[Open-education] [OER Digest] - #GoOpen Exchange, Hill Updates, Student Governments Galore

[Ethan Senack]

By Ethan Senack, Student PIRGs | Volume 8 | March 3rd, 2016
*With the help of Bo Donoghue, Nicole Allen, and Reg Leichty*


*THE OER DIGEST*
Your tip sheet for U.S. OER updates, opportunities, and reminders

*FULL STEAM AHEAD*: Last week, the U.S. Department of Education organized
the #GoOpen Exchange, a gathering of state and district leaders, technology
companies, and non-profit organizations about helping educators transition
to using openly-licensed educational resources. The Department announced
that 13 states and 40 districts have made commitments to #GoOpen through
expanding the use of OER, a leap forward since the campaign launched this
fall. The event included numerous workshops, live technology demos from
companies including Amazon and Microsoft, two speakers from the White House
who articulated a strong message of support for OER, and a remote
conversation with Acting Ed Secretary John King. The Department plans to
continue seeking #GoOpen commitments from other states and districts
throughout the coming year.  Check out the twitterstream on #GoOpen for
more details on the event.

   - READ the press release:
   http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-recognizes-13-states-and-40-districts-committing-goopen-educational-resources
   - RT John King:
   https://twitter.com/JohnKingatED/status/703382691270553600


* FAUXPEN BOOKS*: Last week the White House also announced a project
entitled Open eBooks, which provides a new smartphone app for low income
children to access a library of free ebooks. Despite what the project name
implies, the ebooks are not open, but instead are donated on a limited
basis by publishers (we are told the project’s name originated with the
app’s use of open source technology). While the project is admirable for
promoting reading among low income children, its equivocal use of “open”
and proximity to the #GoOpen announcement has caused much confusion.
Advocates are encouraging members of the OER community to keep the two
projects separate, and redouble our efforts to effectively communicate why
“open” is more than “free.”

   - READ this blog by Doug Levin:
   http://www.edtechstrategies.com/blog/confused-about-open/


*FULL HOUSE IN THE HOUSE: *More than 50 people turned out for a Congressional
Briefing <http://bit.ly/1LCpKgT> on open education this week, sponsored by
SPARC, CCSSO, COSN, and SETDA. At least 25 House and Senate offices were
represented. Congressman Jared Polis kicked off the briefing, emphasizing
the potential for OER and technology to vastly improve access to learning
materials. CC-US posted a few photos here> <http://bit.ly/1QOV8os>

*CHAMPS ON THE HILL:* This week, a coalition of national organizations
wrote a letter to Senators Hatch (R-UT) and Baldwin (D-WI), as well as Rep.
Jared Polis (D-CO), thanking them for including OER among the allowable
uses of the new Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grant (SSAEG)
program, which was created by the Every Student Succeeds Act. Thanks to
their hard work, States and school districts will be able to use SSAEG
funding to support a transition to digital learning, including investing in
high quality openly licensed materials an tools.  The letter also urged
them to ask the Senate and House Appropriations Committees to fully fund
the SSAEG program in the upcoming budget.

*LIBERATING, ISN'T IT: *Earlier this month, learning platform Skyepack
announced the launch of the Textbook Liberation Fund <http://bit.ly/1QW6XPV>,
a $500,000 grant program aimed to support faculty that undertake efforts to
reduce the cost of the course materials in their courses - including OER.
Members of the open community have reached out and started a dialogue with
them about ways to better incorporate open licensing and be involved in the
open movement.

*BUILDING THE CASE: *A new article <http://bit.ly/1WXIwQs> by BYU Professor
John Hilton looks at the effects of OER on student performance. In his own
words: "Across sixteen different higher education studies involving over
50,000 students and faculty, the consistent findings were that (1) students
who use OER tend to do as well or better than their peers, and (2) in
general, a large majority of both faculty and students perceive that OER
has the same or higher quality than traditional textbooks."

*ELUSIVE NO LONGER?: *Bipartisan legislation was introduced
<http://1.usa.gov/1TW55Wg> in both chambers of Congress to make reports
published by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) available online to
the public. These reports are written for members of Congress to brief them
on a wide range of topics. While technically in the US public domain
because they are created by federal employees, these reports are
notoriously difficult to get ahold of without either contacting a member of
Congress or using a paid subscription service such as Lexis Nexis. The new
legislation seeks to ensure that these reports are published freely online,
so they can be used by schools, libraries, think tanks, businesses and the
public.

*RARE COOPERATION: *In another surprising moment of cooperation on Capitol
Hill, it's looking pretty likely that the Senate HELP committee will
consider - and vote on - the nomination of Acting Secretary of Education
John King. That meeting is expected to happen on March 9th.

*IT'S TIME: *Next week is Open Education Week (March 7-11). My quick math
shows over 100 events registered so far on the official site:
www.openeducationweek.org/. Share your work and the reasons you support
open education next week using *#openeducationwk*!



* It's Thursday, March 3rd*. Ethan Senack here. It's been a busy month in
Open Education! Don't forget to send tips, updates, opportunities, and
feedback to @HigherEdPIRG or esenack at pirg.org. Also: want your colleagues
or friends to get the Digest? Send them this link:
http://bit.ly/get-the-oer-digest


*STORIES FROM THE FIELD*:
A brief snapshot of those making change on the ground level, and those most
impacted


*WE'RE HEATING UP:  *I took a quick skim on recent campus news stories
about open textbooks, and discovered something exciting. Even *outside* of
schools where national groups are organizing, student governments (and
students running for student government) have been going to bat hard for
open textbooks and open education. I found student government bills and
potential policies at nine schools, just in the last week or so.

   - From Ithaca College, whose student government just passed legislation
   supporting OER, a great quote from a PIRG alum! “For [faculty], it gives
   them the opportunity to teach the course as they see fit and then to adjust
   the textbook,” she said. “That’s what a textbook should be. A textbook
   should be a tool to help teach. It shouldn’t be the actual method of
   teaching.” Read more> <http://bit.ly/1ppm08E>
   - From William and Mary: “This was a resolution in support of Open
   Educational Resource textbooks as an option for both professors and
   students to decrease the financial burden that is placed increasingly on
   students in textbook costs,” O’Dea said. “This is something that the
   College and absolutely the Student Assembly should get behind and I think
   the student body will support this bill.” Read more>
   <http://bit.ly/1RL6oFw>
   - From Santa Barbara City College: “I would be ecstatic if the school
   adopted such an amazing [open textbook] program,” said Dakota Cortez, a
   biology major at City College. “I work two jobs and take 14 units, so
   whenever textbook season rolls around my wallet dreads it.” Read More>
   <http://bit.ly/1RsgV5W>

Want your story featured? Email it to esenack at pirg.org.


*SYLLABUS:*
Interesting Reads on Education and Open


*The Real Value of What Students Do in College* | Robert Shireman
http://bit.ly/1TVDAMJ

*(an interesting take on the value of student engagement) * *Survey
Confirms Widespread Technology Use in Early Ed* | Teaching Strategies
http://bit.ly/1RKRvDg

*Never Judge a Book by its Cover* | Brookings Institute
http://brook.gs/1pphgzM *(an analysis on textbook efficacy)*

*Are Open Textbooks the Cheaper Solution College Students Need? *| NBC News
http://nbcnews.to/1LC2OhR

*The Reason for the Rise: College Textbook Prices* | GOOD Magazine
http://bit.ly/1oSuUuF
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