Join University of Houston Libraries in celebration of the annual Open Education Week (OE Week), March 4 – 8, 2024. Launched in 2012 by Open Education Global, OE Week is a collaborative opportunity for open educators and advocates to share and learn about the latest achievements in Open Education worldwide.

Here are some ways you can learn more about Open Education:

• Apply for the Alternative Textbook Incentive Program (ATIP). Offered by UH Libraries, ATIP supports instructors who engage with open educational resources (OER) and practices. Instructors may choose to replace a commercial textbook with a no-cost or low-cost alternative textbook (which may include adopting OER, library resources, or other freely-available resources); create openly licensed learning objects; or replace a traditional assignment with a renewable assignment. Applications are due Friday, March 22.
• Attend OE Week events from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) Division of Digital Learning. These sessions will highlight the OER Nursing Essentials (O.N.E.) Project in partnership with OpenStax, statewide OER research conducted by THECB in partnership with Bay View Analytics and ISKME, and a panel featuring grantees of the THECB OER grant program.
• Explore the UH Pressbooks catalog to view new OER titles from UH faculty and students. UH Libraries offers access to Pressbooks, an online book publishing platform for the creation of OER. Visit the Open Educational Resources Guide to learn more about how to publish with Pressbooks.

To learn more about how you can get involved, contact UH Libraries Open Education Services by emailing oer@uh.edu.

University of Houston Libraries is now accepting applications for the UH Alternative Textbook Incentive Program (ATIP). Since its launch in 2018, ATIP has helped over 18,500 UH students save approximately $2.5 million in textbook costs. Now in its sixth year, the program is expanding to support projects across two categories of engagement with open and affordable learning materials: textbook affordability and open educational practices.

• For Textbook Affordability proposals, instructors can receive awards to replace a commercial textbook in their courses by adopting, modifying, or creating open educational resources (OER) or no-cost alternative resources, such as library licensed or freely available resources. Awards in this category will range from $1,000 to $5,000 based on the estimated cost savings for students, projected number of students impacted, type of alternative textbook proposed, overall feasibility of the proposal, and scope and type of project proposed.
• For Open Educational Practices proposals, instructors can receive funds for either creating openly licensed learning objects, or replacing a traditional assignment with a renewable assignment. Awards in this category will range from $500 to $2,000 based on the project goals, overall feasibility of the proposal, cost of course materials, and scope and type of project proposed.

The deadline for ATIP applications is Friday, March 22, 2024. Instructors are encouraged to apply by March 1 to receive feedback and the opportunity to revise and resubmit their application if desired. Group applicants are welcome in either category.

Open educational resources (OER) are teaching and learning resources in the public domain or that have been licensed in such a way that allows anyone to freely use and re-purpose them. OER can serve as alternatives to expensive traditional textbooks and learning materials. When faculty shift to freely accessible and openly licensed teaching and learning tools, more students will have access to course materials. In addition, OER materials can be customized to directly meet learner needs. Open educational practices (OEP) leverage OER and/or open pedagogy to empower students as knowledge creators, center the student experience, and create inclusive learning environments. OEP can take the form of renewable assignments, in which students are invited to create openly licensed resources so that others can freely use, adapt, and build upon them. Renewable assignments enable students to create meaningful work that can live on and continue to evolve outside of the classroom.

ATIP aligns with the University’s strategic goal of providing a top tier, inclusive educational experience to all UH students. By removing additional costs associated with commercial course materials or subscription services, ATIP improves access to affordable education.

Interested applicants are encouraged to attend an upcoming information session and other professional development opportunities to learn about the incentive program and the benefits of open education.

Faculty and instructors may also make an appointment with the Open Education Services Department to discuss implementing open textbooks in the classroom and the support provided through the incentive program.

Please contact oer@uh.edu for more information.

University of Houston Libraries is pleased to announce the 2023 recipient cohort of the UH Alternative Textbook Incentive Program (ATIP).

UH instructors applied for an award ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 that would go toward implementation of an open or alternative textbook in a future course. This program incentivizes faculty members to adopt, adapt, or create open educational resources (OER), or use a combination of freely available or library sponsored resources, to replace required traditional textbook(s) and other high-cost learning materials in their courses.

