The University Libraries at Virginia Tech recently launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds in support of faculty who are creating freely available textbooks and learning materials for students.

As part of its mission to provide new ways to discover, access, create, sustain, and share information, the University Libraries created Open Education Faculty Initiative Grants to engage faculty in adapting or creating and openly sharing high-quality legally remixable learning resources called open educational resources (OER). OER include no-cost, editable alternatives to traditional textbooks and homework software access codes.

The University Libraries provides infrastructure, project management, technical expertise, introductions to potential collaborators, and uses Creative Commons licenses to further allow customization of these materials.

“We are so passionate about this mission and our commitment to learning, teaching, research, and service that we fund creation and worldwide sharing of learning resources at no cost to students. We do this because many students struggle to afford required course materials and because some faculty have asked for solutions and support,” said Anita Walz, open education, copyright, and scholarly communication librarian in the University Libraries.

Gifts to the Create Freely Available Textbooks and Learning Materials crowdfunding campaign will help provide year-round support for creation of open educational resources for students.

Faculty who want to adapt, create, and share resources for teaching and learning with their students and beyond the university and learn more about OER can contact Anita Walz at arwalz@vt.edu.

The fundraising campaign will conclude May 10, 2018, at 8 a.m.

 

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