Edsurge

OCTOBER 24, 2019

Perched in lime green desk chairs, dozens of employees of OpenStax work here to transform physics, calculus and psychology materials into digital textbooks that students can study at no cost. First, OpenStax came for textbooks. By the nonprofit’s estimates, more than half of U.S. colleges use at least one. Baraniuk recalls thinking.

Textbooks 117

Textbooks Instructors History Syllabus 117

Edsurge

MARCH 28, 2018

But it wasn’t until her current gig, serving as an instructor for a course on water supply and demand in California, that she got her feet wet with open educational resources. Today, Anagnoson’s online course is embedded into a Water Systems Technology zero-cost textbook degree program, or Z-degree. Now it’s my job.”

Textbooks 115

Textbooks Instructors History Syllabus 115

eSchool News

OCTOBER 10, 2019

In most flipped classrooms, educators provide materials for students to review before class such as readings from textbooks, worksheets or videos.

Lecturing 198

Lecturing Textbooks Instructors Attention 198

Edsurge

SEPTEMBER 24, 2022

This year’s spending on textbooks and other course materials represents a 26 percent fall from the previous year, when students spent $456, or $53 per course. Instructors are assigning more content that’s free or at least “not paid for directly” by the student, says Richard Hershman, vice president of government relations at NCAS.

Textbooks 216

Textbooks Assignments Students Instructors 216

Edsurge

MARCH 9, 2017

Most introductory geology professors teach students about earthquakes by assigning readings and showing diagrams of tectonic plates and fault lines to the class. But Paul Low is not most instructors. So how do you get educational materials from textbook to virtual world? First, you need 3D content. Low and Mills prefer.

Instructors 126

Instructors Assignments Textbooks STEM 126

Edsurge

FEBRUARY 20, 2020

Students who took multiple community college courses that used only free or low-cost OER materials earned more credits over time than their peers who took classes that used traditional course materials such as textbooks, according to a new study. I had a very good student come to me and say, ‘I can’t afford this textbook.’

Textbooks 190

Textbooks Instructors Education Participation 190

Edsurge

AUGUST 1, 2024

As more instructors experiment with using generative AI to make teaching materials, an important question bubbles up. In open-ended answers, some educators said they see it as a tool akin to a calculator, or like using content from a textbook. She imagines teachers might use AI in the same way to create assignments or lesson plans. “No

Teaching 217

Teaching Education Ethics Instructors 217

eSchool News

FEBRUARY 4, 2022

Participants access learning via textbooks, video clips, interactive learning tasks, and webinars and have opportunities to practice skills via weekly online discussion forums, webinars, collaboration activities, self-check exercises, and homework assignments.

Teachers 258

Teachers Coaching Textbooks Participation 258

eSchool News

FEBRUARY 20, 2024

Chalkboards, heavy textbooks, and other analog tools of the past have no place in today’s schools. In addition, a robust device manager can secure each device from unauthorized users by assigning varying access levels to end users. Instructors can access the content management system and edit student performance reports.

Learning Styles 325

Learning Styles Participation Hybrid Learning Attention 325

Edsurge

FEBRUARY 22, 2024

But since the COVID-19 pandemic forced instructors around the world to try online education, something unexpected has happened: Professors have found that there are some online teaching methods that work better than what can be done in the limits of a physical classroom. Each week, I’d assign several lectures I’d recorded earlier on video.

Teaching 218

Teaching Lecturing Blended Courses Instructors 218

Edsurge

JULY 27, 2020

As more colleges and school districts prepare to resume remote instruction for the fall, educators may worry how to prevent cheating when assignments and exams are held online. Part of the issue when designing assignments and exams to deter cheating is recognizing what cheating in 2020 looks like.

Exams 218

Exams Academic Integrity Plagiarism Assignments 218

Edsurge

NOVEMBER 15, 2021

He and his students happily use open educational resources for textbooks. He also knows that the right OER provides professors opportunities to teach the latest research and even make areas like math and science more inclusive by moving away from traditional texts and homework assignments that often lack diverse perspectives.

STEM 168

STEM Textbooks Instructors Science 168

Edsurge

AUGUST 14, 2019

Students and instructors can run originality reports to check any written assignments done in Google Doc against the hundreds of billions of web pages, and tens of millions of books, that Google has indexed over the years. It will flag any text that appears to be improperly lifted or referenced without citation.

