Requesting feedback on a revised taxonomy for the BC Open Textbook Collection
by Josie Gray
Hello all,
BCcampus Open Education is looking for feedback and advice on revising the taxonomy of the [ https://open.bccampus.ca/find-open-textbooks/ | B.C. Open Textbook Collection ] in order to make textbooks easier to find. Right now, the collection has 11 categories and multiple subcategories. However, the current taxonomy has a lot of flaws and no longer meets the needs of our growing textbook collection. I know that everyone is probably slowing down over the holiday season, but if any of you have the time and ability to send feedback, it would be great if that could be submitted by January 11, 2019 .
Background
As some of you may remember, Lauri reached out a while ago looking for resources to help guide the development of categories for the collection. We received a number of great resources, but because of the characteristics of our collection (it's focused on textbooks, it's quite small, and the categories must be few enough to click through), nothing really worked as-is. For the most part, I worked from the [ https://media2.proquest.com/documents/subject-categories-academic.pdf | ProQuest Categories ] , but I have made significant changes to fit the needs of the open textbook collection.
Taxonomy
The revised taxonomy will still function the same (e.g., categories can be expanded to display the subcategories, see [ https://open.bccampus.ca/find-open-textbooks/ | the collection ] for an example), but the aim is to make it easier to find books by making the categories and subcategories more comprehensive, accurate, and intuitive. Note that this taxonomy was designed under the assumption that books that fit in multiple categories (e.g. Business and communication) can be cross-posted in both.
Here is the link to where you can see and comment on the [ https://docs.google.com/document/d/10ONcYRdViFVqD3DROmxVjrcg8que67j1qD8qiL0… | draft version of Taxonomy [GoogleDocs] ] .
Questions
Feel free to send whatever kind of feedback that you have, especially if you think we're way off the mark. You can comment directly on the document or email your comments. Here are some general questions that I have:
* Do the top-level categories make sense? Should any of them be split, combined, or renamed?
* Do the subcategories make sense? Should any of them be split, combined, or renamed?
* Are there any top-level categories missing?
* Are there any sub-categories miscategorized? (note that there are probably a lot of subcategories missing, but we can add them in the future as new textbooks are identified)
Here are some specific questions that we have:
* Does English Language Learning (e.g. ESL) deserve its own top-level category? Or does it make sense to put it under the Language Learning category as I have done.
* Does Economics better belong under Social Sciences or Business?
Let me know if you have any questions.
Best,
Josie
Josie Gray, BA (Hons.)
Coordinator of Collection Quality, Open Education
Cell: [ tel:250-588-2141 | 250-588-2141 ] • Pronouns: She/her
Email: [ mailto:jgray@bccampus.ca | jgray(a)bccampus.ca ] Twitter: [ https://twitter.com/josiea_g | @josiea_g ] • Skype: jgray(a)bccampus.ca
[ https://bccampus.ca/ | BCcampus.ca ] • [ https://twitter.com/BCcampus | @BCcampus ] • [ https://twitter.com/hashtag/BCcampus?src=hash | #BCcampus ]
I acknowledge that the land on which I work and live is the traditional territory of the Lkwungen-speaking people.
5 years, 8 months
- 1
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BCampus Open Education: new OER and updates (December 6, 2018)
by Lauri Aesoph
Hello Everyone,
This is our last update for the year.
New textbooks
[ https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/knowinghome2/ | Knowing Home: Braiding Indigenous Science with Western Science - Book 2 ]
This new work joins Book 1, published in 2016. Knowing Home attempts to capture the creative vision of Indigenous scientific knowledge and technology that is derived from an ecology of a home place. The traditional wisdom component of Indigenous Science—the values and ways of decision-making—assists humans in their relationship with each other, the land and water, and all of creation. Edited by Gloria Snively and Lorna Wanosts'a7 Williams, this work was overseen by the [ https://onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca/press/ | University of Victoria ePublishing Services, ] and supported by an OER Grant from BCcampus Open Education.
