Chris Aldrich | Chris Aldrich

Some sketch thoughts about OER to come back and revisit

Does anyone/organization maintain a wiki or centralized repository of OER textbooks? (Especially a consortium of institutions which provide financial support).

It should contain a list of people/departments who’ve adopted (an indicator of quality).

It could maintain lists of people with technical expertise that can help to reshuffle pieces or allow customization? Maybe create easier methods for customization with related UI.

How to best curate resources and put them into a searchable repository for easy later use?

Can we create an organization that somewhat models the instutionalization of traditional textbook publishers that organize and track their assets? This institution should be supported by a broad array of colleges and universities as a means of supporting the otherwise invisible labor that is otherwise going on.

How can we flip the script to allow students to choose their own materials instead of allowing professors to do this? Their economic pressure alone will dramatically help the system. (Especially the hidden labor issues.)

Watched Meta: Edit-a-Thon (February 20, 2020): Engaging with Open Educational Resource Adoption through Syllabus Revision from ethicaledtech.info

11 a.m. Mountain Time

Zoom link

Librarians from Utah State University and one faculty member will talk about their experiences marketing and promoting open educational resources to interested faculty at their institution.

Erin Davis, Distance Education Library Services Coordinator, Utah State University

Dr. Avery Edenfield, Assistant Professor in Technical Communication and Rhetoric, Utah State University

Shannon M. Smith, Scholarly Communication Librarian, Utah State University

Rachel Todd, Open Educational Resources (OER) Coordinator, Utah State University

The title of this mini-conference session wasn’t as apt as its description, but it did give me a handful of ideas about how we need to reframe our approach to textbooks in higher education.

Institutions and individual departments need to better take on the work of creating and curating materials for their students. We have to stop relying on faculty, who are already overburdened with their own issues and troubles, from passing the textbook and learning materials burdens on to their students. By inter-mediating themselves into the natural market between publishers and the students who buy those materials, they’re allowing their laziness in requiring specific textbooks and supplementary materials, many of which either aren’t actively used in many courses or which students don’t/can’t use even when they’re assigned, to allow the publishers to dramatically overcharge for their services.

By simply going from a required textbook(s) to a list of ten or more recommended resources with a variety of price points would completely obliterate the gouging we see in big publishing, particularly in the largest lecture classes. Layering OER efforts on top of this will help even further.

Listened to Norm! from WNYC Studios

Another affront to executive norms, a new level of secrecy for CBP, and the 32-year story of one family's new life in America.

Attorney General Bill Barr appeared to spar with Donald Trump in the latest chapter of the Roger Stone case. On this week’s On the Media, why the apparent interference in the Justice Department’s work should cause concern. Plus, Customs and Border Patrol builds a new bulwark against disclosure and transparency. And, a family migration story three decades in the making.

1. Dahlia Lithwick, writer for Slate, on what the latest Dept. of Justice news tells us about the fragility of American justice. Listen.

2. Susan Hennessey [@Susan_Hennessey], executive editor at Lawfare, on the latest threats to "prosecutorial independence." Listen.

3. Ken Klippenstein [@kenklippenstein], DC correspondent at The Nation, on Customs and Border Patrol (CBP)'s re-designation as a "security agency." Listen.

4. Jason DeParle [@JasonDeParle], author of A Good Provider Is One Who Leaves, on the 32-year process of reporting one family's migration story. Listen.

We really are allowing the very worst of us ruin so much of the basic values of being American. I worry that the “purity” requirements of both sides is going to be the downfall of us all.

I’ve become so wrapped up in using it as a feed reader on my phone, that I’ve nearly overlooked the fact that Indigenous for Android is one of the most versatile Micropub clients out there for publishing content to your website. It also supports about twice as many post types as some of the more flexible clients out there for all your publishing needs.

Checked into Starbucks

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Listened to Picture-Perfect Democracy from On the Media | WNYC Studios

The history of the American primary; the first town to vote; and New Hampshire reporters do some self-reflection.

The sloppy roll-out of Iowa results prompted disinformation and confusion over the mechanics of the caucus system. This week, On the Media looks at the origins of the nomination process to explain how we got here. Plus, local reporters in New Hampshire examine the power struggle at the heart of the upcoming contest.

1. Galen Druke [@galendruke] on the history of America's unique primary system. Listen.

2. Stranglehold reporters Jack Rodolico [@JackRodolico], Lauren Chooljian [@laurenchooljian], and Casey McDermott [@caseymcdermott] on Dixville Notch's mythical status. Listen.

3. Lauren Chooljian [@laurenchooljian] examines how New Hampshire's local press benefits from being a first-in-the-nation primary. Listen.

Checked into Vons

Listened to Cancel This! from On the Media | WNYC Studios

The impeachment; coronavirus rumors go viral; the controversy around Joe Rogan's Bernie Sanders endorsement; and the perils of "cancel culture."

As the coronavirus continues to spread, the World Health Organization has declared a state of emergency. This week, On the Media looks at how panic and misinformation are going viral, too. Plus, a controversial endorsement for Bernie Sanders puts the spotlight on Joe Rogan, and has renewed the debate over "cancel culture." And, the impeachment proceedings continue to move toward a conclusion.

1. Brooke [@OTMBrooke] reflects on the impeachment proceedings as they come to an anti-climactic ending. Listen.

2. Alexis Madrigal [@alexismadrigal] of The Atlantic explains how panic online is spreading faster than the coronavirus itself. Listen.

3. Devin Gordon [@DevinGordonX] talks about why Joe Rogan is so popular, and reflects on the controversy surrounding his tentative endorsement of Bernie Sanders. Listen.

4. Natalie Wynn, creator of the Youtube channel ContraPoints, lays out her criticism of "cancel culture" and takes an honest look at her own "cancellations." Listen.

The last two segments were particularly interesting reporting. Areas I was tangentially aware of, but missing portions of the deeper dive and perspective that they gave.

Read Always. Own. Your platform. (alwaysownyourplatform.com)

Stop giving away your work to people who don't care about it. Host it yourself. Distribute it via methods you control. Build your audience deliberately and on your own terms.

Be in charge of the relationship with your audience.

Deliver value and then ask for money. Avoid unnecessary middlemen.

I’ll admit that I love the meta data cards that Twitter, Facebook, et al. will display for this website will look roughly like this:

Reminds me a bit of Kevin Marks’ experiment Decaying Silos as Dead Malls, though I’ll have to see if this site went to the extremes that Kevin did.

Makes me think I should do something similar when I syndicate my content to social silos? Hmmm….