All resources in San Diego Mesa College

Astronomy

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Astronomy is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of one- or two-semester introductory astronomy courses. The book begins with relevant scientific fundamentals and progresses through an exploration of the solar system, stars, galaxies, and cosmology. The Astronomy textbook builds student understanding through the use of relevant analogies, clear and non-technical explanations, and rich illustrations. Mathematics is included in a flexible manner to meet the needs of individual instructors.

Material Type: Textbook

Authors: Andrew Fraknoi, David Morrison, Sidney C. Wolff

Concepts of Biology

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Concepts of Biology is designed for the introductory biology course for nonmajors taught at most two- and four-year colleges. The scope, sequence, and level of the program are designed to match typical course syllabi in the market. Concepts of Biology includes interesting applications, features a rich art program, and conveys the major themes of biology.

Material Type: Textbook

Authors: James Wise, Rebecca Roush, Samantha Fowler

OpenStax Introduction to Business

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Introduction to Business covers the scope and sequence of most introductory business courses. The book provides detailed explanations in the context of core themes such as customer satisfaction, ethics, entrepreneurship, global business, and managing change. Introduction to Business includes hundreds of current business examples from a range of industries and geographic locations, which feature a variety of individuals. The outcome is a balanced approach to the theory and application of business concepts, with attention to the knowledge and skills necessary for student success in this course and beyond.

Material Type: Textbook

Authors: Amit Shah, Bethann Talsma, Carl McDaniel, James C. Hyatt, Lawrence J. Gitman, Linda Koffel, Monique Reece

OpenStax Chemistry

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Chemistry is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of the two-semester general chemistry course. The textbook provides an important opportunity for students to learn the core concepts of chemistry and understand how those concepts apply to their lives and the world around them. The book also includes a number of innovative features, including interactive exercises and real-world applications, designed to enhance student learning. Coverage and scope Our Chemistry textbook adheres to the scope and sequence of most general chemistry courses nationwide. We strive to make chemistry, as a discipline, interesting and accessible to students. With this objective in mind, the content of this textbook has been developed and arranged to provide a logical progression from fundamental to more advanced concepts of chemical science. Topics are introduced within the context of familiar experiences whenever possible, treated with an appropriate rigor to satisfy the intellect of the learner, and reinforced in subsequent discussions of related content. The organization and pedagogical features were developed and vetted with feedback from chemistry educators dedicated to the project. Chapter 1: Essential Ideas Chapter 2: Atoms, Molecules, and Ions Chapter 3: Composition of Substances and Solutions Chapter 4: Stoichiometry of Chemical Reactions Chapter 5: Thermochemistry Chapter 6: Electronic Structures and Periodic Properties of Elements Chapter 7: Chemical Bonding and Molecular Geometry Chapter 8: Advanced Theories of Covalent Bonding Chapter 9: Gases Chapter 10: Liquids and Solids Chapter 11: Solutions and Colloids Chapter 12: Kinetics Chapter 13: Fundamental Equilibrium Concepts Chapter 14: Acid-Base Equilibria Chapter 15: Equilibria of Other Reaction Classes Chapter 16: Thermodynamics Chapter 17: Electrochemistry Chapter 18: Representative Metals, Metalloids, and Nonmetals Chapter 19: Transition Metals and Coordination Chemistry Chapter 20: Organic Chemistry Chapter 21: Nuclear Chemistry Pedagogical foundation and features Throughout Chemistry, you will find features that draw the students into scientific inquiry by taking selected topics a step further. Students and educators alike will appreciate discussions in these feature boxes. Chemistry in Everyday Life ties chemistry concepts to everyday issues and real-world applications of science that students encounter in their lives. Topics include cell phones, solar thermal energy power plants, plastics recycling, and measuring blood pressure. How Sciences Interconnect feature boxes discuss chemistry in context of its interconnectedness with other scientific disciplines. Topics include neurotransmitters, greenhouse gases and climate change, and proteins and enzymes. Portrait of a Chemist presents a short bio and an introduction to the work of prominent figures from history and present day so that students can see the “face” of contributors in this field as well as science in action.