Plagiarism 154

Plagiarism Instructors Assignments Textbooks 154

Edsurge

JUNE 10, 2021

The journalism instructor at the University of Minnesota keeps the process simple, with brief questions similar to these: What should keep happening in this class? Between weeks five and eight—and after students have received results from a major assessment—instructors ask students to weigh in on how their learning is progressing.

Feedback 187

Feedback Instructors Students Syllabus 187

Edsurge

DECEMBER 28, 2017

Until recently, the use of OER—digital educational materials that are both more easily adaptable by instructors and more affordable than traditional textbooks—was being led by early-adopter professors driven by a desire to improve teaching and an interest in new technology. OER needs bells and whistles.

Textbooks 154

Textbooks Teaching Instructors Testing 154

Edsurge

JUNE 8, 2022

Many instructors describe accommodations they’ve tried, like loosening homework deadlines or offering asynchronous alternatives to class conversations, but some now wonder whether this kind of leniency actually makes the situation worse. In their anecdotes, fewer students are showing up to class and turning work in on time (or at all).

Student Engagement 194

Student Engagement Instructors Hybrid Courses Exams 194

Edsurge

MAY 30, 2019

After an Arizona State University professor’s email went viral last month , accusing the institution of adopting online textbooks in exchange for grants from their publisher, officials agreed to the student government’s call for an independent investigation. That report, prepared by Ruth V.

Textbooks 77

Textbooks Ethics Assignments Instructors 77

Edsurge

OCTOBER 11, 2018

The so-called access hypothesis goes that students who have access to the textbook learn better than students who don’t. And in cases in which traditional textbooks are prohibitively expensive, OER can provide students with an opportunity to gain access to course materials they may not have otherwise.

Textbooks 140

Textbooks Learning Learning Outcomes Internet 140

Faculty Focus

OCTOBER 13, 2024

Textbooks and course materials to review, syllabi to update, lessons to plan, lectures to prepare. Duplicate or misplaced assignment pages create confusion (and potentially issues with the gradebook). Duplicate or misplaced assignment pages create confusion (and potentially issues with the gradebook).

Syllabus 122

Syllabus Instructors Assignments Faculty Development 122

Edsurge

MARCH 18, 2021

It’s quite the shock to go and find out your textbook costs are $800 the first week of school.” The cost of course materials alone can rival tuition rates at some community colleges, says Nathan Smith, an instructor of philosophy at Houston Community College and an advocate for low-cost textbooks.

Textbooks 160

Textbooks Study Participation Accessibility 160

Edsurge

DECEMBER 30, 2018

For example, a professor might have to toggle between a learning management system ( LMS) for grading, an e-reader that delivers the textbook, a platform used to present information in class, an app that helps with student participation and a homework solution for out-of-class assignments.

Authentic Assessment 151

Authentic Assessment Instructors Textbooks Lecturing 151

Edsurge

DECEMBER 8, 2017

What has repeatedly snagged her ability to study it, however, has been when homework assignments include charts and graphs that her screen-reading software can’t process. “If The equivalent for me is going to a class and not being able to study the textbook. Other facets are harder, and require a cultural shift of sorts.

STEM 147

STEM Disabilities Textbooks Culture 147

Edsurge

SEPTEMBER 11, 2020

And that’s what instructors strive to offer their service-member students at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center, which looks out over Monterey Bay. We can’t just use a college textbook, we go through it so fast.” We’re trying to do this unnatural thing in this unnaturally compressed time.

Motivation 213

Motivation Language Languages Learning 213

Faculty Focus

SEPTEMBER 22, 2024

Back in 2018, I decided to take the plunge and move to an OER textbook. At the time I made my OER commitment, there were limited open textbook options available. After bouncing around a few, I finally settled on OpenStax , a free online textbook platform through Rice University.

Textbooks 115

Textbooks Syllabus Instructors Peer Review 115

Edsurge

OCTOBER 17, 2017

As one writing instructor posted to an e-mail list in 2005: “Am I being a stick-in-the-mud for for being horrified by students’ use of this source?”. I hear more often these days about teaching with free online materials instead of traditional textbooks (known as OER). How things have changed. Absolutely. It's a continuing spectrum.

