Hello Everyone,
Happy Friday! See below for new and updated open textbooks in our collection, news about our support resources, and information about the open peer reviews posted by open textbooks.
New books
* [ https://open.bccampus.ca/find-open-textbooks/?uuid=fb061187-187c-4272-8ba1-… | Speaking and Writing Punjabi ] by Ranbir Johal (Kwantlen Polytechnic University)
* [ https://open.bccampus.ca/find-open-textbooks/?uuid=db971e1f-dee2-4032-99b4-… | Combinatorics: an upper-level introductory course in enumeration, graph theory, and design theory ]
, by Joy Morris (University of Lethbridge
* [ https://open.bccampus.ca/find-open-textbooks/?uuid=8880b4d1-7f62-42fc-a912-… | Naming the Unnameable: An Approach to Poetry for New Generations ] by Michelle Bonczek Evory (Open SUNY)
Updated books
* [ https://open.bccampus.ca/find-open-textbooks/?uuid=e12e3911-8a06-497e-b8c9-… | A Brief Introduction to Engineering Computation with MATLAB ] by Serhat Beyenir (British Columbia Institute of Technology)
* [ https://open.bccampus.ca/find-open-textbooks/?uuid=3ffb8117-dc5a-4197-b0ed-… | Biology 2e ] , from OpenStax, has been added to our collection. The older edition will be archived on June 1, 2018.
Support resources
* The BCcampus Open Education Authoring Guide has been archived. This resource was replaced by the [ https://open.bccampus.ca/find-open-textbooks/?uuid=1d31f3b7-dd9f-4f47-97eb-… | Self-Publishing Guide ] , added in February.
*
Find attached a zipped file containing the editable files for the BCcampus [ https://bccampus.ca/files/2018/05/OpenEdInfoSheet_Spring2018_03.pdf | Open Education Info Sheet – Spring 2018 ]
Reviews
* Starting March 18, 2018, the licence for published reviews changed from CC BY-ND to CC BY. (Older reviews still retain the CC BY-ND designation.) This was done to more easily share reviews with other collections. This information, along with a statement clarifying that the copyright for reviews is held by the reviewer, has been clarified on the [ https://open.bccampus.ca/call-for-proposals/call-for-reviewers-2/ | Review an Open Textbook ] web page on our website.
*
When open textbooks are replaced with new editions, PDFs of the reviews for the older edition are now compiled in a zip file and posted by the new version of the textbook. A README file is included in the zipped file explaining this arrangement and the reason for it.
Best regards,
The BCcampus Open Education team
Lauri Aesoph, Manager, Open Education
BC campus | connect.collaborate.innovat e .
250-893-0258 | laesoph(a)bccampus.ca | Skype lauri.aesoph
120-645 Fort Street | Coast & Straits Salish Territory | Victoria, BC | V8W1G2
[ https://mail.bccampus.ca/bccampus.ca | BCcampus.ca ] | @BCcampus | #BCcampus
Sign up for [ https://bccampus.ca/bccampus-around-the-web/ | BCcampus news ]
Dear Faculty and Staff,
In consultation with OpenStax, BCcampus Open Education is conducting a survey of faculty and others at B.C. post-secondary institutions regarding the demand for Pressbooks files of OpenStax textbooks for adaptation purposes.
Currently, [ https://openstax.org/subjects | OpenStax ] hosts its open textbooks in a platform called CNX. Pressbooks is a widely used authoring and adaptation system. (See the [ https://opentextbc.ca/pressbooks/ | Pressbooks Guide ] for more information.)
If you are interested in participating, please fill out this anonymous survey form: [ https://open.bccampus.ca/openstax-pressbooks-survey/ | https://open.bccampus.ca/openstax-pressbooks-survey/ ]
This survey will close on November 30, 2018. Feel free to share this survey with your B.C. post-secondary colleagues.
Regards,
Lauri Aesoph, Manager, Open Education
BC campus | connect.collaborate.innovat e .
250-893-0258 | laesoph(a)bccampus.ca | Skype lauri.aesoph
120-645 Fort Street | Coast & Straits Salish Territory | Victoria, BC | V8W1G2
[ https://mail.bccampus.ca/zimbra/bccampus.ca | BCcampus.ca ] | @BCcampus | #BCcampus
Sign up for [ https://bccampus.ca/bccampus-around-the-web/ | BCcampus news ]
Dear Faculty and Staff,
BCcampus Open Education is reaching out to all faculty members and staff involved in the teaching and support of anatomy and healthcare post-secondary curricula in B.C. in response to a request from the [ http://www.oeconsortium.org/ | Open Education Consortium ] to identify individuals interested in collaborating on a project that would involve the co-creation of an open anatomical atlas of anatomy images.