Material Type: Textbook

Chemistry: Atoms First 2e

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Chemistry: Atoms First is a peer-reviewed, openly licensed introductory textbook produced through a collaborative publishing partnership between OpenStax and the University of Connecticut and UConn Undergraduate Student Government Association. This title is an adaptation of the OpenStax Chemistry text and covers scope and sequence requirements of the two-semester general chemistry course. Reordered to fit an atoms first approach, this title introduces atomic and molecular structure much earlier than the traditional approach, delaying the introduction of more abstract material so students have time to acclimate to the study of chemistry. Chemistry: Atoms First also provides a basis for understanding the application of quantitative principles to the chemistry that underlies the entire course.

Material Type: Textbook

Authors: Allison Soult, Andrew Eklund, Carol Martinez, Donald Carpenetti, Don Frantz, Edward J. Neth, Emad El-Giar, George Kaminski, Jason Powell, Jennifer Look, Klaus Theopold, Mark Blaser, Paul Flowers, Paul Hooker, Richard Langley, Simon Bott, Thomas Sorenson, Troy Milliken, Vicki Moravec, William R. Robinson

Preschool Learning Standards and Guidelines

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This course is designed to early childhood education professionals with the knowledge and skills to teach each content area according to the preschool learning guidelines, or state standards. This module as part of the course on the preschool learning experiences will explain each part of the standard and give examples of how to teach the standard within an integrated curriculum. Through presentations, online resources, readings, and assignments students will gain knowledge of the components of each area: mathematics, English language arts, science and technology/engineering, the arts, and health education, and history and social science. The last module will cover the content of the Early Childhood Program Standards and how to incorporate those standards into daily practice.

Material Type: Full Course

Author: Angi Stone - MacDonald

Intercultural Communication for the Community College (Second Edition)

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In the quest to explore the multiple facets of intercultural communication, this book is divided into three general areas: foundations, elements, and contexts. The foundations cover the basic principles associated with communication studies and culture. The elements move beyond the basics into self, identities, verbal, and nonverbal process associated with communication and culture. Contexts explore all the different environments such as media, business, and education, in which intercultural communication occurs.

Material Type: Textbook

Author: Karen Krumrey

EmpoWord: A Student-Centered Anthology & Handbook for College Writers

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EmpoWord is a reader and rhetoric that champions the possibilities of student writing. The textbook uses actual student writing to exemplify effective writing strategies, celebrating dedicated college writing students to encourage and instruct their successors: the students in your class. Through both creative and traditional activities, readers are encouraged to explore a variety of rhetorical situations to become more critical agents of reading, writing, speaking, and listening in all facets of their lives. Straightforward and readable instruction sections introduce key vocabulary, concepts, and strategies. Three culminating assignments (Descriptive Personal Narrative; Text-Wrestling Analysis; Persuasive Research Essay) give students a chance to show their learning while also practicing rhetorical awareness techniques for future writing situations.

Material Type: Textbook

Author: Shane Abrams

English Composition 1

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Composition I focuses on principles of writing, critical reading and essay composition using rhetorical styles common in college-level writing (narrative, example/illustration, compare/contrast, cause-and-effect, argument).

Material Type: Full Course, Textbook

Guide to Writing

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This writing style guide covers the fundamentals of English usage and writing. It includes sections on grammar and mechanics, editing, formatting, academic citation and research documentation, including the latest MLA and APA style guidelines. A useful supplement to any academic writing course. This guide is primarily based on material from Lumen Learning’s English Composition I: Process-Based course and Joe Schall’s Style for Students, with supplemental videos by David Rheinstrom from Khan Academy’s Grammar.

Material Type: Full Course

Write or Left: An OER Textbook for Creative Writing Courses

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This is an OER textbook for Creative Writing courses. Most creative writing textbooks cover the "big guys" of literature: poetry, nonfiction, and fiction. This textbook is different in two ways, then, because not only does it attempt to cover MORE genres, but it is also a free textbook.This has just been updated to include MORE accessibility AND Creative Commons licenses that are more in harmony than the previous versions.