[ https://open.bccampus.ca/find-open-textbooks/?uuid=5c918b0d-c893-4fd5-a578-… | Financial Empowerment: Personal Finance for Indigenous and Non-Indigenous People ]
This book is designed for a single-semester introduction to financial planning and decision-making, in order to provide first and second-year business students with the necessary financial literacy and skills needed to make sound financial decisions, assess financial risk, and achieve financial success. This textbook attempts to speak to the varied backgrounds, knowledge systems, and experiences of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians by providing Indigenous and non-Indigenous perspectives on personal finance and financial planning using examples and information from the Canadian financial system, economy, and Elders. This open textbook adaptation, by Bettina Schneider from the [ http://fnuniv.ca/ | First Nations University of Canada ] , is published by the [ https://uofrpress.ca/Open-Access-Publishing | Open Access Publishing Program ] part of the University of Regina Press.
[ https://open.bccampus.ca/find-open-textbooks/?uuid=62dea1c4-5563-41c5-bef0-… | Financial Strategy for Public Managers ]
This offering is a new generation textbook for financial management in the public sector. It offers a thorough, applied, and concise introduction to the essential financial concepts and analytical tools that today’s effective public servants need to know. The authors are Sharon Kioko and Justin Marlowe from the University of Washington.
Updated textbook
* Updated edition: [ https://open.bccampus.ca/find-open-textbooks/?uuid=0be814c3-979d-41a0-a74c-… | Linear Algebra with Applications: Lyryx, Version 2019B ]
New additions to the [ https://opentextbc.ca/oerdiscipline/ | OER by Discipline Guide ]
* Two new ABE Chemistry resources have been added to [ https://opentextbc.ca/oerdiscipline/chapter/adult-basic-education/ | Upgrading ]
* [ https://globalstorybooks.net/ | Global Storybooks Portal ] has been added to [ https://opentextbc.ca/oerdiscipline/chapter/english-as-a-second-language/ | English Language Learning (ESL) ]
* [ https://climate.mit.edu/ | MIT Climate ] has been added to [ https://opentextbc.ca/oerdiscipline/chapter/climate-change/ | Climate Change ]
* [ https://catalog.data.gov/dataset/supertracker-source-code-and-foods-database | SuperTracker ] has been added to the [ https://opentextbc.ca/oerdiscipline/chapter/nutrition/ | Nutrition ] and and [ https://opentextbc.ca/oerdiscipline/chapter/records/ | Health Records and Technology ] chapters
* Carnap for teaching and studying formal logic has been added to [ https://opentextbc.ca/oerdiscipline/chapter/philosophy/ | Philosophy ]
* Spectacles in the Roman World has been added to [ https://opentextbc.ca/oerdiscipline/chapter/greek-and-roman-studies/ | Greek and Roman Studies ]
* [ https://ocw.tudelft.nl/ | TU Delft OpenCourseWare, ] with open courses in English and Dutch, has been posted in the [ https://opentextbc.ca/oerdiscipline/chapter/course-collections/ | Course Collections ] and [ https://opentextbc.ca/oerdiscipline/chapter/dutch/ | Nederlands (Dutch) ] chapte
Help us identify the gaps
Contact opentext(a)bccampus.ca if you would like to see open textbooks made available for specific subject areas in the [ https://open.bccampus.ca/find-open-textbooks/ | B.C. Open Textbook Collection ] .
Regards,
The BCcampus Open Education team
Lauri Aesoph, BSc
Manager, Open Education
Cell: [ tel:250-580-6949 | 250-893-0258 ] • Email: [ mailto:laesoph@bccampus.ca | laesoph(a)bccampus.ca ]
Twitter: [ https://twitter.com/lauriaesoph | @lauriaesoph ] • Skype: lauri.aesoph • LinkedIn: [ https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauri.aesoph/ | lauri.aesoph ]
[ https://bccampus.ca/ | BCcampus.ca ] • [ https://twitter.com/BCcampus | @BCcampus ] • [ https://twitter.com/hashtag/BCcampus?src=hash | #BCcampus ]
I acknowledge that the land on which I work and live is the traditional
territory of the Lkwungen-speaking people.
5 years, 9 months
- 1
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