[Open-education] OER Digest - July 12th, 2018

Thu Jul 12 19:27:10 UTC 2018

*From Ethan Senack, Creative Commons USA | Volume 61 | July 12th, 2018With
updates from Walter Butler, Angela Davis, Nicole Allen and Camille Thomas
THE OER DIGESTYour bi-weekly newsletter for open education updates,
opportunities, and remindersIMPACT OF OER: A new, large-scale study
<http://www.isetl.org/ijtlhe/pdf/IJTLHE3386.pdf> from the Association of
American College and Universities (AAC&U) in the International Journal of
Teaching and Learning in Higher Education analyzed the impact of OER on
student performance, particularly among historically underserved
populations. Key facts (from the abstract): - OER improve end-of-course
grades and decrease DFW (D, F, and Withdrawal letter grades) rates for all
students. - OER improve course grades at greater rates and dramatically
decrease DFW rates at greater rates for Pell recipient students, part-time
students, and populations historically underserved by higher education.
MORE NEW DATA: The ACRL/CJCLS OER Task Force is out with a new survey
report <https://1drv.ms/b/s!AnkKqP3iLfYOoOkyf25YKmyynTikLg> on the state of
community college OER programs. Among the conclusions, one particularly
strong theme emerged: libraries are leading the way on campus. Key
findings: - 35% of institutions reported that their library leads the
campus program. The next highest percentage was faculty, at 19%. -
Libraries were reported as contributing departmental support to 90% of
campus programs, with IT, Instructional Development, and Professional
Development departments all coming in around 42%. - More than 50% of
respondents reported “Faculty Perception” as the biggest institutional
challenge to OER adoption.STATE UPDATES: In California, the Governor signed
a bill <https://legiscan.com/CA/research/AB1809/2017> that includes a $6
million appropriation to support the development of, and expansion of the
use of, open educational resources at California Community Colleges. It
also requires the Academic Senate for the California Community Colleges to
submit a report on their progress toward supporting and expanding the use
of open educational resources pursuant to the bill. In Michigan, a bill
<http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(x1hwk1neupuqgukjssj022a5))/mileg.aspx?page=getobject&objectname=2018-HB-5579>
relating to the Michigan Virtual University included funds that can support
the creation and development of OER was signed by the Governor. Texas
opened the call
<http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/index.cfm?objectID=D0AEA0C0-7493-11E8-B2750050560100A9>
for applications for their OER grant program established under SB 810.ON
THE FEDERAL FRONT: The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill that
would renew funding in Fiscal Year 2019 for the $5 million Open Textbook
Pilot approved by Congress this spring. While this is a significant step,
the bill is not expected to move any further until after the 2018 election.
CAMPUS ACTION: It was a big week for community colleges in particular, as a
number of campuses made summer news for their open education and open
textbook programs, including LBW Community College
<https://www.andalusiastarnews.com/2018/07/10/lbw-helps-students-save-book-costs/>,
Jefferson Community College
<http://www.wwnytv.com/story/38596616/whats-being-done-to-curb-the-cost-of-college-textbooks>,
Mid Michigan Community College
<https://www.ourmidland.com/news/article/Mid-Michigan-textbook-program-nbsp-helps-students-13055925.php>,
and Herkimer Community College
<http://www.timestelegram.com/news/20180703/students-saving-on-books-at-hccc>.OPEN
CONFERENCESUpcoming Events, Proposal and Registration Deadlines,
Report-Backs  DEADLINE: Applications for OpenCon 2018
<https://www.opencon2017.org/opencon_2018_announced> are due tomorrow July
13. The conference will be held November 2-4 in Toronto. DEADLINE:
Registration ends July 15th for OER: From Vision to Action in August 1-2,
2018, in Denver, Colorado. Register here
<https://gwla.regfox.com/oer-from-vision-to-action-a-gwlaalliance-conference>.PROGRAM:
The program has now been published for the Open Education Conference
<https://openedconference.org/2018/>, which is coming up this October 10-12
