UTA Libraries Awards Four Faculty with UTA CARES Funds for OER Adoption and Creation

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by Library News
March 10 2020

The University of Texas at Arlington Libraries announced four recipients of its UTA Coalition for Alternative Resources in Education for Students (UTA CARES) Grant Program as part of Open Education Week March 2 through 6.

The funds, totaling $30,800 so far, support the adoption and creation of open educational resources (OER) to increase college affordability at UTA. OER include textbooks, videos, quizzes, and worksheets, as well as learning modules, lesson plans, syllabi, data, and more.

“Our students’ success is a priority of UTA Libraries—and we believe that is fundamentally tied to access and affordability of higher education,” said Rebecca Bichel, Dean of UTA Libraries. “We are proud to collaborate with our faculty partners to broaden the opportunities afforded to our students through open educational resources and look forward to seeing their projects implemented in the classroom.”

The 2020 grant cycle is the first since the university announced a half-million-dollar annual investment in UTA Libraries OER program.

“Last year, we were affirmed in our impact on students through OER—we hope to further that impact with the projects we’ve funded this spring,” said Michelle Reed, Director of Open Educational Resources for UTA Libraries. “Evidence shows that students perform and learn better when the economic barriers of textbooks and access codes are removed. As we continue to grow and expand the OER program, our goal is to continue breaking down these barriers for UTA students and make higher education more accessible at every course level.”

The UTA CARES Grant Program now accepts all application types on a rolling basis. Funds from the program are distributed across four award categories to support UTA educators in redesigning their courses using alternative materials.

Scale Grants focus on broader OER adoption by supporting the transition of all sections of a single course, course series, or program. Both types of Innovation Grant assist educators in the creation of OER when no existing OER or library-licensed content meets the learning objectives for a course. Finally, Adoption Stipends are intended to promote rapid adoption of OER or other free resources to increase affordability for students.

The Spring 2020 UTA CARES Grant Program recipients include three Innovation Grant awards and one Adoption Stipend.

“Producción de Noticias Televisivas en Español en Estados Unidos de América” | Julian Rodriguez, MA

 

julian rodriguez in front of a gray backgroundJulian Rodriguez was awarded a UTA CARES Innovation Grant for his project, “Producción de Noticias Televisivas en Español en Estados Unidos de América.” 

Rodriguez, a Broadcast Communication Specialist in UTA’s Department of Communication, will use the funds to develop and expand an open textbook for Spanish-language television news production in the United States. The OER is written in Spanish and includes American and cross-cultural terminology adaptations innate to the Hispanic media industry. It is currently being piloted by universities across the United States and Latin America, including Arizona State University, University of Florida, California State University-Fullerton, Universidad Anahuac Mayab in Mexico, and Universidad Javeriana in Colombia. The project represents the first international OER creation project supported by the UTA CARES Grant Program.

The open textbook saved UTA students enrolled in Media Workshop (BCMN 4191) approximately $1,750 in Spring 2020 and saved students around the globe nearly $11,700 in its pilot semester.

“Development, Adoption, and Assessment of OER to Enhance Building Information Modeling Courses” | Dr. Atefe Makhmalbaf

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Dr. Atefe Makhmalbaf was awarded a UTA CARES Innovation Grant for her project, “Development, Adoption, and Assessment of OER to Enhance Building Information Modeling Courses.”

Makhmalbaf, Assistant Professor in UTA’s School of Architecture, received the grant to develop open educational resources (OER) for building information modeling courses offered by the School of Architecture and the Department of Civil Engineering.

When it is piloted in Fall 2020, the OER will save UTA students enrolled in architecture, civil engineering, and construction management courses approximately $5,800.

“Big Data for Epidemiology: Development of Applied Data Analysis Skills using National Health Surveys” | Dr. Tiffany Kindratt

headshot of tiffany kindratt

Dr. Tiffany Kindratt was awarded a UTA CARES Innovation Grant for her project, “Big Data for Epidemiology: Development of Applied Data Analysis Skills using National Health Surveys.”

Kindratt, Assistant Professor in UTA’s Department of Kinesiology, received the grant to develop an open textbook for a new course in the Master of Public Health program.

In addition to use in the program’s Health Services Research Lab, the open textbook will be used in a new 5000-level course, “Big Data for Epidemiology,” which will be offered in Spring 2021.

“Creating Green Social Work Curriculum with OER” | Karen Magruder, MSW

 

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Karen Magruder was awarded a UTA CARES Adoption Stipend for her project, “Creating Green Social Work Curriculum with OER.”

Magruder, Assistant Professor in Practice in UTA’s School of Social Work, received the stipend to develop the course using materials that are free to access for UTA students by leveraging content from UTA Libraries’ collections.

Magruder’s project saved UTA students enrolled in Green Social Work (SOCW 5392) approximately $3,500 in Spring 2020.

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