[Open-education] OER Digest: October 4th, 2018

Fri Oct 5 00:16:34 UTC 2018

>From Kaitlyn Vitez, U.S. PIRG | Volume 67 | October 4th, 2018

With updates from Karen Lauritsen and Camille Thomas

THE OER DIGEST

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

CONGRATS: On Tuesday, news broke
<https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2018/10/02/department-education-awards-pilot-oer-grant-uc-davis-open?utm_source=Inside%20Higher%20Ed&utm_campaign=b4b172b4e9-DNU_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-b4b172b4e9-228783545&mc_cid=b4b172b4e9&mc_eid=ae9697b0b8>
that LibreTexts <https://www.libretexts.org/pressRelease.html> has been
awarded  the first grant from the Open Textbook Pilot, a program which open
advocates secured in last year’s federal budget. The U.S. Department of
Education
<https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-awards-49-million-grant-university-california-davis-develop-free-open-textbooks-program>
elected to grant all available funds - nearly $5 million - to the
nonprofit. Based at the University of California at Davis, LibreTexts will
use the funds to expand its STEM open textbook library over the next three
years, as well as develop more materials for career and technical
education. They will also create a “Z-degree” pathway for a bachelors in
chemistry.

POLICY UPDATE: Meanwhile, the budget bill renewing the Open Textbook Pilot
for a second year was officially signed into law last Friday. Under
instructions from Congress, the second round of $5 million will be
distributed in at least 20 smaller awards, as opposed to one large one. The
timeline for the second competition has yet to be established.  In
Colorado, applications are now open for their state grant program, which
was created in the state budget earlier this year. Read more and submit
your proposal by October 31st here
<http://masterplan.highered.colorado.gov/oer-in-colorado/>.

PUTTING STUDENTS FIRST:  A coalition of open nonprofits have launched a new
social media campaign, #ForStudentsForever, to “shift focus to where it
needs to be: on making sure that students have open access to the materials
they need to succeed in class.” You can read more at their website
<https://www.forstudentsforever.org/>or follow the conversation on Twitter
<https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Forstudentsforever&src=typd>.

NEW RESOURCE: The Open Textbook Network has created an open textbook
publishing curriculum. Content includes an orientation to publishing, how
to structure a textbook, institutional resources, and reflective questions
for guiding your program development. The course is openly available and
OTN members will be invited to live sessions. Get started with a short
intro to the course here <http://z.umn.edu/ot-get-started>.

EXCELLENCE IN OPEN ED: BCcampus has recognized
<https://bccampus.ca/2018/09/27/award-for-excellence-in-open-education-maja-krzic/>Dr.
Maja Krzic of the University of British Columbia with their latest “Award
for Excellence,” for her work to launch the Virtual Soil Science Learning
Resources (VSSLR) group with 30 Canadian soil scientists, media developers,
students, and educators to develop open access tools.

OPEN CONNECTIONS

Conferences, jobs, and other OER-related opportunities

JOBS: OpenStax is hiring for a number of positions, from product manager to
user experience analyst. Check out their full listing
<https://jobs.rice.edu/postings/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&query=openstax&query_v0_posted_at_date=&query_position_type_id[]=1&query_position_type_id[]=4&435=&commit=Search>
to learn more and apply.

#OPENED18: The Digest team will be at #OpenEd18 in Niagara Falls producing
a special video edition. Email us at oerdigest at gmail.com if you’d like to
contribute a short update!

STORIES FROM THE FIELD

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

FROM BRITISH COLUMBIA: The BC Federation of Students has made a $30,000
gift to BCcampus to support their work to develop and promote open
textbooks. “OERs remove the barrier of the pay-to-succeed model, creating
equitable access to our classrooms and promoting open pedagogical practices
that support student success in an inclusive way,” said Aran Armutlu,
chairperson of BCFS. Read more>>>
<https://bccampus.ca/2018/09/20/student-advocates-investing-big-in-open-textbooks/>

FROM MARYLAND: MaryPIRG board member and former textbooks campaign
coordinator Gaurav Dayal opines on how the latest textbook publisher
tactics hold students back: “Access codes go against the fundamental
American ideal of equal opportunity… We students tolerated high cost of
textbooks

despite its corrupt industry; however, we cannot and must not sit idly by
as companies force us to pay to do homework.” Read more >>>
<http://www.dbknews.com/2018/09/28/textbook-companies-access-codes-equal-opportunity/>

FROM TENNESSEE: Partnerships at University of Tennessee Knoxville were
recognized for raising awareness and supporting faculty through the
Libraries’ grant program. “I thought it would be a good chance to get some
help finding better quality resources than the ones I have used,” said
Associate Professor of Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science, Joanne
Logan. Read more >>>
<https://news.utk.edu/2018/09/24/ut-working-to-expand-open-educational-resource-options/>

HOT OFF THE PRESS

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

Daryl Janzen at the University of Saskatchewan has released Introduction to
Electricity, Magnetism, and Circuits
<https://openpress.usask.ca/physics155/>, an adaptation of OpenStax’s
University
Physics. The textbook promises to “making physics concepts interesting and
accessible to students while maintaining the mathematical rigour inherent
in the subject.”

WEIGH IN

Interesting Discussions and Strategic Reads to Repost or Share

Great to Share >>

Open Ed Southern Symposium Opening Keynote | Jasmine Roberts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BvuclK4nuM&feature=youtu.be

Interesting to Consider >>

Latest Textbook Editions Put An Extra Burden On Students |The Pitt News
https://pittnews.com/article/135562/uncategorized/latest-textbook-editions-put-an-extra-burden-on-students/

Textbooks Arrive Late | LA Pierce College Roundup
http://theroundupnews.com/2018/09/19/textbooks-arrive-late/

A Statement of Academic Purpose | Chuck Pearson
https://chuckpearson.wordpress.com/2018/10/01/a-statement-of-academic-purpose/

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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