April 2023 Newsletter

Greetings!

As the Open Education Resources Coordinator/ASCCC OERI Liaison for our college, it is my responsibility to share communications from the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI) with you.

Please read on to learn about upcoming events that are open to all.

If I can assist you in your considering OER or answer any OER related questions, please let me know. Also, free freel to schedule an

Open Education Resources Consultation (ipolisci.com).

Instructional Materials Task Force Update

The task force - originally announced as a ZTC (zero-textbook-cost) Taskforce by the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office - is now the “Equitable Student Experience: Burden-Free Instructional Materials Task Force” (IMTF). The specific charge to the task force can be found in the July 29, 2022 “Zero Textbook Cost Program – Overview and Guidance” memo. The IMTF has met three times with a fourth meeting scheduled for late April. This task force is working on recommendations related to not only eliminating the costs of textbooks and supplemental materials for students (the focus of ZTC efforts), but also the costs of other supplies that are not a component of the ZTC work.

The IMTF has discussed approaches to decreasing existing supply costs, both costs currently covered by colleges as a matter of practice and costs that are passed on to students with a goal of both making more funds available to colleges to cover supply costs and minimizing those expenses for students and, potentially, colleges. The IMTF is also tasked with making recommendations on “baseline policies and regulations that strengthen equitable access to required instructional materials” and “for establishing a robust and sustained open educational resource support infrastructure.” The IMTF is scheduled to conclude its work and forward recommendations to the Board of Governors in May.

ASCCC OERI IDEA Framework 2.0

To support faculty as they implement a culturally responsive and anti-racist pedagogy and in response to Resolution 09.05 adopted in Spring 2021 (Developing an Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Curriculum Audit Process), the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges Open Educational Resources Initiative (ASCCC OERI), was tasked with the development of:

a process and review framework to evaluate existing open educational resources to ensure that ASCCC OERI-supported open educational resources are inclusive, diverse, equitable, and anti-racist (IDEA).
a curriculum audit process and review framework to assess instructional materials for equity, inclusiveness, diversity, and anti-racism and make the process and framework available for local consideration, modification, and implementation.

To meet these outcomes, the OERI developed the ASCCC OERI Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Anti-Racism (IDEA) Framework. The Framework has been reviewed and revised since it was first introduced. You can access the Framework, read about its history, and our efforts to improve it on the ASCCC OERI IDEA Framework website (tinyurl.com/OERI-IDEA). The Framework is also available in Canvas. As the Framework is intended to be a living document, your review and feedback would be appreciated. It is the OERI’s goal to ensure the Framework is a useful resource.

ASCCC OERI RFP V Funded Proposals

The ASCCC OERI is pleased to announce the proposals that were selected for funding during the OERI's Request for Proposals (RFP) V. The products from RFP I - III and the RFP IV projects, which will soon be completed, can be found at ASCCC OERI Resources.

The RFP V process garnered many worthy proposals. The funded projects that are listed below will be developed throughout the 2023-2024 academic year and should be available for adoption in fall 2024.

Discipline	Project Proposal Title
Arabic	Introduction to Arabic II Textbook in LibreTexts with H5P Activities
Chemistry	Development of an Online Homework Library to Support Introduction to Chemistry Courses (C-ID CHEM 101)
Communication Studies	“Interpersonal Communication: Context and Connection (OERI, 2022)” Ancillaries (C-ID COMM 130)
Early Childhood Education	Revision of text resource for Infant Toddler Development and the Care and Education for Infant and Toddlers
Ethnic Studies	Facilitating Active Learning with H5P/ADAPT Materials for New Directions in Chicanx and Latinx Studies
Ethnic Studies	OER Textbook and Ancillary Materials for Introduction to African American Studies: An Anthology of Essays on Radical Black Thought, Intellect, and Culture for the Ethnic Studies Student
Geology	Geology of California: An OER for C-ID GEOL 200
Global Studies	New OER for Introduction to Global Studies (C-ID GLST 101) with Chapter Slides
Political Science	Peer Review and Editing of Introduction to California Government and Politics (C-ID POLS 110) textbook

April 2023 OERI Friday Forums

This spring, the OERI Friday Forums will be held from 10:30 am – 11:30 am on the 1^st and 3^rd Fridays of all months.

The ASCCC OERI will provide automated captioning for all webinars. If you would like to request live human closed-captioning for any of our offerings, please contact us by e-mail at least 10 business days in advance.

