UW Libraries Names Alternative Textbook Grant Recipients

University of Wyoming Libraries recently awarded alternative textbook grants to six faculty members to implement open educational resources (OER) in their classes this fall.

The alternative textbooks resulting from the grants are projected to save UW students more than $24,200 each semester.

“With the Alt-Textbook Grant Program, University of Wyoming Libraries not only hopes to encourage the creativity and innovation that we have seen in past applicants but also, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, to provide an affordable and accessible alternative to a traditional textbook as students continue to rely on online resources,” says Hilary Baribeau, digital scholarship librarian. “By creating open textbooks and course materials, alt-textbook grant recipients help to meet student needs during this stressful time.”

Grants are awarded to instructors who adopt, adapt or create new alternative textbooks or other materials for their courses. Grant awards range from $1,000 to $3,000.

The grant recipients are:

College of Arts and Sciences

-- Meredith Minear, an associate professor in the Department of Psychology. Minear teaches “Biological Psychology” and has three primary goals with the creation of her OER: create, test and share the use of 3D brain models that can be used to both create neuroanatomy virtual reality content and 3D printable physical models; develop a phone-based augmented reality app that can be integrated with either 3D printed brain slices or simple physical pieces that can be cut out of foamboard using a downloadable pattern; and create a public repository to host these downloadable 3D models, animations and open source programs, as well as written and video tutorials in their creation and use.

-- Tiger Robison, an assistant professor in the Department of Music. Robison teaches “Aural Theory I” and will create an open textbook that will replace current course materials. The textbook will include original melodies and aural drills. The course exists at Wyoming community colleges and will serve as a model and shared resource across the state.

-- Simone Runyon, an assistant professor in the Department of Geology and Geophysics. Runyon teaches “Introduction to Petrology.” She will create OER that will include 3D models of rock samples and paired scanned thin sections with descriptions of the textures, mineralogy, locality of collection and rock name for students to complete homework assignments, laboratory assignments and to study for exams without access to original materials. 

College of Engineering and Applied Science

-- Chengyi “Charlie” Zhang, an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering. Zhang teaches “Construction Documents” and will create OER content to replace the current textbooks. The content will include short answer, test, quiz and discussion questions; a test bank and in-class and homework activities; and supplementary materials that include videos, short films, presentations and readings.

College of Health Sciences

-- Kym Codallos, an associate lecturer in the Division of Social Work. Codallos teaches “Immigration, Social Justice and Social Work” and will adopt a current existing OER resource, titled “Intercultural Learning” (Jones, Miles and Gopalkrishnan, 2019), as the primary text and guidebook for the course. This study-abroad course will take students to the Texas-Mexico border where they will look at and experience institutions that promote, support and inhibit immigration and social justice.

Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources

-- Corrine Knapp, an assistant professor in the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources. Knapp teaches “Theory and Practice of Transdisciplinarity and Co-Production” and will create open access videos of interviews with transdisciplinary researchers and stakeholders. The videos will complement other assigned open access readings and create a flipped classroom that will stimulate in-class discussions and activities.

UW Libraries will award another round of grants for the 2020-21 academic year. Proposals for that award period are due Oct. 14. The grant award peer review committee will prioritize proposals for high-enrollment classes and those that include UW and community college partnerships.

For more information, visit https://uwyo.libguides.com/oer/grants.