Anne C. Osterman, director of the Virtual Library of Virginia, delivered the keynote address at the inaugural Pennsylvania Academic Library Consortium Inc. OER Summit, held Aug. 9 at Penn State's University Park campus. Sixty-two higher education institutions across the commonwealth were represented at the summit, which was co-hosted by Penn State and Affordable Learning Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania’s first Open Educational Resources Summit, held Aug. 9 at Penn State University Libraries’ Pattee Library and Paterno Library on the University Park campus, aims to help higher education librarians across the commonwealth discuss challenges and solutions for supporting the use of free and openly available course materials, including open textbooks, to help lower the cost of attending college statewide.
Open educational resources (OER) are transforming the landscape of higher education, allowing for more accessible and affordable learning. At Penn State Harrisburg, geology students are using digital rock kits and an open-access textbook in place of traditional rock packages and text, a change that has fueled student engagement.
The Affordable Course Transformation at Penn State (ACT@PSU) initiative is now open for applications through Nov. 21. Faculty from all Penn State campuses are encouraged to apply for the grant-based initiative and, if accepted into ACT, will receive a monetary grant as well as production support and resources to transform their courses.
A new University-wide collaboration between Teaching and Learning with Technology and the University Libraries aims to drastically reduce the financial burden of textbook costs for Penn State students.
Several campuses across Penn State have participated in a pilot that tackles the age-old problem of how to make textbooks more affordable and also helps students become more successful in the classroom. During the past fall and current spring semesters, faculty at the Penn State Worthington Scranton, Schuylkill and Mont Alto campuses have utilized the e-text platform called Unizin Engage, and it has the potential to transform the future of affordable content at Penn State.
As part of Penn State University President Barron’s imperative to make educational resources affordable and accessible, Penn State Berks has recently announced new Open Education Resources initiatives to help decrease costs for students and faculty.
The high cost of some course materials can impede students’ academic success, especially because the price tag prompts many students to avoid purchasing them. A workshop on Oct. 24, accessible to all faculty instructors, aims to lower students’ textbook costs and any perceived obstacles in favor of adopting high-quality, free or low-cost open educational resources.
In support of faculty members who are interested in adopting, adapting or authoring open educational resources or incorporating library resources in new or existing courses, the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence, Teaching and Learning with Technology, and the University Libraries will offer a drop-in consultation event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 29 in 315 Rider Building.
One Penn State Lehigh Valley faculty member is paving the way to put updated, free course materials into the hands of students by authoring Penn State’s first openly licensed Pressbooks digital textbook.
Penn State University Libraries is joining the Open Textbook Network to help support Penn State faculty’s use of and students’ availability to free, openly licensed academic course content.
To accommodate faculty and instructional designers who want to provide low-cost course materials for their students and who missed the registration deadline, Penn State's first Open Educational Resources (OER) Summit on March 23 will have on-site registration outside Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library, at University Park.
Penn State’s first Open Educational Resources (OER) Summit March 23 aims to educate participants University-wide about OER, share updates from the provost-charged OER task force, showcase examples of OER in practice and encourage active creation of OER content at a hands-on workshop.
The Penn State Berks communication arts and sciences (CAS) program is blazing a trail toward an initiative in higher education by adopting a free online textbook for all sections of the course Effective Speech (CAS100A). This initiative supports Penn State President Eric Barron’s imperative to increase affordability and access for students.
Everywhere teachers and learners have access to the Internet, they now also have access to a rich collection of educational resources created for the popular Penn State course "Geology of the National Parks." Professor Richard Alley, principal author of the course, observed that "some of the world's best geological features are enshrined in the U.S. National Parks. Geology of the National Parks is a tour of important geological ideas as well as a virtual tour of some of the beautiful places in which these ideas are revealed."
