Three New Open e-Textbooks Series Added to the NCLOR OER Collection

Today, fifty-one new open e-textbooks were added to the open educational resources collection available within the NCLOR. The e-textbooks have been created by The University of Wisconsin, The University of Minnesota, and Oregon State University. The textbooks were created under a creative commons license and are free and open to use.

The subject included in this addition are: Accounting, Biochemistry and molecular biology, Biological and life sciences, Business administration, Change management, Climatology, Communication & Media, Cultural studies, Economics, Educational technology, Finance, Fisheries and wildlife sciences, Geography , Geology, Government, Human relations, Human resources, Information systems, Law, Linear Algebra, Marketing, Materials science, Organizational development, Physiology, Psychology, Social science, Sustainable agriculture, Technology and civilization, Web technologies, and Writing. 

The University of Minnesota collection of Open Textbook collection states its mission as “promoting access to higher education and collaborating to advance knowledge benefiting communities, the state, and world.”

The some of open textbooks available from The University of Minnesota are:

• Principles of Economics
• Principles of Macroeconomics
• Principles of Management
• A full list of available titles can be found here: University of Minnesota Libraries Open Textbooks

---

The Open Oregon State collection is an part of OSU’s open educational resource initiative.

The some of open textbooks available from Open Oregon State are:

• Introduction to Permaculture
• The Joy of Cryptography
• Introduction to Climate Science
• A full list of available titles can be found here: Oregon State Open Text

---

University of Wisconsin – Madison has made small set of open textbook available for use.

The some of open textbooks available from University of Wisconsin – Madison are:

• 13 Principles of Good Learning in Games – Applied to Teaching
• Creators, Collectors & Communities – Making Ethnic Identity Through Objects
• Developing Your Web Presence
• A full list of available titles can be found here: University of Wisconsin Pressbooks

The works listed above are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License.

The NCCCS courses that these resources may supplement are; ACA-111, ACC-120, AGR-139, AGR-300, BIO-165, BIO-175, BUS-110, BUS-137, BUS-153, BUS-237, BUS-255, BUS-260, CHM-130, CJC-131, COM-150, CSC-211, ECO-151, ECO-252, EDU-271, ENG-011, FWL-142, GEL-120, GEO-111, GEO-130, GIS-121, LIB-112, MAT-280, MEC-265, MKT-120, POL-120, PSY-150, PSY-237, SOC-210, and WEB-210.

To access these resources, you can do any of the following:

• Since these resources are open, you can access the series via Guest Access here: Oregon State Open Textbooks , University of Minnesota Open Textbooks ,  University of Wisconsin Pressbooks.
• Also you may log into the NCLOR and click on the More button on the left menu bar. Then click the Resource Series link and click the series of your choice.
• If you are K-14 faculty, you can add the links to the resources directly to your LMS based course. (learn how)

 

UCI Open Content added to OER collection

Today, seventy resources from UCI Open was added to the open educational resource series collection in the NCLOR. The University of California, Irvine’s UCI Open is a web-based repository of various UC Irvine courses and video lectures from UC Irvine faculty, seminar participants, and instructional staff. While the great majority of courses are drawn from graduate, undergraduate, and continuing education programs, some were originally produced under grant funding to serve specific needs in California and elsewhere. UCI Open is open and available to the world for free.

The resources added in this series are complete courses that include materials such as; lecture videos, presentations, handouts, and practice assessments. The course resources in this series are from disciplines that include: Arts, Biological Sciences, Education, Engineering, Health Sciences, Humanities, Physical Sciences, Social Ecology, and Social Sciences.

Example: General Chemistry 1A. Lecture 01. Introduction to General Chemistry. Brindley, Amanda UCIrvine. 

All UCI Open content is licensed under the Creative Commons, Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The list below shows the number of courses in each subject area included in the series.