Awards were granted based on the number of students impacted, projected cost savings for students, the type of alternative textbook, and the feasibility of successful implementation.

In this fifth round of ATIP, the application process prioritized new applicants, as well as proposals involving adoption, adaptation, and authorship of open educational resources.

2023 ATIP winners are:

College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences:

• Jose Angel Hernandez – HIST 2367: History of Mexico
• Lindsey Browne – PSYC 2319: Intro to Social Psychology
• Melissa Markofski, Seth Rinehart, and Justin Crane – KIN 4370: Exercise Testing and Prescription

Cullen College of Engineering:

• Mingjian Wen – CHEE 6397: Data-driven Materials Discovery
• Lu Gao – CNST 6308: Data Analysis in Construction Management

Cullen College of Technology:

• Ricardo Lent – ELET 4309: Object-oriented Applications Programming

College of Education:

• Carrie Cutler – CUIN 7397: Play in Early Childhood Mathematics

Projected savings for students in the first year of implementing alternative textbooks in these courses is $82,000, benefiting an estimated 1,000 students.

ATIP was created in 2017 as part of the University’s initiative to mitigate the high cost of textbooks for students. Since then, more UH faculty have been empowered to provide an inclusive, accessible educational experience for UH students through OER.

Learn more about open educational resources at UH.

Special thanks to the members of the 2023 ATIP Review Committee: Veronica Arellano Douglas, Stacie Louie, Sadegh Kazemi, Kate McNally Carter, and Ariana Santiago.

The following is a guest post contributed by Open Educational Resources Librarian Kate McNally Carter.

Volume one of a student-authored dictionary of Chinese popular culture terms

Dr. Melody Yunzi Li, assistant professor of Chinese in the University of Houston College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, collaborated with the UH Libraries department of Open Education Services to create the first volume of a student-authored dictionary of Chinese popular culture terms.

Students in the spring 2023 Chinese Popular Culture course each defined three popular culture terms for their midterm assignments and were invited to contribute their work to this digital open educational resource (OER). This was the second successful collaboration with Dr. Li, following the development of another student-authored textbook for her Tales of East Asian Cities course last fall.

Both courses employed open pedagogy, a teaching approach that envisions students as co-creators of knowledge by inviting them to openly license and publish the work they produce in their courses. Open pedagogy emphasizes student agency by giving students control over whether and how their work is shared, and how they are credited as authors. This practice enables students to critique information ownership and the process of knowledge production, providing a greater understanding of the nuances of intellectual property and their responsibilities and rights as authors.

“Students benefit from research-oriented and self-directed teaching styles,” Li noted. “Incorporating OER into the course assignments and inviting students to participate in the open publishing process gives them perspective on the value of their contributions to knowledge in the field. Students are so engaged in the trends of Chinese popular culture, so it’s exciting to see them integrate their interests into their coursework.”

Left to right: Kate McNally Carter, Dr. Melody Yunzi Li, Ariana Santiago. Photo courtesy of Dr. Li.

Open Educational Resources Librarian Kate McNally Carter supported the course by creating instructional videos and providing technical support for students, who used the Pressbooks platform to write and publish their assignments. Ariana Santiago, Head of Open Education Services, also provided consultative support at the outset of the project, helping shape the parameters of the assignment.

“We are excited about the opportunities presented by innovative teaching methods like open pedagogy,” Santiago said. “Open pedagogy is a unique teaching practice, because it encourages students to participate in co-creation of open educational resources. In this way, it helps students see themselves as authors who have valuable knowledge and experiences they are bringing with them to the classroom, and it invites them to contribute that knowledge to the teaching and learning commons.”

Collaborations with Dr. Li’s courses have enabled the Open Education Services department to explore how to support courses using open pedagogical practices. In these pilot courses, Santiago and Carter provided consultative, instructional, and technical support around the open pedagogy projects. Working with these courses in face-to-face and online modalities has enabled them to adopt effective strategies to teach students about open licensing, publishing content through Pressbooks, and appropriately citing and attributing other open resources.

