The Office of the Provost recently announced the third round of funding for Open Education Resources projects — one of Provost Ann Cudd’s priority initiatives. Fourteen projects were selected in spring 2020.
The funding supports faculty who want to adapt, adopt and/or create OER for an existing course. These projects help save students money on course materials and provide faculty with the ability to customize their courses.
The majority received development funding from $2,000 to $5,000 to support individual or team-based development of open textbooks, or for combining an open textbook with course-specific development. Some small grants ranging from $500 to $2,000 also were awarded to adopt/adapt an open textbook or OER course component such as online homework, lab manuals or support materials.
The projects selected this year are:
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Exceptional Learners in the Regular Ed Classroom: Jeanne Burth, Education, Pitt–Greensburg
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A True OER for First-Year Italian Language and Cultural Courses: Lorraine Denman, Department of French and Italian, Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences
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OER Printable 3D Digital Models of Brain Structures: Erika Fanselow, Department of Neuroscience, Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences
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OER Children’s Literature Textbook: Marietta Frank, Catherine Baldwin, Renee Kiner and Clare Withers, University Library System
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Digital Filmmaking: Jeffrey Guterman, Broadcast Communications, Pitt–Bradford
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Physics Custom Ebook: Beta Keramati, Natural Science, Pitt–Johnstown
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Access to Global Literature: Tuangtip Klinbubpa, Humanities, Pitt–Johnstown
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Industrial Engineering Modules for Healthcare Financial Management: Caroline Kolman, Swanson School of Engineering
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OER for Human Anatomy and Physiology: David Merwine, Biological and Health Sciences, Pitt–Bradford
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Peer Teaching in a Large Enrollment Class: Linda O'Reilly, Department of Biology, Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences
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OER Adoption in BIOL 217: Denise Piechnik, Biological and Health Sciences, Pitt–Bradford
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Oceans of Data Science: Ravi Patel, School of Pharmacy
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Microbiology Lab OER: Kimberly Payne, Department of Biology, Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences
- Adaptation of OER in International Economics: Carey Treado and Svitlana Maksymenko, Department of Economics, Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences