The Open Textbooks for Rural Arizona initiative is a grant project funded by the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE) through the U.S. Department of Education. Led by Yavapai College, a consortium of eight rural Arizona community colleges, was formed to increase student cost savings through access to Open Educational Resources (OER). The consortium serves 36,676 students in 12 Arizona counties (77% of Arizona geographically).
The Open Textbooks for Rural Arizona Consortium is collaborating to bring awareness and access to Open Educational Resources (OER) to rural Arizona community colleges. The consortium's objectives are to increase access to OER, student cost savings, collaboration, and knowledge of OER and open pedagogy. The consortium envisions students being able to graduate or transfer to a university without purchasing textbooks and/or course materials.
Are you ready to become a member of the Open Textbooks for Rural Arizona hub? Join the OER Best Practices Group to access various resources and tools. Once a member of the hub, update your profile as an Open Textbooks for Rural Arizona educator and start saving and curating resources under the "My Items" menu.
Are you ready to collaborate with other Open Textbooks for Rural Arizona educators and contribute material to OER Commons that are searchable within the Open Textbooks for Rural Arizona hub? Request to join one of the Open Textbooks for Rural Arizona Groups in your area of expertise to get started. Click on a group to view their published resources and discussion board to see if this group is the right fit for you.
This Academy will highlight the resources and tools on OER Commons and how the Open Textbook for Rural Arizona OER Hub can support collaboration amongst districts to build and share collections. The series will focus on:
Developing a knowledge of OER characteristics -especially related to Arizona faculty’s needs and resources.
Exploring Collections and Curation strategies.
Locating, remixing and adding resources to develop collections responsive to the courseware needs of Arizona institutions.
Session One –2/10, 1:00-2:30pm: Introduction to OER
Session Two –2/17, 1:00-2:30pm: Collaboration and Curation
Session Three –2/24, 1:00-2:30pm: Design and Peer Review
Session Four –3/10, 1:00-2:30pm: Peer Review and Next Steps
Faculty who participate in all four sessions will receive a certificate of completion for use on your CV for faculty development and faculty service documentation.
Empowering Faculty to Use and Create OER
In-Depth Look at Headings, an Accessibility Training
In-Depth Look at Alternative Text, an Accessibility Training
Course materials created or used by Arizona Community College faculty.
Arizona Community College faculty, librarians, and other OER team members are invited to first join the OER Best Practices Group and then join their subject area group to connect with others from partner colleges.
Resources curated by OER librarians.
The videos below are recordings from trainings that support Rural Arizona faculty and staff as they use OER, OER Commons and the Open Textbooks for Rural Arizona Hub.