One of the most important aspects of open pedagogy is preserving student agency over their work. In Dr. Li’s courses, students could elect to publish their work under an open license, allowing others to reuse and redistribute their work under the conditions of the selected license, or retain all rights with a traditional copyright license. They could also select how their name would appear in the textbook, use a pseudonym, or completely opt out of including their work in the published textbook.

“Students should be empowered to make informed decisions about whether and how they would like to share their work, and a large part of what OES does is make sure that instructors are aware of best practices for providing students with those choices,” Santiago said. “We can help facilitate this process and provide guidance about the most appropriate approach based on the assignment.”

Open pedagogy can be used for a variety of different assignments. “Instructors can give their students renewable assignments, which can be any type of assignment that has the potential to be used by others for teaching and learning purposes,” Carter explained. “When instructors invite students to share their work with an open license, this gives students an opportunity to contribute their resources to other instructors and learners, which benefits the learning of their peers.”

“This means that open pedagogy can be a particularly beneficial teaching approach for instructors who have a hard time finding updated educational resources,” Carter added. “Students are already creating educational materials in many of their assignments. Instructors can intentionally design their assignments to help students build on each other’s knowledge. Inviting students to give back to their current and future peers can make the educational experience more rewarding.”

The Open Education Services department is eager to grow this area of support. “We hope to continue supporting instructors with similar projects,” Santiago noted. To learn more about open publishing and open pedagogy, contact the Open Education Services department by emailing oer@uh.edu.

Ginger Lucas, LMSW, clinical associate professor and director of online and hybrid programs at University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work (GCSW), is part of the cohort of UH faculty promoting student success by facilitating free and immediate access to course materials. Lucas, in collaboration with additional instructors, received an award from the UH Alternative Textbook Incentive Program (ATIP) to create open educational resources (OER) for SOCW 6306: Social Work Practice Skills and SOCW 6308: Human Diversity and Development.

Now in its fifth award cycle, ATIP has improved access to affordable education for over 11,000 UH students by supporting faculty who adopt, modify, or create OER to replace a commercial textbook in their courses. This includes the adoption of existing no-cost resources; modification/adaptation of existing OER; or creation of OER, particularly open learning materials such as lecture slides, test banks, quizzes, lesson plans, or videos.

Since its launch in 2018, ATIP has helped achieve approximately $1.4 million in textbook cost savings.

The process for adopting the alternative textbook for Human Diversity and Development was “reasonably easy,” said Lucas. “I found a current, open-access textbook that I knew could be the backbone of the course. I knew I would want to supplement that textbook with other open-access resources to provide diverse approaches to the material.”

The alternative textbook for SOCW 6306, a course for which Lucas and Shelley Gonzalez, assistant director of field education and assistant clinical faculty, were awarded an ATIP incentive, was adopted beginning in 2020 and has benefited 172 students, with estimated savings of $30,091 in one year. For the Human Diversity and Development OER, implemented in 2022, 144 students have been impacted with estimated savings of $28,792 in one year.

Cost reduction is just one of the many benefits students enjoy with the implementation of OER. Students’ assessment of the utility and quality of alternative textbooks in social work courses are positive. They are reporting a wider range of voices and high relevance to current practice in OER material, with greater accessibility and ease of use over traditional textbooks. OER tend to remain applicable even after the course is completed. “Students can take with them and reference [OER] once they are practicing social workers,” Lucas noted. “They appreciate materials that are accessible on the go. I integrated videos and podcasts that they could listen to during their commute.”

Lucas cites several reasons for choosing to adopt an alternative textbook, not the least of which is removing financial barriers to academic success. “Integrating a variety of open-access learning materials such as videos, journal articles, and textbooks increases the accessibility of the course content, and allows us to be creative in the sources we choose to teach the content to different learning styles,” she said. “It helps our curriculum stay current, addressing the most recent trends in social work practice. In addition, incorporating OER allow us to provide diverse perspectives, encouraging critical thinking.”

While selecting and evaluating material took time, Lucas found support from colleagues. “Once you begin looking for alternatives to textbooks, you will find many resources, and it helps to collaborate with other faculty to make final decisions,” she said.

