MSL buzz: the Michael Schwartz Library blog

WHO ARE YOUR HEROES? NOMINATE THEM FOR A TEXTBOOK HERO AWARD!

Co-sponsored by the Michael Schwartz Library and the Student Government Association, the Textbook Hero Award is awarded annually to a faculty member who has put forth significant effort to replace a traditional textbook with a low-cost or open alternative, and whose efforts had a high impact on textbook costs, classroom engagement, and student achievement.

STUDENTS: Do your professors consider the costs of your course materials when they choose them? So many CSU faculty do, and to all of them, CSU students say THANK YOU!  Nominate your prof today, and help us encourage others to get on the bandwagon.  We've already saved CSU students $1.7M in texbook costs!

FACULTY: If you are an affordability advocate, please encourage your students to nominate you for a Textbook Hero Award!  This teaching award is presented by the CSU Student Government Association and can be a valuable addition to your promotion and tenure portfolio.  Give your students a chance to formally say thank you! 
 

Textbook Hero Award Application, due April 5th, 2024:
 Nominate Your Hero Now!

Announcing our Fall 2022 Textbook Affordability Small Grants for Faculty

Textbook Affordability Grants are offered through the Michael Schwartz Library to encourage and support the creation or compilation of low-cost or no-cost course materials. Faculty whose projects are selected will receive grant amounts ranging from $500 to $2500 depending on the project. Appropriate support to create or compile an open educational textbook or other educational resources to replace a traditional, high-cost textbook will be provided by the Michael Schwartz Library, the Center for eLearning, the Center for Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, and the Center for Faculty Excellence. Five awards are available.

The deadline to complete the Intent to Submit Form is October 31, 2022

The deadline to submit the Textbook Affordability Grant Application is December 2, 2022

The goal of the grant is to encourage and support adoption of openly licensed course materials in order to save students money and encourage student-centered pedagogy. Since 2016, our Textbook Affordability Grants have saved CSU students over a million dollars.
 

Congratulations to faculty who were awarded Textbook Affordability Grants last year:

• Todd Morgan, Assistant Professor, Management Department, for his MGT 443/543 classes.
• Peter Manos, Professor, History Department, for his HIS 111 classes.
• Kelly Wrenhaven, Associate Professor of Classics/Director of Classical Studies, History department for her HIS 330 classes.
• Vania de Paoli, Senior Lecturer, Chemistry Department, for her CHM 331 classes.
• Yuchen Liu, Visiting Assistant Professor, Communication Department, for her COM 227 classes.

The Michael Schwartz Library is committed to empowering students and faculty by providing access to resources in support of research and teaching. As an integral part of the University's mission to provide accessible, affordable, and Engaged Learning opportunities, we support the development of open educational resources and work to promote equitable access to education for all.

Congratulations to CSU Professor Elia Iafelice, who was named

2022's Textbook Hero at the Provost's Virtual Teaching Summit yesterday!

Professor Elia Iafelice was a recipient of a Textbook Affordability Grant through the Michael Schwartz Library in Fall of 2019. You can learn more about her impressions of that experience on our Affordability Advocates website.

Her student nominator said: "Having a free textbook alleviated the financial burden of buying expensive textbooks and allowed for everyone to be able to use the same textbook regardless of financial and socioeconomic status."

Her hard work and dedication to student success made her a perfect choice for the 2022 Textbook Hero Award.

Course: ITN 101/102 - Italian I and II
OER used: Spunti: Italiano Elementare 1 & 2
Annual student savings: $10,000

Co-sponsored by the Michael Schwartz Library and the Student Government Association, the Textbook Hero Award is awarded annually to encourage and reward faculty for their work to reduce textbook costs for CSU students. The criteria for this award include:

• Amount of effort needed and spent to replace a traditional textbook with a low-cost or open alternative
• Impact of that replacement on textbook costs, classroom engagement, and student achievement.

We applaud our faculty who are supporting open pedagogy and student success
by considering and using openly licensed materials in the classroom.

Together, we have saved CSU students over a million dollars in textbook costs.

WHO ARE YOUR HEROES? NOMINATE THEM FOR A TEXTBOOK HERO AWARD!

Co-sponsored by the Michael Schwartz Library and the Student Government Association, the Textbook Hero Award is awarded annually to encourage and reward faculty for their work to reduce textbook costs for CSU students.

STUDENTS: Do your professors consider the costs of your course materials when they choose them? So many CSU faculty do, and to all of them, CSU students say THANK YOU!  Nominate your prof today, and help us encourage others to get on the bandwagon.  We've already saved you over a million dollars!

FACULTY: If you are an affordability advocate, please encourage your students to nominate you for a Textbook Hero Award!  This teaching award is presented by the CSU Student Government Association and can be a valuable addition to your promotion and tenure portfolio.  Give your students a chance to formally say thank you! 
 

Textbook Hero Award Application, due April 12th, 2022:
 Nominate Your Hero Now!

** Deadline Extended to Friday, April 15th **

Faculty:  Plan Now to Participate in the 2022 Textbook Affordability Summer Symposium!

• Are you interested in reducing the cost and increasing ease of access for your course materials, but you’re unsure where to start?   

• Are you curious what people mean when they talk about open education or open textbooks? 

• Do you find it difficult to change textbooks because you work with a team of instructors to teach a high enrollment course?   