• African American Studies (1)
• Anthropology (1)
• Chemistry (17)
• Civil & Environmental Engineering (1)
• Classics (1)
• Developmental & Cell Biology (1)
• Earth System Science (5)
• Ecology & Evolutionary Biology (1)
• Economics (2)
• Education (3)
• International Studies (1)
• Mathematics (8)
• Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering (4)
• Music (1)
• Physics & Astronomy (9)
• Planning, Policy, and Design (2)
• Political Science (3)
• Psychology & Social Behavior (3)
• Public Health (5)
• Sociology (1)

The NCCCS courses that these resources may supplement are; ASM111, AST152, BIO092, BIO145, BUS225, CHM090, CHM131, CHM132, CHM135, CHM151, CHM152, CHM251, CHM252, CHM271, CIV250, DMA065, ECO251, ECO252, EDU216, EDU280, EGR111, ENV110, ENV120, ENV222, ENV255, HIS121, HIS221, HIS222, HIS223, MAT142, MAT152, MAT171, MAT172, MAT252, MAT263, MEC261, MEC265, MEC267, MUS111, NAN112, PHY110, PHY121, PHY122, PHY131, PHY252, POL110, POL220, PSY150, and SOC250.

To access these resources, you can do any of the following:

• Since these resources are open, you can access the series via Guest Access here:  UCI Open or log into the NCLOR and click on the More button on the left menu bar. Then click the Resource Series link and then click the UCI Open – University of California, Irvine link.
• If you are K-14 faculty, you can add the links to the resources directly to your LMS based course. (learn how)

NOVA ELI Open Courses Added to the NCLOR

Today, over 830 resources from the Extended Learning Institute (ELI) from Northern Virginia Community College System (NOVA) were added to the NCLOR’s open educational resources collection.

Pioneering zero textbook cost courses and degree programs since 2012, Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) is the first community college to fully share its OER degree pathways and courses for others to use and build on.

NOVA’s Extended Learning Institute (ELI) and Lumen Learning have teamed up to make these courses and degree pathways broadly available to the education community. These courses fulfill all requirements for NOVA Associate’s degrees in General Studies and Social Sciences. Published with open, Creative Commons licenses, anyone can freely use, revise, remix and re-purpose the courses.

Example: Introduction to Computer Applications and Concepts – Using Excel

The resources from eight NOVA curriculum courses were added. The courses added were: Principles of Macroeconomics, Introduction to the Study of Religion, Music Appreciation, Mathematics for the Liberal Arts II, Mathematics for the Liberal Arts I, College Composition I, Introduction to Computer Applications and Concepts, and Introduction to Communication.

The NCCCS courses that these resource may supplement are: MAT3713, MAT110, MAT122, MAT142, MAT143, MAT152, MAT252, MAT141, MAT167, MAT263, ECO252, REL110, MUS110, DMA050, DMA030, CIS110, COM110, and ENG110.

To access these resources, you can do any of the following:

• Click on any of the links above.
• Log into the NCLOR and click on the More button on the left menu bar. Then click the Resource Series link and then NOVA Open Courses.
• If you are K-14 faculty, you can add the links to the resources directly to your LMS based course. (learn how)

SBCTC Open Course Library Phase II Courses added to NCLOR

The Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) has updated the Open Course Library, which is a collection of expertly developed educational materials for 81 of the state’s highest-enrolled college courses. The materials are freely available online under an open license for use by the state’s 34 public community and technical colleges, four-year colleges and universities, and anyone else worldwide. The subjects included in this update  are: Business, Communications, English, Fine Arts, Humanities, Mathematics,  and Science.

This resource series contains the IMS Common Cartridge files of the Open Course Library catalog. These files are compatible with many learning management systems (LMS) and contain all of the course content including syllabi, course activities, readings, and assessments. Some courses have content available via Google Docs which enables users to download the course resources directly to their Google account.

All of the course titles included in this series are:

American Government, American Literature I, American Sign Language I, American Sign Language II, American Sign Language III, Art Appreciation, Biology I, Biology II, Biology III, Business Calculus, Business Law, Calculus I, Calculus II, Calculus III, College Success Course, Cultural Anthropology, Elementary Algebra, Engineering Physics I, English Composition I, English Composition II, French I, French II, French III, General Biology with Lab, General Chemistry with Lab I, General Chemistry with Lab II, General Chemistry with Lab III, General Psychology, Health for Adult Living, Human Anatomy and Physiology 1&2, Intermediate Algebra, Interpersonal Communication, Intro to Communication, Intro to Drama, Intro to Humanities, Intro to Mass Media, Intro to Political Science, Intro to Sociology, Introduction To Astronomy, Introduction To Business, Introduction to Chemistry (Inorganic), Introduction To Literature I, Introduction To Logic, Introduction To Oceanography, Introduction To Philosophy, Introduction to Physical Geology, Introduction to Statistics, Lifespan Psychology, Macroeconomics, Math in Society, Microbiology, Microeconomics, Music Appreciation, Nutrition, Pacific NW History, Physical Anthropology, Physics: Non Science Majors, Precalculus I, Precalculus II, Pre-College English, Principles of Accounting I, Principles of Accounting II, Principles of Accounting III, Public Speaking, Research for the 21st Century, Small Group Communication, Social Problems, Spanish I, Spanish II, Spanish III, Survey of Anthropology, Survey of Biology, Survey of Environmental Science, Symbolic Logic, Technical Writing, US History I, US History II, US History III, Western Civilization, Women in US History, and World Civilizations I.