For instructors who are considering OER, Lucas encourages them to reach out to the UH Libraries department of Open Education Services. “The librarians, especially Ariana Santiago, are so helpful and always available to answer questions and provide support when integrating new course materials,” Lucas said.

“I’m pleased that UH Libraries has been able to support instructors in adopting OER to remove the cost of textbooks for multiple social work courses,” said Santiago, head of Open Education Services. “It’s great to see GCSW faculty leveraging ATIP to make a positive impact on student success.”

March 6 – 10 marks the annual celebration of Open Education Week (OE Week), an opportunity for actively sharing and learning about the latest achievements in open education worldwide. OE Week was launched in 2012 by Open Education Global, a collaborative forum that exists to increase quality, accessibility, and affordability of education.

Here are some ways University of Houston faculty can learn more about open education: 

• Apply for the Alternative Textbook Incentive Program (ATIP). This program offered by UH Libraries awards instructors who replace a commercial textbook with a no-cost or low-cost alternative textbook, which may include adopting open educational resources (OER), library resources, or other freely-available resources. Applications are due March 24.
• Attend OE Week events from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) Division of Digital Learning. These sessions will highlight new services and initiatives including the OER Nursing Essentials (O.N.E.) Project in partnership with OpenStax, the Texas Student Success Program Inventory, and the Texas OER Playbook.
• Explore the UH Pressbooks catalog to view new OER titles from UH faculty and students. UH Libraries offers access to Pressbooks, an online book publishing platform for the creation of OER. Pressbooks regularly introduces new updates and features that improve the appearance and accessibility of the web books on its platform. Visit the Open Educational Resources Guide to learn more about how to publish with Pressbooks.

To learn more about how you can get involved, contact the UH Libraries department of Open Education Services by emailing oer@uh.edu.  

This post was contributed by Kate McNally Carter (‘11), open educational resources librarian.

University of Houston Libraries is now accepting applications for the UH Alternative Textbook Incentive Program (ATIP). The incentive program awards UH instructors who adopt, modify, or create open educational resources (OER), or who adopt no-cost or low-cost alternative resources, to replace a commercial textbook in their courses. This initiative aligns with the university’s strategic goal of providing a top tier, inclusive educational experience to all UH students. By removing high costs associated with traditional textbooks, this program helps UH instructors make educational programs more financially accessible for all students. 

The deadline for ATIP applications is Friday, March 24, 2023. Instructors are encouraged to apply by March 3 to receive feedback and the opportunity to revise and resubmit their application if desired. Awards of between $1,000 and $5,000 will be made based on the estimated cost savings for students, projected number of students impacted, type of alternative textbook proposed, and overall feasibility of the proposal. 

Open educational resources (OER) offer an alternative to the problem of expensive textbooks for students. Students at Texas post-secondary institutions spend an average of $1,247 annually on books and supplies. A 2021 report from the U.S. PIRG Education Fund found that 65% of college students skip buying textbooks due to the cost despite concerns that this will negatively impact their grades. By shifting to freely accessible and openly licensed teaching and learning tools, including textbooks, more students will have access to course materials, allowing them to be prepared for class on the first day, stay enrolled in the course, and perform better on course assignments. Further, according to the OER in Texas Higher Education report, OER usage has also been associated with benefits to teaching and learning by supporting open pedagogical practices and encouraging localization of materials to meet learner needs. 

UH faculty are encouraged to attend an upcoming information session to learn about the incentive program and the benefits of alternative textbooks. Faculty may also make an appointment with the department of Open Education Services to discuss implementing open textbooks in the classroom and the support provided through the incentive program. 

Please email oer@uh.edu for more information. 

University of Houston Libraries, supported by the UH Office of the Provost, is pleased to announce the 2022 recipient cohort of the Alternative Textbook Incentive Program (ATIP).

UH instructors applied for an award ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 that would go toward implementation of an open or alternative textbook in a future course. This program incentivizes faculty members to replace required traditional textbook(s) and other high-cost learning materials in their courses with adoption, adaptation, or creation of open educational resources (OER), or assembly of freely available or library-sponsored resources.