Background
Anatomy is a basic discipline for all medical and paramedical fields around the world. Anatomical illustrations are essential for the teaching and learning of anatomy and are universally relevant in all countries. Good quality artist-created anatomical drawings are available in anatomical atlases and textbooks but are mostly copyrighted. There are very few good quality anatomical images available under an open license.
If you think this is a good idea and want to participate in the creation and implementation of an open anatomical atlas, please respond to this email by July 15. A response to this email does not commit you to anything, it merely indicates an interest in this project.
On behalf of all interested parties that reply to this email, and as a member of the Open Education Consortium, BCcampus Open Education will submit a form expressing interest.
Regards,
The BCcampus OpenEd team
Lauri Aesoph, Manager, Open Education
BC campus | connect.collaborate.innovat e .
250-893-0258 | laesoph(a)bccampus.ca | Skype lauri.aesoph
120-645 Fort Street | Coast & Straits Salish Territory | Victoria, BC | V8W1G2
[ https://mail.bccampus.ca/zimbra/bccampus.ca | BCcampus.ca ] | @BCcampus | #BCcampus
Sign up for [ https://bccampus.ca/bccampus-around-the-web/ | BCcampus news ]
Hello Everyone,
We have just published the date (July 11) for the next [ https://open.bccampus.ca/pressbooks-training-webinar/ | Pressbooks Training webinars ] .
This time, in addition to our Introduction session, we will also be offering an Intermediate 1 session focusing on how to import certain files into Pressbooks and exporting a variety of file types. For faculty and staff who do not have experience using Pressbooks, it is strongly recommended that they take the Introduction webinar before the Intermediate. These two webinars are conveniently scheduled so they can be taken on the same day.
For more information and to register, please see: [ https://open.bccampus.ca/pressbooks-training-webinar/ | https://open.bccampus.ca/pressbooks-training-webinar/ ]
Regards,
Lauri Aesoph
Lauri Aesoph Manager, Open Education
BC campus | connect.collaborate.innovate
Mobile 250.893.0258 | Twitter @lauriaesoph | Skype laesoph
Hello Everyone,
See the below opportunity for all Canadian post-secondary faculty.
Open Choice invites Canadian faculty to review OER for their upcoming database
Choice, a publishing unit at the Association of College and Research Libraries, plans to release a new online database of open educational resource (OER) reviews called Open Choice. The new service will feature a significant collection of critical reviews of OER targeted to teaching faculty, instructional designers, librarians, and university staff charged with acquiring digital tools for instruction (IT, instructional technologies, etc.).
We are looking for active teaching faculty who be interested in reviewing open educational materials for Open Choice. The reviews are more substantive, averaging 2,000-2,500 words, and use a structured review rubric. The rubric provides consistency in reviews and makes them easier to write. All reviews go through a formal copyediting process. We are able to provide a honorarium of $200 for each review.
If you are interested in reviewing, or have questions about Open Choice or the reviewing process, please email Melissa Karp at [ mailto:mkarp@ala-choice.org | mkarp(a)ala-choice.org ] .
Regards,
Lauri
Lauri Aesoph, Manager, Open Education
BC campus | connect.collaborate.innovat e .
250-893-0258 | laesoph(a)bccampus.ca | Skype lauri.aesoph
120-645 Fort Street | Coast & Straits Salish Territory | Victoria, BC | V8W1G2
[ https://mail.bccampus.ca/zimbra/bccampus.ca | BCcampus.ca ] | @BCcampus | #BCcampus
Sign up for [ https://bccampus.ca/bccampus-around-the-web/ | BCcampus news ]
Hello Everyone,
Please find attached a new information sheet from BCcampus Open Education. It includes details about:
* Open education in B.C. such as the values, 5Rs, and strategic priorities
* Current projects and initiatives at BCcampus Open Education including B.C.'s Zed Cred Programs, Awards for Excellence in Open Education, the 2018/19 Open Education Advocacy and Research Fellows, and the B.C. Open Textbook Collection
Feel free to share this document, in print form or digitally, with colleagues, students, and others.
Regards,
The BCcampus Open Education team
Lauri Aesoph, Manager, Open Education
BC campus | connect.collaborate.innovat e .
250-893-0258 | laesoph(a)bccampus.ca | Skype lauri.aesoph
120-645 Fort Street | Coast & Straits Salish Territory | Victoria, BC | V8W1G2
[ https://mail.bccampus.ca/zimbra/bccampus.ca | BCcampus.ca ] | @BCcampus | #BCcampus
Sign up for [ https://bccampus.ca/bccampus-around-the-web/ | BCcampus news ]
Great news! Pressbooks has been making changes to the interface and functionality based on your feedback. The major release for the BCcampus Open Education Pressbooks instances is scheduled for later this month. Here’s a heads up of the changes that are on the way.
Most of the improvements are under the hood. However, there are a few big changes we would like to call to your attention.