Creative Commons License
This content is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License which means that you are free to reuse the course in its entirety, edit it and use a your own modified version, or pick out only pieces which can be incorporated into your own course, as long as you credit the original author for their work.

The NCCCS courses that could be enhanced by using these resources are:

ACC111, ACC115, ACC118, ACC119, ACC120, ACC221, ACC3107, ANT210, ANT220, ANT230, ART111, ASL111, ASL112, ASL211, ASL221, ASL222, AST151, BIO100, BIO106, BIO110, BIO111, BIO112, BIO155, BIO160, BIO163, BUS110, BUS115, BUS116, BUS121, CHM115A, CHM121A, CHM131, CHM131A, CHM151, COM110, COM120, COM150, COM160, COM231, COM3709, ECO251, ECO252, EGR150, EGR220, ENG090, ENG110, ENG111, ENG116, ENG131, ENG132, ENG138, ENG231, ENV110, FLI3714, FLI3717, FRE111, FRE112, FRE211, FRE212, FRE221, GEL120, HEA110, HIS111, HIS121, HIS122, HIS131, HIS132, HIS162, HIS165, HIS232, HUM211, LIB210, MAT070, MAT080, MAT101, MAT151, MAT171, MAT172, MAT210, MAT223, MAT271, MAT272, MAT273, MSC160, MUS110, PHI210, PHI216, PHI230, PHY080, PHY090, POL110, POL120, PSY110, PSY150, SOC210, SOC220, SPA110, SPA111, SPA211, SPA212, SPA241,and SPA242.

To access this series, you can do any of the following:

• Log into the NCLOR and click on “Browse by Resource Series” and then the Open Course Library series.
• If you are NCCCS faculty, you can add the links to the resources directly to your LMS based course. (learn how)
• Simply, click here to view the series as a guest.

SBCTC Open Course Library Courses added to NCLOR

The Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) has created the Open Course Library, which is a collection of expertly developed educational materials for 42 of the state’s highest-enrolled college courses. The materials cost $30 or less per student and are freely available online under an open license for use by the state’s 34 public community and technical colleges, four-year colleges and universities, and anyone else worldwide. The subjects included in this resource series are: Business, Communications, English, Fine Arts, Humanities, Mathematics,  and Science.

This resource series contains the IMS Common Cartridge files of the Open Course Library catalog. These files are compatible with many learning management systems (LMS) and contain all of the course content including syllabi, course activities, readings, and assessments.

IMS Common Cartridge files are usually loaded to the LMS by the system administrator but you can view the course content by entering the WashingtonOnline (WAOL) system with the guest account here: https://sites.google.com/a/sbctc.edu/opencourselibrary/courses/phase-1-courses

Creative Commons License
This content is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which means that you are free to reuse the course in its entirety, edit it and use a your own modified version, or pick out only pieces which can be incorporated into your own course, as long as you credit the original author for their work.

The NCCCS courses that could be enhanced by using these resources are: ACC119 ,ACC120 , ACC3107 ,ACC111 ,ACC115 ,ACC118 , ANT220 , ANT230 , ART111 ,BIO106 ,BIO163 ,BIO111.BUS110 ,CHM131 ,CHM151 ,COM231 ,ECO251 ,ECO252 ,EGR150 ,EGR220 ,ENG110 ,ENG090 ,ENG111 ,ENG116 ,ENG131 ,ENG138 ,GEL120 ,HIS131 ,HIS132 ,HIS232 ,HIS165 ,LIB210 ,MAT080 ,MAT070 ,MAT151 ,MAT171 ,MAT172 ,MAT271 ,MAT272 ,MAT273 ,MSC160 ,MUS110 ,PHI210 ,PHI216 ,PHI230 ,PSY110 ,and PSY150.