Awards were granted based on the number of students impacted, projected cost savings for students, the type of project proposed, and the timeline and feasibility of successful implementation.

2022 ATIP winners are:

Graduate College of Social Work

• Chiara Acquati, Aabha Brown, and Virginia Lucas – SOCW 6305: Research and Knowledge Building in Social Work Practice
• Virginia Lucas – SOCW 6308: Human Diversity and Development

College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

• Olusegun Babalola – PSYC 2305: Introduction to Methods in Psychology
• Anadeli Bencomo – SPAN 3374: Spanish American Culture and Civilization
• Viola Green, Raymond Gwanwo Hounfodji, Julie Tolliver, and Céline Wilson – FREN 1501: Elementary French I and FREN 1502: Elementary French II
• Viola Green, Raymond Gwanwo Hounfodji, Julie Tolliver, and Céline Wilson – FREN 2311: Intermediate French I and FREN 2312: Intermediate French II
• Jose Angel Hernandez – HIST 2303: Historian’s Craft
• Jose Angel Hernandez – HIST 4336: History of Histories: Historiography Capstone Seminar
• Melody Yunzi Li – CHIN/WCL 3342: Tales of East Asian Cities

C.T. Bauer College of Business

• Barbara Carlin and Marina Sebastijanovic – MANA 3335: Introduction to Organizational Behavior and Management

Conrad H. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership

• Simone Doudna – HRMA 4397: Airline Services Management
• Jason Draper – HRMA 2365: Tourism
• Sadegh Kazemi – HRMA 3348: Principles of Hospitality Revenue Management
• Cristian Morosan – HRMA 1301: Hospitality Technology
• Minjung Shin – HRMA 6330: Statistical Data Analysis in the Hospitality Industry

Cullen College of Engineering

• Stacey M. Louie – CIVE 6373: Experimental Methods in Environmental Engineering

College of Education

• Saira Rab – HDFS 4315: Culture and Diversity in Human Development
• Sissy Wong – CUIN 4325/7366: Teaching Science in Grades 4-8 I and CUIN 4326/7367: Teaching Science in Grades 4-8 II

This is the fourth round of awards for ATIP, which is part of the University’s mission to provide an inclusive, accessible educational experience for UH students. The initiative to mitigate the high cost of textbooks for students was championed by Paula Myrick Short, the former senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, who led the UH initiative to join the Open Textbook Network (renamed Open Education Network) in 2017. Since then, more UH faculty have been empowered through ATIP to reduce the financial burden of UH students.

Six of this year’s awarded projects were for adopting OER or library materials, one is for authoring OER, and eleven involve a combination of adopting, adapting, and/or authoring open resources. Projected savings for students in the first year of implementing alternative textbooks in these courses is $631,655, benefiting an estimated 4,873 students.

Learn more about open educational resources at UH.

“It’s highly rewarding to see the benefit of free and immediate access to course materials realized for so many UH students,” said Athena N. Jackson, dean of UH Libraries and Elizabeth D. Rockwell chair. “We’re committed to student success through the development of open educational resources via ATIP, and we’re pleased to continue partnering with faculty to improve the learning experience for students.”

Thanks to the members of the ATIP Review Committee: Emese Felvegi, Jaspal Subhlok, Shawn Vaillancourt, Elizabeth Irvin-Stravoski, and Ariana Santiago.

University of Houston Libraries projects in digital humanities are being offered through Research for Aspiring Coogs in the Humanities (REACH), a year-long introductory research experience for undergraduates in humanities disciplines. 

The UH REACH program is supported by the Cougar Initiative to Engage and the Office of Undergraduate Research and Major Awards (OURMA). REACH connects students to existing UH digital humanities projects and allows them to develop research skills through mentored, first-hand scholarly inquiry and through participation in OURMA research programming.

REACH participants receive a $1,500 scholarship split between the fall and spring semesters in the program, and will present their research at Undergraduate Research Day in April 2023.