First, a new look and feel is available for the network home page and catalog. The new standalone catalog page is sortable and filterable, for improved discovery.
Pressbooks has also given the webbook a much-needed makeover, with some added functionality. A wider book layout, better scrolling and navigation are just some of the enhancements. We have also updated the Open Textbook theme at BCcampus. A big thanks to Ryerson University for supporting the development of these changes.
The Luther theme will be retiring on the same day as the new release. In their place, Pressbooks is releasing two new themes, McLuhan and Jacobs. These two themes both offer expanded theme options, and both are designed with textbooks in mind. Their development has been generously funded by [ https://www.ecampusontario.ca/ | eCampus Ontario ] . We will be continuing to use the Open Textbooks as our default theme and the theme for the BCcampus open textbook collection.
We are thoroughly testing the updated Pressbooks prior to the release and these improvements should not cause any issues with your existing books. But, if anything does come up, let us know right away at [ mailto:helpdesk@bccampus.ca | helpdesk(a)bccampus.ca ]
Other changes include:
*
Save Button: Pressbooks heard your pleas for a clearer way to save your chapters. It’s here! (In the past, the “save” button was named Update, Publish, or other variations based on the status of your post.) Note that when you create a new chapter, front or back matter section, you will first see a “Create” button, but subsequent changes can be saved by clicking on the new “Save” button.
*
Contributor Management: Pressbooks added a centralized contributor management tool where you can add contributors who can then be reused throughout your book as authors, editors, translators, reviewers, illustrators, and generic contributors.
*
Organize Page Improvements: Pressbooks revamped the Organize page, improving the display on mobile devices, and improving accessibility for keyboard navigation and screen reader users.
*
Chapter Importing: Now, you can import individual chapters from public, openly licensed Pressbooks webbooks using the Import tool. All you need to drop is drop in the URL to a book, begin the import process, then select the chapters you wish to add to your book. (Content that is private, All Rights Reserved or that carries any of the Creative Commons Non-Derivative licenses cannot be imported.)
*
Content Visibility: Pressbooks has made it more intuitive to manage the visibility of your content across web and exports. Now you can simply designate content visibility in web and exports on both the Organize page and the edit screen for individual front matter, chapters and back matter.
*
Import Files from URL: You can now import supported file formats hosted on remote (web based) sources via URL. If you have files hosted elsewhere (with the right permissions), you no longer need to download and upload files, but can import them directly with just the URL.
*
Ebook Start Point: Pressbooks has moved the ebook start point setting to the ebook Theme Options page to ensure that only one front matter, chapter, or back matter can be set as the ebook start point. (Note that Pressbooks tries to enforce the ebook start point you select. However, ereader devices may still override the start point you designate.)
*
Language Support Changes: Pressbooks has renamed the Language Support section in Theme Options to Language & Script Support to better reflect its functionality; we’ve also re-labelled Hindi support to Devanagari, to clarify that the Devanagari script supports Hindi, Sanskrit, and over 120 other languages.
As always, please let us know if you have any questions or problems navigating the new features. You can contact us at [ mailto:helpdesk@bccampus.ca | helpdesk(a)bccampus.ca ]
Want to see how it looks?
Our team put together a [ https://youtu.be/rBJ7pU-xddE | screencast ] of the new interface and the changes that you will see when the release happens mid March.
[ https://youtu.be/rBJ7pU-xddE | https://youtu.be/rBJ7pU-xddE ]
Stay up to date
Interested in staying in the know on Pressbooks updates?
*
Check [ https://open.bccampus.ca/pressbooks-updates/ | https://open.bccampus.ca/pressbooks-updates/ ]
*
Attend one of the webinars we will be hosting reviewing the changes to the Pressbooks UI-
*
Friday, March 9 from 10-11 am
*
Tuesday March 13 from 10-11 am
*
Thursday March 15 from 10-11 am
*
Friday March 16 from 10-11 am
*
Make sure to stay updated via our [ https://bccampus.ca/bccampus-news/ | Blog ] and on [ https://twitter.com/bccampus | Twitter ]
*
Sign up for the [ https://confirmsubscription.com/h/d/97F887551C7932F2 | BCcampus Newsletter ]
Regards,
Lauri Aesoph, on behalf of the BCcampus Open Education team
Lauri Aesoph, Manager, Open Education
BC campus | connect.collaborate.innovat e .
250-893-0258 | laesoph(a)bccampus.ca | Skype lauri.aesoph
120-645 Fort Street | Coast & Straits Salish Territory | Victoria, BC | V8W1G2
[ https://mail.bccampus.ca/zimbra/bccampus.ca | BCcampus.ca ] | @BCcampus | #BCcampus
Sign up for [ https://bccampus.ca/bccampus-around-the-web/ | BCcampus news ]
