[Open-education] OER Digest - June 14th, 2018

[OER Digest]

>From Ethan Senack | Volume 59 | June 14th, 2018

With updates from Prathima Appaji and Rich Hershman

THE OER DIGEST

Your bi-weekly newsletter for open education updates, opportunities, and
reminders

REPORTING BACK: A new report
<https://www.opengovpartnership.org/documents/united-states-end-of-term-irm-report-2015-2017#_Toc513717131>
from the Open Government Partnership on the US’ progress toward the
commitments in our Third National Action Plan finds that the OER provisions
around #GoOpen and the Open Licensing Rule at the Department of Education
“substantially opened government with respect to access to information.”
The report also concludes that “the #GoOpen campaign represents the
clearest example of a change in government practice that has enhanced
public access to educational information.”

STATE POLICY UPDATES: The state Senate in New York passed two bills
relating to OER, one <https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2017/S2444>
requiring the CUNY and SUNY systems to gather information and report on the
accessibility and availability of alternative course materials, and the
other <https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2017/s6608> requiring all
institutions of higher education to adopt policies allowing the use of
innovative pricing techniques for textbooks.

MORE ON STATES: A report
<http://www.setda.org/priorities/digital-content/navigating-the-digital-shift2018/>
from the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) found
that the number of states with formal definitions of instructional
materials that include open educational resources has increased in recent
years, from 9 in 2015 to 17 in 2017.

FACTS AND FIGURES: New data
<https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2018484> from the
National Center for Education Statistics places student spending on
textbooks around $550 per year. Important to note - this number reflects
student spending on books, which is impacted by the number of students who
opt out of purchasing books entirely, students who are assigned OER, and
those use other methods to cut costs.

UPDATED RESOURCE: BCcampus released an updated version
<https://opentextbc.ca/accessibilitytoolkit/> of their Accessibility
Toolkit for open education. The new edition specifically discusses meeting
accessibility requirements in Pressbooks, among other new topics.


OPEN CONFERENCES

Upcoming Events, Proposal and Registration Deadlines, Report-Backs

SAVE THE DATE: OpenCon 2018
<https://www.opencon2017.org/opencon_2018_announced> will be held November
2-4 in Toronto, Canada. Applications are now open and will close on July
13. Apply here <https://apply.opencon2018.org/referral/oerdigest>.

REGISTER: The Greater Western Library Alliance (GWLA) and Colorado Alliance
of Research Libraries joint conference on OER in higher education will take
place August 1-2, 2018, in Denver, Colorado. Register here
<https://gwla.regfox.com/oer-from-vision-to-action-a-gwlaalliance-conference>
.

REFLECTIONS: Did you share or post your thoughts on the Northeast OER
Summit, the Saylor Summit on Credentialing, the Iowa/Nebraska GoOpen
Summit, or the BCcampus Festival of Learning? Send them our way (
oerdigest at gmail.com) to be included here.


STORIES FROM THE FIELD

Quick snapshots of those making change on the ground level, and those
impacted

FROM VIRGINIA: With 30 courses being offered without textbooks, students at
Central Virginia Community College have saved $250,000 only in textbook
costs in the last two years. "What we're really doing is providing access
to students as much as providing a cost savings," explained Edward McGee
the Instructional Technology Coordinator. Read more >
<http://www.wdbj7.com/content/news/Students-save-250000-through-textbook-free-classes-CVCC-484916371.html>

FROM BRITISH COLUMBIA: “We’re continuing to make education and training as
accessible as possible for people,” said Melanie Mark, Minister of Advanced
Education, Skills and Training. “Adult Basic Education opens the door for
people to advance their opportunities, improve their chances of success and
participate in the workforce. Investing in more open textbooks for Adult
Basic Education programs builds on our previous step of making Adult Basic
Education programs tuition free.” Read More >
<https://www.e-know.ca/regions/east-kootenay/open-textbooks-make-adult-education-more-affordable/>


HOT OFF THE PRESS

Each edition, we’ll highlight an interesting, new, openly-licensed resource

The UH Mānoa Outreach College released a slew of new open textbooks this
past week, including Human Nutrition, Principles of Microeconomics,
and Mathematics
for Elementary Teachers. From their announcement, “Teams of faculty leads,
graduate and undergraduate students, and instructors collaboratively
developed content that offers unmatched relevance for our students.” Find
the books here. <http://oer.hawaii.edu/open-textbooks-for-uh-students/>


WEIGH IN

Interesting Discussions and Strategic Reads to Repost or Share

Great to Share >>

How Textbook Rentals Undercut Students | Inside Higher Ed

http://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/views/2018/06/06/textbook-rentals-undercut-students-we-can-do-better-opinion

Interesting to Consider >>

Copyright a growing concern in the digital classroom | Education Dive
https://www.educationdive.com/news/copyright-a-growing-concern-in-the-digital-classroom/524864/

Open Resources Are a Huge Help for Students, but Cost, Quality & Access Can
be a Challenge. The Feds Can Help |  The 74

https://www.the74million.org/article/commentary-open-resources-are-a-huge-help-for-students-but-cost-quality-access-can-be-a-challenge-the-feds-can-help/

LearnZillion Going After District Curriculum Business, Aims to Compete With
Big Publishers |  EdWeek Market Brief

https://marketbrief.edweek.org/marketplace-k-12/learnzillion-going-district-curriculum-business-aims-compete-big-publishers/

Some Thoughts on OER | e-Literate

https://mfeldstein.com/some-thoughts-on-oer/


Have suggestions for the next edition? Let us know at 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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