To access this series, you can do any of the following:

• Log into the NCLOR and click on “Browse by Resource Series” and then the Open Course Library series.
• If you are NCCCS faculty, you can add the links to the resources directly to your LMS based course. (learn how)
• Simply, click here to view the series as a guest.

Free and Open eTextbooks added to the NCLOR

Today,  58 eTextbooks from Flat World Knowledge were added to the NCLOR. Flat World Knowledge (FWK)  is a college textbook publishing company with a mission to use technology and innovative business models to lower costs, increase access and personalize learning worldwide. They  work with successful textbook authors and well-known scholars to create great free textbooks. This open textbook model gives faculty complete control over their content. Students have a choice of low-cost print and digital formats, including a free online reader.

With the FWK online reader you can search or jump to any part of the book using the table of contents. Click on any chapter title or section and head directly there.

Subjects included in this resource series are: Business & Economics, Science, Humanities & Social Sciences, Professional & Applied Sciences, and Mathematics.

The NCCCS courses that could be enhanced by using these resources are: ACA111, ACC120, AIB222, AIB246, BAF110, BUS110, BUS115, BUS125, BUS151, BUS153, BUS240, BUS255, BUS259, CHM081, CHM082, CHM092, CJC111, COE110, COM250, COM3711, CTS115, CTS240, ECO101, ECO251, ECO252, ENG080, ENG111, ETR210, GEO110, INS105, INT210, MAT050, MAT060, MKT120, MKT220, OMT222, POL110, PSY150, and SOC100

To access the series you can do any of the following:

• Log into the NCLOR and click on “Browse by Resource Series” and then the Flat World Knowledge series.
• If you are NCCCS faculty, you can add the links to the resources directly to your LMS based course. (learn how)
• Simply, click here to view the series as a guest.

Open Yale Courses Resource Series Updated

The Yale Open Courses Resource Series was updated today with 17 new courses. Open Yale Courses provide free and open access to a selection of introductory courses taught by distinguished teachers and scholars at Yale University. The new course resources include all video lectures and  course syllabi for the year the courses were offered at the institution. The list of the Yale courses along with the recommended NCCCS course the resource may enhance are outlined in the chart below.

To access this series, you can do any of the following:

• Log into the NCLOR and click on “Browse by Resource Series” and then the Open Yale Courses series.
• If you are NCCCS faculty, you can add the links to the resources directly to your LMS based course. (learn how)
• Simply, click here to view the series as a guest.

Yale Resource Update Chart

Khan Academy Resource Series Added to NCLOR

The Khan Academy is a not-for-profit organization with the goal of changing education for the better by providing a free world-class education to anyone anywhere. This series includes over 1600 math,  biology, chemistry, finance, physics, and history videos tutorials. Each video is a digestible chunk, approximately 10 minutes long, and especially purposed for viewing on the computer.

This material is directly suited for supplementing standard lesson activities and gives the student the opportunity to review complicated procedures many times.

Bill Gates calls the Khan Academy “the future of education”.

To access the Khan Academy resource series:

1. log into the NCLOR  < www.explorethelor.org > or through your institution’s learning management system
2. navigate to the Browse by Resource Series area
3. click on the Khan Academy series.

Yale University Open Courses added to the NCLOR

Enjoy the privilege of having Ivy League instructors delivery material to your students.  Open Yale Courses provide free and open access to a selection of introductory courses taught by distinguished teachers and scholars at Yale University. This collection is a variety of subjects developed into a series of video lectures.  These resources have now been added as a Resource Series into the NCLOR.

Currently, there are 14 complete courses with syllabi, lecture notes, and resources.  In this collection, you will find courses on: Astronomy, Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry, Economics, History, Physics, Political Science, and Psychology.  These resources are perfect as “value added” instruction for students or as professional development activities for instructors.

To access the Open Yale Courses resource series:

1. log into the NCLOR  < www.explorethelor.org > or through your institution’s learning management system
2. navigate to the Browse by Resource Series area
3. click on the Open Yale Courses series.