Projects significantly connected to UH Libraries’ collections and expertise include Making the History of UH Student Group Afro Americans for Black Liberation (AABL) Available Online, Sharing Stories from 1977, OER Textbook: Be a Tech Advanced Cultural Learner, Triumph and Tragedy in the Bayou City’s Civil Rights Era, Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage Program, and SYRIOS.

Two projects from the 2021-2022 academic year included research drawing from UH Libraries’ collections related to the Houston GLBT Political Caucus and DJ Screw sound recordings.

Sophomores, juniors, and seniors are invited to apply by September 7.

Kate McNally Carter

University of Houston Libraries welcomes Kate McNally Carter as the new open educational resources (OER) librarian.

Please describe your role at UH Libraries and discuss some of your professional goals.

I will be working under the direction of the OER coordinator, Ariana Santiago, to support instructors in the adoption, adaptation, and creation of OER in order to meet teaching and learning needs and advance the University’s student success goals. I will support and contribute to the planning, implementation, and assessment of OER program activities, including the Alternative Textbook Incentive Program (ATIP).

As the OER program continues to expand at UH, we are hoping to use a targeted approach to identify high-impact courses for OER adoption, continue to increase awareness of OER usage and its impact at UH, and increase transparency for students around which courses use OER. I am excited to join a university that has demonstrated investment in its core value of student success, and in my role I hope to further highlight the amazing work already being done by our faculty and support the continued growth of the OER program in order to help meet the University’s strategic goals.

Please share a bit about your background and interests. How do these inspire and shape your approach as a librarian?

Most recently, I worked as a research and instruction librarian at UH-Clear Lake; before entering the library field, I worked at San Jacinto College North Campus as an administrative assistant for the provost. I also have some experience working as a contractor for a textbook publisher. My experience in all of these roles has galvanized my passion for supporting equitable educational experiences and resources for students. I have witnessed and experienced firsthand the impact that financial insecurity has on student learning and engagement; one way to alleviate that burden is to reduce prohibitive textbook costs that can impede students at every stage of their educational careers.

OER are particularly powerful tools to address the high costs of higher education for a number of reasons. OER enable students to have immediate access to learning materials right from the beginning of their courses, and research has demonstrated that students with first-day access to course materials are more likely to achieve successful outcomes. In addition, OER also provide instructors academic freedom and autonomy to customize their materials in closer alignment with the course’s learning objectives. If course materials are openly licensed, instructors can easily adapt materials to fit their needs accordingly; this enables instructors to design their courses with intentionality while also centering student learning.

What are one or two ideas you’d like the community to know about OER?

In general, one misconception that we often hear is that OER are simply “free textbooks.” While this may be true in some cases, it’s important to contextualize this. First, OER are not just “free” or without cost; more importantly, OER are openly licensed learning materials. These open licenses allow users the automatic rights to retain, reuse, revise, remix, and redistribute the material, depending on the specific license applied to the work; this enables students and faculty to engage with the material in transformative and creative ways that are otherwise prohibited when using copyrighted materials. It’s also important to emphasize that OER come in a variety of resource types and formats, including lesson plans, instructional videos, tutorials, course modules, worksheets, activities, presentations, and more—it’s not just textbooks!

While there is a vast plethora of OER available for a variety of different courses and subjects, there are not always OER available to meet every instructional need. However, use of OER doesn’t necessarily need to take an all-or-nothing approach; in these cases, the library can assist with identifying library-licensed materials or other low-cost copyrighted materials that could serve as potential alternatives.

As OER usage becomes more prevalent in higher education, I think it is going to become even more important for us to consider the accessibility of resources and the representation of diverse populations in our learning materials. In the library, we have an opportunity to provide expertise in designing OER that meet accessibility guidelines for students with disabilities. We also need to advocate for OER that are representative of the student populations we serve; that means we need to ensure that instructors include diverse voices in their instructional materials, and if possible allow students to contribute their own lived experiences to the learning objectives. This gives our students agency, and ultimately empowers them to recognize the value they bring to the classroom, enriching everyone’s learning experience in the process. Systemic change is needed to break down systems of oppression in higher education that stifle creativity and innovation, and I’m excited for the role that OER can play in opening pedagogical practices and resources for students of all backgrounds and abilities.