This is a five-step guide for faculty, and those who support faculty, who want to modify an open textbook. Step-by-step instructions for importing and editing common open textbook file and platform types are included. Read it for yourself at: https://press.rebus.community/otnmodify/
This guide is for faculty authors, librarians, project managers and others who are involved in the production of open textbooks in higher education and K-12. Content includes a checklist for getting started, publishing program case studies, textbook organization and elements, writing resources and an overview of useful tools. Read it for yourself at: https://press.rebus.community/authoropen/
A handbook for faculty interested in practicing open pedagogy by involving students in the making of open textbooks, ancillary materials, or other Open Educational Resources. This is a first edition, compiled by Rebus Community, and we welcome feedback and ideas to expand the text. Read it for yourself at: https://press.rebus.community/makingopentextbookswithstudents
Athenaeum is participating in a national, synchronous celebration of Frederick Douglass’ birthday featuring a document transcribe-a-thon of the Freedmen’s Bureau Papers in collaboration with National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Transcription Center, and Colored Conventions Project. An event flyer is attached here.
Local details:
Wednesday, February 14
11:30am-2:30pm
Athenaeum Classroom (Newman 124)
Spillover locations: Athenaeum Collaboration Room (Newman 126) & Torgerson 3310 Classroom.
National event details: http://coloredconventions.org/
Smithsonian transcription tool tutorial: https://transcription.si.edu/i
Freedmen’s Bureau Papers transcription page: https://transcription.si.edu/b
National event Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Color
In order to provide additional support for the event, our FlowGround time on Monday, February 12, 11:30am-1:00pm will be dedicated to STC transcription orientation.
Virginia Tech is one of nine founding members of the Open Textbook Network Publishing Cooperative, a pilot program focused on publishing new, openly licensed textbooks. The program was launched by the Open Textbook Network (OTN) and aims to increase open textbook publishing experience in higher education institutions by training a designated project manager at each institution and creating a network of institutions.
The Cooperative is a three-year pilot that will establish publishing workflow and processes to expand the development of open textbook publishing in higher education. As a member, Virginia Tech’s project managers, Corinne Guimont (Digital Publishing Specialist) and Anita Walz (Open Education, Copyright and Scholarly Communications Librarian), will gain expertise in project management and technical skills. After the training is complete, a minimum of three open textbooks will be published using the model and tools gained through the cooperative.
“We at Virginia Tech are excited to join the Co-Op because of the opportunity for learning and professional development within a cohort of other institutions,” said Anita Walz. “We will have access to additional technical expertise, workflows, and tools, so that we can create and share more open textbooks with the world.”
Virginia Tech’s involvement in the Publishing Cooperative builds upon previous open textbooks published in the library, including Fundamentals of Business by Stephen J. Skripak and a newly released Beta Version of Electromagnetics by Steven W. Ellingson.
At the completion of the three-year pilot, the Publishing Cooperative as a whole will publish at least two dozen new, freely available, textbooks with Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licenses.
If you are Virginia Tech Faculty and interested in publishing an open textbook or other educational resources with Virginia Tech please visit http://guides.lib.vt.edu/oer/grants.
Founding members of the OTN Publishing Cooperative include: Miami University, Penn State University, Portland State University, Southern Utah University, University of Cincinnati, University of Connecticut, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Virginia Tech, and West Hills Community College District (CA).
About the Open Textbook Network: The Open Textbook Network (OTN) is a community working to improve education through open education, with members representing over 600 higher education institutions. OTN institutions have saved students more than $8.5 million by implementing open education programs, and empowered faculty with the flexibility to customize course content to meet students’ learning needs.
Do you ever wonder about how PDF resources perform for those of us with visual disabilities? It’s a great question and one that does not have a single answer. PDF accessibility performance often depends on the complexity of the content in the document and whether or not the PDF document has been made ready for accessibility. While it may seem mysterious at first, making PDF documents accessible is really just a matter of awareness and process. If you are looking for a great place to start learning about the topic please check out this recording Carli Spina’s recent webinar.
