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.