If you answered yes to any of these questions, consider applying for CSU’s Textbook Affordability Summer Symposium! Participants will receive a $600 stipend.  

• What: a program to help faculty consider and use openly-licensed or other affordable course content  

• When: May 20th – June 13th; asynchronous; 4-6 hours of work   

• Where: Blackboard  

• Who: Any full-time or part-time CSU faculty are welcome to apply  

• How: Fill out our application form by April 15th 

How does the program work?  

• Step One: By April 11th, complete and submit your application form and submit the syllabus for the course in which you are interested in using an OER.  
• Step Two: If you are selected to participate, CSU Librarians will review your syllabus and map suggested openly-licensed, affordable, or library-licensed content to syllabus topics.   
• Step Three: From May 20th – June 13th, participants will engage in the Textbook Affordability Summer Symposium on Blackboard/Zoom. Participants will explore the basics of open education, review an open access or low cost resource, learn how to align course content with learning outcomes, and reflect on advocating for affordable or open access course materials in the future. There are four modules of content, each of which should take 1-2 hours to complete.  

As part of the training, each participant will:  

• Attend at least one synchronous Zoom discussion session (out of 2-3 options) 

• Review at least one openly-licensed, library-licensed, or low-cost resource in their discipline (preferably one found in the Open Textbook Library) by June 13th, 2022.  

• Create a curriculum map to align the open access or low cost resource to their course 

• Write a short report outlining how they will take action to implement the use of the openly licensed content across all sections/semesters of the course in their department  

Step Four: After the training, each participant will:  

• Use at least one openly-licensed, library-licensed, or low-cost resource (required or optional) in a course they are teaching in Fall 2022 or Spring 2023 OR create and use openly licensed ancillary materials (e.g., quiz questions, PowerPoint slides, etc.) for a course they are teaching in Fall 2022 or Spring 2023 

• Speak at a future open textbook workshop or talk offered by the Center for Faculty Excellence, Michael Schwartz Library, or other institution, if approved  

Each participant will receive a $600 stipend for participating in the symposium.   

The following applicants will receive special consideration:  

• Multiple faculty teaching the same course  

• Faculty teaching high enrollment courses or gateway courses  

Faculty who have already received a Textbook Affordability Grant or participated in a previous Textbook Affordability Summer Symposium will not be eligible to participate, but participants in the Summer Symposium are eligible and encouraged to apply for future Textbook Affordability grants.  

See what past participants have to say about their experiences in the program. 

APPLICATION FORM 

Do you consider the costs of your course materials when you choose them?
So many CSU faculty do, and to all of you, CSU students say THANK YOU! 

“I love you for this :)” 

“Thank you so much! It is very helpful!” 

“Thank you for being so considerate and understanding! You rock! :)” 

“Thank you for using a free book! My pockets appreciate it! <3” 

“Means a lot since money is always tight” 

“We appreciate you! Spread the word to your colleagues!” 

 If you are an affordability advocate, please encourage your students to nominate you for a Textbook Hero Award! This teaching award is presented by the CSU Student Government Association and can be a valuable addition to your promotion and tenure portfolio. Give your students a chance to formally say thank you! 

Meet our previous Textbook Heroes! 

Open Education Week, Day 2:  Join us today at 3pm for a Publishing Panel event!  

Let’s Talk Open Textbooks: Author Q&A  

• Tuesday, March 8th, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM  

• Registration  

• Please join us for a Zoom virtual panel where authors will discuss their experiences with creating and using their own open textbooks. Panelists will include Patty Stoddard Dare, professor in the School of Social Work, Kelly Wrenhaven, professor in the History Department, April Yorke, CSU professor in the School of Health Sciences, and Abdullah Oguz, former lecturer in Information Systems and current Assistant Professor of Management Information Systems at the School of Business in Central Connecticut State University (CCSU). Join us to discover the benefits of authoring your own open textbook! 

ABOUT OUR PANELISTS

Dr. Abdullah Oguz has been working as an Assistant Professor of Management Information Systems at the School of Business in Central Connecticut State University (CCSU). Before CCSU, he worked as a visiting lecturer in Monte Ahuja College of Business at Cleveland State University for one and a half years. Dr. Oguz graduated from the Ph.D. program in Information Systems at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) in 2020. His Ph.D. dissertation is "Workplace Cyberbullying in Global Virtual Teams". Before starting his Ph.D. program, he had worked at the Turkish Customs Administration for 12 years as a member of the Project Management Office. He planned and managed national and EU-funded projects with a view to enhancing the law enforcement capacity of the administration. He has been a Project Management Professional (PMP®) credential holder since 2014. Abdullah’s book, Project Management: Navigating the Complexity with a Systematic Approach, is the first book that MSL Academic Endeavors, the Michael Schwartz Library’s press, has undergone complete pre-publication peer review. 

Dr. Patricia Stoddard Dare, MSW, PhD is a Professor in the School of Social Work, Director of Women's and Gender Studies, and the Co-Coordinator of CSU's Chemical Dependency Counseling Certificate Program.  She has spent the last two years representing Cleveland State University on a Practitioner Education grant funded by SAMHSA and the Council on Social Work Education which brought together Social Work faculty from around the US to develop model social work curricular resources to teach substance use disorder counseling. Patty’s book, Introduction to Substance Use Disorders, is an excellent example of an open textbook that builds on the openly licensed work of others.