5 Ways to Celebrate Open Education Week

Posted on: March 6, 2023

It’s Open Education Week (March 6-10), and we’re celebrating not just because we’re excited about open education, but also because we still have a long way to go toward making education affordable and accessible at JMU and beyond. 

In a Fall 2021 student survey, JMU students reported that the costs of course materials have caused them to not register for a course (34%), drop or withdraw from a course (34%), or take fewer courses (24%). Open education initiatives aim to help address these problems and keep JMU students thriving at JMU.

Here are 5 ways you can celebrate Open Education Week!

1. Find out what your JMU faculty peers are doing to address the high cost of textbooks and promote Open Education at JMU:
   
   • Dr. Diana Galarreta-Aima created a low cost textbook and open online training for medical interpreters.
   • Dr. Jim Bywater is using open, affordable course materials in his graduate and undergraduate courses.
   • Adjunct professor Jeannie Harding used a $2,000 grant to switch to open textbooks for her gen ed class.

2. Adopt an open textbook. The Summer textbook adoption deadline is March 15, and the Fall deadline is April 15. Contact Liz Thompson for help finding resources for your course or visit our Open Educational Resources page to start exploring on your own.
   
   
3. Learn how to publish an open textbook by taking our self-paced Canvas course, Publishing Open Textbooks at JMU.
   
   
4. Learn more about how JMU’s efforts to make textbooks more affordable fit into the broader picture of open education initiatives in Virginia and the United States.
   
   
5. Get to know our champion for open, affordable textbooks. Liz Thompson is our Open Education Librarian. Thanks in large part to her work, over 5,000 JMU students saved a total of nearly $500,000 in book costs last year, and the program is growing! Learn more and contact Liz Thompson.

Categorised in: JMU Libraries News