OERI Friday Forums are intended for a diverse audience. Please share with your colleagues. We hope you will join us!

Friday, April 7, 10:30 am – 11:30 am

Open Education Week Reflections and Application

Open Education Week has passed but it doesn’t have to be over. Join us for an opportunity to share about an Open Education Week webinar you attended or hosted. Following a sharing of reflections, we'll discuss how we can apply the knowledge and ideas gleaned from the sessions and act in advancing open ed efforts.

Friday, April 21, 10:30 am – 11:30 am

Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI) Website Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Come take a virtual tour of the OERI website and learn how to find what you are looking for with confidence and expediency. All questions and comments are welcomed and encouraged.

Discipline Communications – Don’t Miss Out

The OERI – and ASCCC – use discipline list-servs to share information specific to a given discipline. These one-way discipline list-servs will never overwhelm your inbox and being on your discipline’s list ensures you don’t miss out on any discipline-specific opportunities or events. Sign up for an ASCCC list-serv – or list-servs – today.

April 2023 OERI Discipline Lead Events

The OERI Discipline Leads regularly host conversations and webinars to share resources, identify needs, and build community. These events are intended for discipline faculty and those who have an interest in the discipline as supporters or advocates. A “conversation” is an informal discussion of a specific topic and will not be recorded. Webinars will be recorded and archived. The ASCCC OERI will provide automated captioning for all webinars. If you would like to request live human closed-captioning for any of our offerings, please contact us by e-mail at least 10 business days in advance.

Thursdays in April, 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm

Math Open Educational Resources (OER) Office Hours

The OERI is pleased to offer a series of Math open educational resources (OER) office hours throughout the term. These office hours will serve as a QandA session where attendees bring in their math OER needs, requests, and questions. Attendees can also use this space to receive guidance and ask questions pertaining to MyOpenMath.

Psychology Open Educational Resources (OER) Office Hours

The OERI is pleased to offer psychology open educational resources (OER) office hours. These office hours will be a space to discuss any questions or ideas about psychology and OER.

Wednesday, April 5, 9:45 am – 10:45 am

Developing a Cohesive History Curriculum

History instructors are invited to join this semester's webinar about curriculum development. Our panelists will share their ideas about developing substantive content through meaningful examples and historical contexts as well as how to teach students to evaluate information in today’s media landscape.

Panelists: Anu Mande, Dolores Davison, Michele Brewster, Noah Stepro, and Lindsay Weiler.

Friday, April 7, 9:00 am – 10:00 am

Cultural Anthropology Open Educational Resources (OER) Reader

Join your Anthropology colleagues to brainstorm topics and develop a plan for the creation of an OER cultural anthropology reader. All are encouraged to share their ideas and experiences.

Thursday, April 13, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Follow-up on Psychology Open Educational Resources (OER)

This conversation is a follow up to our January conversation: Open Educational Resources (OER) for Psychology – New Resources and Remaining Gaps. Please come ready to share any interesting OER you have found as well as any questions or thoughts you have about psychology OER.

Friday, April 21, 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm

American Sign Language (ASL) and Open Education Resources (OER): Where We Stand and Where We Want to Go — An Open Discussion for ASL Faculty

This conversation will focus on sharing ASL OER updates and providing ASL instructors with a space for open discussion about using OER, including current needs and ideas for future OER development. Discussion will be facilitated in ASL, with interpreters available to support those who need spoken English.

Friday, April 28, 9:00 am – 10:00 am

What's Missing in Open Educational Resources (OER) For Philosophy?

As a discipline, philosophy has done well in terms of OER availability for most courses taught in the California community colleges, but there are still gaps in the materials and topics available. This conversation is for faculty to share what they've found lacking in current OER for philosophy in order to help shape future OER development.

Friday, April 28, 10:30 am – 11:30 am

Discussing Open Educational Resources from a Geography Discipline Perspective: Follow up from California Geographical Society (CGS) Annual Meeting

Interested in Geography OER? Join us as those who attended the California Geographical Society Annual Meeting, held on April 21st, in Monterey Park will summarize and discuss the outcomes from a panel conference session on OER.

Friday, April 28, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Remixing Spanish Open Educational Resources (OER) in LibreTexts and Importing Into Canvas

Are you interested in creating a Spanish OER remix? Join our webinar and learn how to map out a remix plan, bring together different OER, publish, and import your remix to Canvas. If you don’t have a LibreTexts account please request one prior to the webinar: https://register.libretexts.org