Open Education Week: March 4-8, 2019

Posted on February 26, 2019 by Julie Humphrey

There are worldwide events and webinars this week to increase awareness about textbook costs as barriers to education and the potential for technology to enhance teaching and learning.

Durham Tech Library advocates for Open Educational Resources and provides support for faculty and staff interested in exploring OER. Stop by the Main Campus or Orange County Campus libraries to pick up an OER button to show your support.

Here are some resources to help you learn more:

Open Education North Carolina is an initiative that aims to reduce the cost of higher education for North Carolina students by providing free, open textbooks for the most frequently-taught courses across North Carolina’s colleges and universities.

Grant opportunities are available through OENC now! One Durham Tech instructor has been awarded a $1,000 grant for adopting an open textbook for an ART 111 course for Fall 2019 semester.

Community College Consortium for Open Educational Resources (CCCOER) offers frequent webinars, research and case studies, and resources for faculty. To celebrate Open Education Week, CCCOER will hold five Faculty Dialogue webinars, each day this week, in which faculty in a specific discipline will discuss the intricacies of teaching with OER in that subject and answer audience questions.

The Open Education Resource Guide from Virginia Tech offers a guide to getting started with open, editable, and lower-cost textbooks and open teaching & learning resources. Especially helpful is the information on finding OER by discipline and open textbook authoring and editing.

SPARC, a global coalition committed to making open the default for research and education, offers events, updates on policies and projects, news, and resources on all aspects of open education.

Do you want to learn more about OER or get involved at Durham Tech? Please contact Julie Humphrey (humphreyj@durhamtech.edu or 919-536-7211 x 1602) for more information. Stay tuned for upcoming events and discussions on campus.

What We’re Reading: The Influencing Machine

Posted on February 20, 2019 by Meredith Lewis

The Influencing Machine: Brooke Gladstone on the Media. Written by Brooke Gladstone and illustrated by Josh Neufeld

This book was read by Meredith Lewis, the [mostly] Orange County Campus Librarian, and is available for checkout at the Main Campus Library.

Title: The Influencing Machine: Brooke Gladstone on the Media
Author: Brooke Gladstone and illustrated by Josh Neufeld

Genre: Social Science, Graphic Novel, Historical Overview

#ReadGreatThings2019 Category: A social science book; A book about technology; A book that will help you with one of your personal goals [if increasing your media literacy is one of your goals]

Check out our blog post on the Read Great Things 2019 Challenge.

Why did you choose to read this book?W

Meredith: Well, Courtney recommended it to me. Since this book is about the history of the press/media and how it gets made and influenced in our modern world, I was especially interested from an information literacy standpoint. I mean, knowing how our news gets made matters, right? [Spoiler: The argument made in this book is yes.]

What did you like about it?

Meredith: In general, I’m interested in learning about the history and contexts of things and this book really goes into (in a pleasant visual format) how media and government have this push-pull (repeat) relationship. I really like how Brooke Gladstone (an NPR journalist) investigates things that go into our modern media marketplace like money, bias, and information overload. She also calls out problematic practices in journalism.

What feeling did the book leave you with?

Meredith: It left me feeling optimistic, actually! I genuinely believe that the world is full of the capacity for positive change and being informed and aware of the biases and structures around us matters and can help contribute towards making those positive changes.

Image from page xxii of Brooke Gladstone's The Influencing Machine (illustrated by Josh Neufeld): Back in 1922, Walter Lippman wrote..."Let him cast a stone who never passed on as the real inside trugh what he had heard someone say who knew no more than he did. For the real environment is altogether too big, too complex, and too fleeting for direct acquaintance. And although we have to act in that environment, we have to reconstruct it on a simpler model before we can manage with it." But now, with most of the media's resources at our fingertips, we can seek beyond mediated interpretations of events. We can choose how much to simplify our worldview. When coverage is contradictory or confusing, we can read the original documents, or track down a dubious claim to its source... ...or seek sensible views outside out comfort zone. It's risky. John Dewey once said, "Anyone who has begun to think places some portion of the world in jeopardy." But, as Spider-Man once said (quoting his Uncle Ben), "With great power comes great responsibility."

Crafternoon Workshops Scheduled for Spring Semester

Posted on February 14, 2019 by Julie Humphrey

We’re calling all makers, artists, crafters, and those looking to try something new or have fun, to join us for Crafternoon! The Library and Student Government Association are looking forward to hosting our craft workshop series again this spring semester for students, faculty, and staff. Workshops are held in the Library’s Group Study Area room 105A on the lower level of Main Campus Library as well as other campus locations noted below. Workshops will also be held at the Orange County Campus. All materials and supplies are provided. Join us for creative fun, team building, and stress relief!

Workshop Dates, Times, and Locations for Main Campus

Wool Felting
Thurs. Feb. 14 2:00-4:00 Library 5-105A

Mardi Gras Mask Decorating
Tues. Mar. 12 from 10:00-12:00 Wynn Multipurpose Room

String Art on Wood
Thurs. Apr. 11, 2:00-4:00 Newton 4-149

Read Great Things: Memoir Admiration

Posted on February 6, 2019 by Meredith Lewis

(In which one of your librarians highlights the different categories of the Read Great Things Challenge 2019. Want to know more about the Read Great Things 2019 Challenge? Check out our library blog post about it. All are welcome to participate!)

I like memoirs. A lot. I know this isn’t everyone’s favorite genre, but on the other hand, some people really only like to read memoirs. (You do you, reader.)

If you also like memoirs or just need to fill that “book by or about someone that you admire” box on the #RGT2019 Challenge and want to go the memoir-route, here are a few suggestions for you that are also available through the Durham Tech Libraries.

Available at the Main and Orange County Campus Libraries (though may be checked out)
Available at the Main Campus Library
Available at the Main Campus Library
Available at the Main Campus Library
Available at the Main Campus Library
Available at the Main and Orange County Campus Libraries