News

Four $2,000 Professional Learning Accounts are still available to instructors who show evidence of adopting an open access textbook in a highly enrolled Fall or Winter 2016-17 course.

Please contact Dan Mirau, Library Director, (dan.mirau@concordia.ab.ca) if you need assistance determining if there are suitable open access textbooks options for one of your courses.

​Goals of the Pilot Program:

• Reduce the amount students spend on course-required textbooks
• Raise awareness of the benefits of using open educational resources
• Support the process of incorporating open access textbooks into highly enrolled courses
• Develop local expertise in using and adapting open access textbooks

Open Educational Resources (OER) Information: 

• Everett Community College: My OER experience by Sandy Lepper 
• Getting Started With OER: Faculty Stories 
• Faculty Perspectives on Open Educational Resources and Open Access
• Open Educational Resources: The Value of Use

Professional Learning Account Criteria:

• Replace an existing textbook with an open access equivalent for Fall or Winter 2016-17
• $2,000 PLA will be created when the bookstore confirms that the paid textbook is no longer being used 
• Number of PLA's available for Concordia Faculties: Arts (2), Management (1), Science (1)

Support:

• Concordia Library will assist with the identification and selection of open access materials and provide a support forum for award recipients 
• Instructional Design support may also be contracted out by Concordia Library to help with course content revision

To Apply:

• Email your Faculty Dean and Program Chair indicating the course for which you wish to incorporate an open access textbook and the title of the textbook you would like to replace.
• If you are aware of a suitable open access textbook alternative, please include bibliographic information about it in your email.