in Niagara Falls, NY. Early bird registration ends August 31.COMING SOON:
Registration for Big Ideas Fest, in DC this November 29th-December 2nd,
will open soon. More info here. <http://www.bigideasfest.org/>STORIES FROM
THE FIELDQuick snapshots of those making change on the ground level, and
those impactedFROM DC: “From my own experience searching for resources that
I could use with my students, and my experience supporting districts in
this regard, I knew that OER was the way to go. And luckily, teachers,
instructional coaches, curriculum directors, and other educational
professionals had been developing an abundance of OER—not only individual
lessons and activities, but also full curricula, courses, and other
professional learning resources.” Read More >
<https://www.newamerica.org/public-interest-technology/blog/rethinking-teaching-and-learning-oer/>FROM
NORTH CAROLINA: “Too often students must choose between their academic
success and meeting basic needs. In order to address this problem,
educators have begun creating and adopting open, free e-textbooks for the
most common college courses. These textbooks are available to students at
no cost, ensuring that every student has an equal opportunity to succeed in
the classroom, regardless of their financial status.” Read More >
<https://www.nclive.org/blog/service/nc-live-address-rising-textbook-costs>TEN
YEARS AGO THIS WEEK: "The current business model fails the students, the
faculties and the authors," he says. "Students are used to having choices
in what to buy; instead they're getting the same thing they got 50 years
ago and paying a lot for it. Instructors have different teaching styles,
but a one-size-fits-all cookie-cutter book never allows them to deliver it.
The authors are getting paid less and less for their book.” Read More >
<https://web.archive.org/web/20081102115409/http://www.usatoday.com:80/news/education/2008-07-09-open-textbooks_N.htm>
HOT OFF THE PRESSEach edition, we’ll highlight an interesting, new,
openly-licensed resource Portland State is out with a new textbook called
“EmpoWord: A Student-Centered Anthology & Handbook for College Writers
<https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/pdxopen/20/>” by Shane Abrams. From
their description: “EmpoWord is a reader and rhetoric that champions the
possibilities of student writing. The textbook uses actual student writing
to exemplify effective writing strategies, celebrating dedicated college
writing students to encourage and instruct their successors: the students
in your class.”WEIGH INInteresting Discussions and Strategic Reads to
Repost or Share Great to Share >> CSU Channel Islands to offer two
textbook-free majors and has plans for more | VC
Starhttps://www.vcstar.com/story/news/education/2018/07/07/csu-channel-islands-offer-textbook-free-majors-fall/738949002/
<https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/education/2018/07/07/csu-channel-islands-offer-textbook-free-majors-fall/738949002/>Interesting
to Consider >>Technology profoundly impacts the opportunity gap | Iowa
State
Dailyhttp://www.iowastatedaily.com/opinion/article_17ba72c4-81a4-11e8-b619-1ffe5e9fe9c0.html
<http://www.iowastatedaily.com/opinion/article_17ba72c4-81a4-11e8-b619-1ffe5e9fe9c0.html>Engaging
With Learning on a Low Budget | Association for Talent
Developmenthttps://www.td.org/magazines/td-magazine/engaging-with-learning-on-a-low-budget
<https://www.td.org/magazines/td-magazine/engaging-with-learning-on-a-low-budget>The
evolution of educational publishing: Does OER have a quality problem? |
EdScoophttps://edscoop.com/the-evolution-of-educational-publishing-do-we-have-an-oer-quality-problem
<https://edscoop.com/the-evolution-of-educational-publishing-do-we-have-an-oer-quality-problem>Have
suggestions for the next edition? Let us know at oerdigest at gmail.com
<oerdigest at gmail.com>, or tweet us @OERdigest
<https://twitter.com/oerdigest>. The OER Digest is a public newsletter
distributed to a broad group of stakeholders across the higher education
community. You can join the open Google Group or check out the distribution
list here <https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/oerdigest>. *
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