[Open-education] OER Digest: February 21st, 2019

Fri Feb 22 01:17:09 UTC 2019

>From Kaitlyn Vitez, U.S. PIRG | Volume 75 | February 21st, 2019

THE OER DIGEST

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

POLICY UPDATES: A new bill was introduced
<http://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_history.cfm?INPUT=2853&year=2019&sessiontype=RS>in
West Virginia that would create a statewide program to increase the use of
OER in both K-12 and higher education. Maryland introduced
<http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/webmga/frmMain.aspx?id=hb1250&stab=01&pid=billpage&tab=subject3&ys=2019RS>legislation
that would require apprenticeship program operators to pay for books and
materials for students, unless there is OER already available to students
for free. A Virginia bill requiring no- and low-cost course markings has
now passed <https://www.richmondsunlight.com/bill/2019/hb2380/>both
chambers and heads to the governor’s desk for signature.

COLORADO UPDATE: Nearly a year after the legislature funded a statewide OER
initiative, the first grantees have been announced- 20 proposals
<https://highered.colorado.gov/Academics/Groups/OERCouncil/OER-Grant-Awardees.pdf>
in total. “There is limitless potential when it comes to OERs,” said
Commissioner Pardis Mahdavi in a statement
<https://highered.colorado.gov/Publications/Press/Releases/2019/20190207-OER-Grants.pdf>
from the Colorado Department of Education. “We know from national data that
adoption and implementation of OER can positively impact both affordability
and student success. Colorado is well-positioned to make a great push
forward in this arena to lead innovative practices in education.” MSU Denver
<https://www.mymetmedia.com/news/msu-denver-receives-state-funding-for-oer/>
was awarded one of the largest grants of $60,000, which was supplemented
with an additional funding from the provost’s office. Notable among the
other grantees is Arapahoe Community College
<https://arapahoenews.com/16647/latest-stories/open-educational-resources-the-budget-friendly-future-of-education/>,
which is actively working with student government to get students to take
an active role in talking to their professors about OER.

SAVINGS STATS: In the first year of a new partnership between Lumen
Learning and Folle, one of the largest campus bookstore chains in the U.S.,
students have saved about $4 million
<https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/follett-lumen-partnership-saves-students-4-million-with-oer-based-courseware-300797246.html>
through their OER-based courseware. More than 45,000 college students from
35 institutions were part of the program.

COURSE MARKING: Earlier this month, the Connecticut State College and
University system implemented new textbook price transparency measures
<http://www.westhartfordnews.com/news/no--or-low-cost-textbook-options-available-for-cscu/article_6a9f0452-cb8e-51cf-860c-64a612baafb9.html>
in its course registration system, Banner. The “NoLo
<http://www.ct.edu/oer#nolo>” marking will identify courses with less than
$40 in materials costs. Said President Mark Ojakian: “We know textbook
costs remain a burden for many students, and for some, the cost of books
inhibits their ability to complete coursework and be successful. Through
NoLo, CSCU remains committed to accessibility, student success and
affordability.”

OPEN CONNECTIONS

Conferences, jobs, and other OER-related opportunities

REGISTER: Open Ed Week starts March 4th- just over a week away!

   -

   Add your event to the official list at OpenEducationWeek.org
   <https://www.openeducationweek.org/>
   -

   The Texas Digital Library is hosting a special webinar in their “Getting
   Started with OER” series on March 5th, entitled “Lessons Learned in OER.”
   Register here
   <https://www.tdl.org/2019/02/getting-started-with-oer-free-webinar-series/>.

   -

   eCampusOntario is hosting daily webinars throughout the week. Check out
   the schedule here <https://www.ecampusontario.ca/oeweek2019/>.

OPPORTUNITY: eCampusOntario is hiring an Open Community Lead to work on
growth and sustainability of OER initiatives across the province. Learn
more and submit your application here
<https://www.ecampusontario.ca/open-community-lead/>.

REPORT BACK: OER advocates gathered in Savannah, GA last week for the
Hewlett grantees conference. Check out #HGCsavannah
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/HGCsavannah?src=hash> for more on sessions,
takeaways, and more!

REGISTER: The Massachusetts Department of Higher Education OER Working
Group has announced a fifth session in their workshop series for faculty.
Learn more about the initiative and register here
<http://www.mass.edu/strategic/oer.asp>.

REGISTER: The Open Textbook Network has announced that their annual Summer
Institute and Summit will be held on July 22-26. Register by March 15th here
<https://research.cehd.umn.edu/otn/membership-benefits/summer-institute-and-summit/>.

SUBMIT: The International Journal of OER, a publication of the for-profit
American Public University System, is seeking papers for its spring
edition. Submit your paper by February 28th here
<https://www.ijoer.org/call-for-papers/>.

STORIES FROM THE FIELD

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

FROM NEW JERSEY: Building off of the success of their local open textbook
program, Rutgers students are taking OER to the state level. Since last
December, the Rutgers University Student Association have pushed for a
legislative bill that would require all public universities in New Jersey
to submit a plan to the Secretary of Higher Education explaining how they
would transition their most popular course offerings to provide open
textbooks. “The idea here being that it lowers the barrier, it lowers the
cost of entry to universities, especially during the formative years when
students aren’t sure what their major is or what they’re interested in,”
said Julien Rosenbloom, a School of Arts and Sciences sophomore and
legislative affairs committee chair. Read More >>>
<http://www.dailytargum.com/article/2019/02/students-at-rutgers-advocate-for-open-textbook-initiative>

FROM KANSAS: Student Body President Noah Ries said he supports a bill in
the state legislature that would exempt books trom sales tax, but that the
quickest way to make an impact on the students’ wallets is to reduce the
cost of textbooks. He’s pushing for open textbooks over pricey books and
access codes, and sent out a survey last week to assess their impact on the
University of Kansas student body. “When [students] are already paying the
course fee and are already paying their tuition and are already paying
their student fee, that’s supposed to be included in that. But then,
they’re still expected to pay for [access codes] on top of that. That’s not
really fair,” Ries said. Read More >>>
<http://www.kansan.com/news/legislature-student-senate-work-to-decrease-textbook-prices/article_ce4dbc12-34af-11e9-a0d4-c7aee0023af3.html>

HOT OFF THE PRESS

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

BCcampus has developed a new curriculum on electronic health records systems
<https://bccampus.ca/2019/02/07/an-open-educational-tool-for-training-students-to-use-electronic-health-record-systems-in-the-workplace/>,
serving instructors and students in nursing, pharmaceutical, allied health,
and physicians programs. The testing will be configured such that students
and instructors will use the tool as they might in a classroom or
simulation lab: instructors will deliver a lesson plan, students will
complete assigned work in the tool, and the instructor will evaluate their
submissions. The new OER tool will be beta tested across four institutions
this semester, across four different learning management systems.

WEIGH IN

Interesting Discussions and Strategic Reads to Repost or Share

Great to Share >>

A New Way to Motivate Faculty Adoption of OER l Inside Higher Ed

https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/views/2019/02/13/encourage-faculty-adoption-oer-share-savings-departments-and

Interesting to Consider >>

Reduce textbook costs for students l The Technician

http://www.technicianonline.com/opinion/article_ad9513dc-3228-11e9-8a60-531d90fdca32.html

Reframing the conversation about OER l Inside Higher Ed

https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/digital-tweed/reframing-conversation-about-oer?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=3904afdf65-DNU_2019_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-3904afdf65-228783545&mc_cid=3904afdf65&mc_eid=ae9697b0b8

College Stores Adapt to Change | Publishers Weekly

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/79300-college-stores-adapt-to-change.html

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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