Peer Review 140

Peer Review Textbooks Education Writing 140

Faculty Focus

OCTOBER 13, 2024

Textbooks and course materials to review, syllabi to update, lessons to plan, lectures to prepare. Duplicate or misplaced assignment pages create confusion (and potentially issues with the gradebook). Duplicate or misplaced assignment pages create confusion (and potentially issues with the gradebook).

Syllabus 105

Syllabus Instructors Assignments Faculty Development 105

Gaggle Speaks

JULY 14, 2015

How many copies of worksheets, handouts or textbook pages do teachers make each week? How many copies of essays or homework assignments do students give teachers every week? In fact, a major barrier for students completing various assignments online has been the lack of a digital grading workflow that instructors can adopt.

Grades 94

Grades Quizzes Essay Instructors 94

Faculty Focus

MAY 15, 2025

Flexibility in format and modality such as recorded lectures, alternative assignments, or extended deadlinesmade students feel supported, capable, and seen. Textbook format and cost mattered. Inclusive language, representation, and proactive instructor support all contributed to students sense of belonging and trust.

Disabilities 53

Disabilities Course Design Lecturing Students 53

eSchool News

APRIL 5, 2024

Key points: Traditional classroom learning is now modernizing Debates remain about online vs. classroom learning Stay up to date on the latest in classroom learning trends Classroom learning remains a cornerstone of education, fostering a dynamic environment where students engage with peers and instructors in real-time.

Learning 130

Learning eLearning Instructors Learning Styles 130

Faculty Focus

AUGUST 13, 2024

As the lazy days of summer start to dwindle, it’s time to trade in beach reads for textbooks and flip-flops for sensible shoes. Often, there are suggestions on what AI can do, but instructors might struggle with figuring out how to use it effectively. Let AI handle rubrics, tailor assignments, and give feedback.

Syllabus 119

Syllabus Assignments Feedback Teaching Assistants 119

Faculty Focus

SEPTEMBER 22, 2024

Back in 2018, I decided to take the plunge and move to an OER textbook. At the time I made my OER commitment, there were limited open textbook options available. After bouncing around a few, I finally settled on OpenStax , a free online textbook platform through Rice University.

Textbooks 99

Textbooks Syllabus Instructors Peer Review 99

Edsurge

JUNE 24, 2016

When students at Virginia’s Tidewater Community College (TCC) earn their Associate of Science in Business Administration, chances are, they will never have purchased a single textbook. Thanks to the school’s Z-degree program—for zero dollars spent on textbooks—students are saving up to 25 percent on college costs. A Pilot Takes Off.

Textbooks 102

Textbooks Failure Instructors Learning 102

Faculty Focus

OCTOBER 29, 2023

However, as a former instructor of online courses, I have seen first-hand the power of introducing a librarian to a group of online students and how such exposure can lead to curiosity on a topic and deepen student learning. I begin with a caveat. I am not an academic librarian. In fact, I have never worked in a library.

Syllabus 98

Syllabus Instructors Learning Assignments 98

Edsurge

OCTOBER 13, 2022

These tools can also help instructors track whether and how students are studying and completing assignments. The theory is that courseware has the potential to improve student outcomes because it tends to offer students personalized instruction and instant feedback on their work, Jones-Davis says.

STEM 179

STEM Instructors Study History 179

Faculty Focus

MAY 7, 2023

Professors in the department of kinesiology at Cal Poly Tech Humboldt have observed growth in student performance and comprehension by designing content-specific episodes that begin by considering the basic building block of an instructor-generated podcast. The principal focus of the second body is to convey new information.

Instructors 111

Instructors Lecturing Learning Textbooks 111

Edsurge

SEPTEMBER 10, 2020

The content in question includes a first-grade language arts video lesson that shows an Acellus instructor teaching about the letter “G.” As with any distance learning program, teachers at the school level are also reviewing content before they are assigned, similarly to how textbooks are used for instruction.”

Learning 211

Learning Schools Multiple Choice Questions Distance Learning 211

Faculty Focus

AUGUST 13, 2024

As the lazy days of summer start to dwindle, it’s time to trade in beach reads for textbooks and flip-flops for sensible shoes. Often, there are suggestions on what AI can do, but instructors might struggle with figuring out how to use it effectively. Let AI handle rubrics, tailor assignments, and give feedback.

Syllabus 111

Syllabus Assignments Feedback Teaching Assistants 111