview of web content accessibility guidelines and describe how OER texts published with Mavs Open Press are checked for accessibility compliance. This workshop is free and open to everyone. UTA CARES Innovation/Modification/Creation Grant recipients who received their awards in 2022 or later must attend this workshop before their OER goes to pilot. For more information about this event, contact Jessica McClean, Director of OER (oer@uta.edu).

https://www.theshorthorn.com/calendar/introduction-to-accessibility-for-oer/event_bbb8dc0c-a882-5a19-8643-2ff4aa36b19b.html

University of Manitoba Faculty and Instructors: Apply for a $10,000 grant to create an open textbook - University of Manitoba

 A new round of UM OER Grants (up to $10,000) is available to help faculty and instructors create digital, open access course materials. Applications are now being accepted for the 2024-25 academic year.  Through the Advance Open Ed 2023-24 project, UM Libraries provided financial and practical assistance for the creation of nine open educational resources (OER) publications. This will continue in the 2024-25 academic year, with educational opportunities about open scholarship for the UM community. Funds are available to participate in the upcoming Creative Commons certificate programs and the virtual Open Education Conference in October 2024.

https://news.umanitoba.ca/apply-for-a-10000-grant-to-create-an-open-textbook/

Increasing access for all -- University of Waterloo

For decades, there has been a movement across Canada to support the development of open educational resources, which help to democratize knowledge and provide students affordable access to quality materials. This gift represents an investment in not only the Library and OER, but also in the University’s teaching and learning mission. Russell Philpott, executive vice president of Staebler Insurance says, "Lifelong learning is a key value at Staebler Insurance... we're thrilled to support the University of Waterloo Library in their mission to make learning materials freely accessible and available.”

https://publications.uwaterloo.ca/library-annual-report-2023/catalyzing-learning-and-research-story-01.html

Hyderabad: BRAOU organises OU OER fest - The Hans India

Dr Nirmal Jeet Singh Kalsi, former chairman of the National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET), highlighted the importance of open universities sharing best practices and research findings to enhance the implementation of open distance e-learning programs. This sharing of knowledge enables open universities to better equip and empower individuals who lack access to traditional educational resources. Additionally, he noted that open universities have the advantage of developing and providing courses based on the immediate requirements of the learners, making it easier to meet their current needs on demand.

https://www.thehansindia.com/news/cities/hyderabad/hyderabad-braou-organises-ou-oer-fest-873487#google_vignette

Panel discusses merits, limitations of open educational resources - Marty Levine, U Times University of Pittsburgh

Open educational resources (OERs) — educational materials licensed to be freely used and adapted, from online textbooks to problem sets and classroom activities — are adaptable to a specific course and can be adopted in sets or sections, but instructors need to examine them closely for current and error-free content, said members of a panel on OERs hosted by the University Senate’s Library Committee on April 4. The panel’s student member, Akshita Pawar (a sophomore and campus relations coordinating intern of the Public Interest Research Group), noted that she and her classmates must sometimes buy a published textbook, but the instructor may use only half of it. OERs are certainly more affordable, Pawar said — an advantage especially for general education classes, which are required but whose instructional materials may not be something students wish to keep.

https://www.utimes.pitt.edu/news/panel-discusses-merits

Kudos to Roadrunners going above and beyond - Glavin Walp, MSU Denver

The Metropolitan State University of Denver Open Educational Resources Taskforce received $130,000 in grant funding to support the University’s commitment to enhancing the affordability and accessibility of MSU Denver.  These grants include $100,000 to expand OER in General Studies courses and develop degree programs with zero textbook cost, with $30,000 going toward open textbook-review workshops, OER faculty learning communities and adoption grants for all faculty members. The OER Taskforce projects the savings for students to be more than $260,000 in the first year of implementation of this new grant, which doesn’t include the $3.7 million it has saved students in the past five years. 

https://www.msudenver.edu/early-bird/kudos-to-roadrunners-going-above-and-beyond/

WMU Libraries publishes two new open textbooks - Sara Volmering, Western Michigan University

Western Michigan University Libraries is thrilled to announce the publication of two new open textbooks by Western faculty funded by Open Educational Resources Creation Grants. Western students and learners worldwide now have free online access to “Leadership Communication: Principles and Practice” by Dr. Leah Omilion-Hodges and Dr. Annette Hamel and “Vida y cultura de España” by Dr. Mariola Pérez de la Cruz. These new open textbooks are free to use for Western students and learners everywhere. These titles were created with support from the Libraries’ Open Educational Resources (OER) Grants program, which supports the adoption and creation of OER that are free for instructors and students to use, adapt and remix. Although all three authors have previously published books through traditional publishers, these titles are their first published open textbooks.

https://wmich.edu/news/2024/04/75382