Material Type: Reading, Textbook

Author: Sybil Priebe

Writing Commons

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Writing Commons aspires to be a community for writers, a creative learning space for students in courses that require college-level writing, a creative, interactive space for teachers to share resources and pedagogy. Our primary goal is to provide the resources and community students need to improve their writing, particularly students enrolled in courses that require college-level writing. As mentioned in 'About Us', we believe learning materials should be free for all students and teachers‰ part of the cultural commons. Hence, we provide free access to an award-winning, college textbook that was published by a major publisher and awarded the Distinguished Book Award by Computers and Composition: an International Journal.

Material Type: Reading, Textbook

GeoTech Center Model Courses

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The GeoTech Center, a National Science Foundation grant to support geospatial programs at two-year colleges, developed Model Courses focused on building the skills, competencies, and abilities needed for entry-level occupations in the geospatial industry. Competencies covered in the Model Courses were identified using the Geospatial Technology Competency Model (GTCM) and outcomes from multiple DACUM (“Developing a Curriculum”) events. A panel of geospatial education experts parsed the competencies into the Model Courses for the Certificate and are listed in a Program Content Tool that can be used to see what competencies and depth should be in each course. You can also assess your program from the GTCM Program Assessment Tool tool. All material is distributed freely under a Creative Commons license and can be used with attribution to GeoTech.

Material Type: Full Course, Lecture Notes, Lesson, Module, Reading

GIS Commons

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This is not a typical e-book; it is a free, web-based, open-source “textbook” available to anyone interested in using mapping tools to create maps. This e-text focuses primarily on Geographic Information Systems (GIS)—a geospatial technology that enables you to create spatial databases, analyze spatial patterns, and produce maps that communicate more effectively. While this GIS textbook is principally an introduction to GIS, most of the chapter’s concepts are applicable to other geotechnologies including remote sensing, global positioning systems (GPS), Internet mapping, and virtual globes. Creating good maps and analyzing spatial data is a time consuming and challenging practice, but recently, a new set of powerful mapping tools has enabled almost anyone with a computer to make maps easily and to perform at least some low-level analyses. The results, however, are not encouraging. Most of the new mapmakers do not have adequate training in mapping concepts and spatial analysis principles, and their maps are often improperly designed and do not communicate easily nor effectively. This e-text—GIS Commons—seeks to help you analyze spatial data and communicate more effectively. In short, GIS education is our goal.

Material Type: Textbook

Author: Michael Schmandt

Essentials of Geographic Information Systems

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Essentials of Geographic Information Systems integrates key concepts behind the technology with practical concerns and real-world applications. Recognizing that many potential GIS users are nonspecialists or may only need a few maps, this book is designed to be accessible, pragmatic, and concise. Essentials of Geographic Information Systems also illustrates how GIS is used to ask questions, inform choices, and guide policy. From the melting of the polar ice caps to privacy issues associated with mapping, this book provides a gentle, yet substantive, introduction to the use and application of digital maps, mapping, and GIS.

Material Type: Textbook

Authors: Jonathan Campbell, Michael Shin

Physical Geography Lab Manual

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Twenty lab exercises for undergraduate-level physical geography laboratory courses. Lab manual highlights include: Customizable components to suit your needs for synchronous, asynchronous, or face-to-face instruction; Meets the C-ID descriptor requirements for content, lab activities, and objectives while including geotechnology applications and environmental justice topics where appropriate; Each lab exercise underwent peer review to ensure clarity, currency, and utility.

Material Type: Full Course

Authors: Aline Nortes Gregorio, Jeremy G. Patrich, Scott J. Crosier, Taya C. Lazootin, Waverly C. Ray

College Algebra 1e (superseded)

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College Algebra provides a comprehensive exploration of algebraic principles and meets scope and sequence requirements for a typical introductory algebra course. The modular approach and richness of content ensure that the book meets the needs of a variety of courses. College Algebra offers a wealth of examples with detailed, conceptual explanations, building a strong foundation in the material before asking students to apply what they've learned. Note: this resource now links to the second edition, released in 2021. This record is in maintained in OER Commons to allow users to see endorsements, reviews, etc... for the 1st edition.

Material Type: Textbook

Authors: David Lippman, Jay Abramson, Jean-Marie Magnier, Melonie Rasmussen, Nicholas Belloit, Rachael Gross, Rick Norwood, Valeree Falduto