Session 1: Introductions

Textbook Success Program May 2024 C Cohort
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Hello @may24c-cohort

It was wonderful to meet so many of you at our first session!

The main focus was to get to know one another’s projects. I also hope that you have an idea of how our time together for the remaining Phase 1 meetings will be structured.

We also spent a bit of time discussing Rebus’ collaborative approach to publishing, and how a larger community around a resource can not only make it stronger, but also help maintain it down the line. Our approach hinges on thinking about communications, accessibility, formatting, and more at each stage to really harness the global potential of OER. And these stages can and most likely will be flexible, and thus play out in different ways for each team — that’s what the model is built to do!

We also discussed how being transparent about the process of creation can invite others to contribute and be involved in your projects, whether in big ways or small. Using a public-facing space for your project planning and communication, for example, is a unique way to broadcast your project and invite collaborators to join efforts in its creation.

I also introduced you to the tools we use for the Textbook Success Program like the Curriculum Hub in Google, where all handouts and slides are housed, and the Rebus Community Forum, where this recap is posted and where we will conveniently streamline ALL our cohort communication. We encourage you to share your questions here!

Please note that you can use the tag @may24c-cohort for conversations that include all cohort members. You can also direct messages me if you have questions.

By now, your individual teams should have met, but if not you should expect to hear from your team leader to arrange a meeting. Hopefully, your team meeting will take place before our next Cohort meeting next Thursday.

Please be sure to complete your homework, as outline in the Session 1 Handout.

  • If you have not done so, agree to the Memorandum of Understanding for our cohort.

  • Reply below in this thread with a brief introduction, including your role on the project and the dream goal(s) you have for it.

You can review the Chat Transcript from Session 1 for links that were shared and additional information.

I look forward to seeing each of you next Thursday at Session 2: Project Scoping.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to me with your questions or concerns.

Have a great rest of your week!
Esperanza

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I am Prakash Ghimire, a math faculty member from LSUA. I joined LSUA in 2016 and have been teaching both upper-level and lower-level undergraduate mathematics courses since then. I am a member of the Applied Algebra Cohort. I hope to develop an excellent Applied Algebra OER textbook that helps our students. This is my second project with LOUIS and Rebus, and I am glad to be a part of this community once more.

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I am Heather Gamel from Nicholls State University, and I am a member of the Math for Elementary Teachers Team. This is my first time being involved with this type of project. My goal is to create something that helps combat math anxiety and fear/hate, so that these future teachers won’t subconsciously pass on those feelings to their future students. I also hope to gain the skills and make the connections necessary to continue creating more OER resources in the future.

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Hi!
My name is Eboness “Ebby” Williams. I am a Math Professor and the current Department Chair at Delgado Community College. I am assigned to the Applied Algebra Cohort. This opportunity is exciting for me as I look forward to exploring a different aspect of my career. I have reviewed some OER content and I participated in conference a few years ago at Rice University. Understanding the impact of OER will certainly fuel my commitment to this project. I am READY!

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Hello Everyone!
My name is Jasmine Wise and I am an Assistant Professor at Northwestern State University. I am apart of the Criminology cohort. I am excited to learn a new skill set and grow. I know little about OER but I want share with students and colleagues the resources we create.

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I am a Director at SoLAcc. I work mainly in Transportation. This is my first time being involved with OER and I look forward to learning new things during this process.

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Hi! I’m Elizabeth Miller from Southeastern Louisiana University. I’m on the Math for Elementary Teachers team and this is my first time in dealing with an OER at any level. I’m really excited to learn more about this type of learning and hope to be able to gain new ideas about how to better serve our future teachers.

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Hi everyone,

I’m Jessica Hawkes. I am the Government Information Librarian at Nicholls State University and the cohort leader for the Food Safety and Sanitation cohort. This is my third time participating in this project.

I’m exited to work on this project and to be a part of the open education community.

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Good afternoon, my name is Alva Renee Millican from Southern University and A&M College, College of Nursing and Allied Health. I currently teach the Orientation to Health Science and Nursing course and am an adjunct professor in Computer Science. I look forward to collaborating and working with the OER course development in the section with my cohorts. I am somewhat familiar with OER courses, but am looking forward to learning more.

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I am Karen Perilloux, a math instructor at River Parishes Community College. This is my second time working with LOUIS, as I have been involved in the previous College Algebra and Applied Calculus cohorts. I am excited to get to work on the Applied Algebra project and I look forward to working with new and familiar faces. I have learned how important it is to provide OER resources to help make a good education affordable for more people.

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I’m Tara LaFrance from Delgado Community College. I’m on the Math for Elementary Teachers cohort. I had begun working on an OER course with a team in our department a few years ago but stopped at the early stages when our college decided to go in a different direction. I am excited to learn and help bring this course to fruition.

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I’m Kristi VanDusen, and I’m the course coordinator for Applied Algebra at Southeastern Louisiana University. I’ve been frustrated with the lack of textbooks geared toward the course, and I’m excited to help build one from the ground up - especially one that will be free for our students!

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I am Jane Ji from the University of Louisiana at Monroe. I’ve taught math at ULM for three years, including courses like applied algebra, trig., calculus, etc. The one that I have been teaching every semester is Math for Elementary Teachers, which is the cohort I am in right now. I have little experience with OER, but I do believe math should be an open resource for everyone. It’s heartbreaking to see so many future elementary teachers’ anxiety with math! I hope to contribute my two cents to this.

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Hi! I am Julie Sullivan from River Parishes Community College, and I am the teacher for all of our elementary education classes including the Math for Elementary Teachers. This is my first time working with Textbook Success Program. My goal is to create a resource to help teach my students math and help them realize that they can do math and they can teach math–I hope my students will not pass on a dislike of math to their future students. I currently use OER in my educational math courses, so I am looking forward to getting different perspectives on what we should include in this course!

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My name is Brandon Hamann. I am an Adjunct Professor of Criminal Justice from Dillard University. This is my 2nd TSP and I’m excited to be here.

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Hi, I am Angela Wilson, a culinary instructor at Delgado. I am currently looking for OERs for culinary nutrition. If anyone has any tips, I am open! I am hoping eventually we can write a culinary nutrition book!
Thanks

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Good afternoon, all. My name is Doug Marshall. I am an Associate Professor of Communication and Chair of Arts & Humanities at SUNO. I will be a cohort leader for this project. My goal is to create a document that serves the Criminology discipline while sharpening my knowledge of OER creation.

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Hi, my name is Marcia Oursler. I am an instructor of Occupational Safety, Health and Environment at Southeastern Louisiana University. This is the first time for me to work with the OER program. I am excited to contribute to this project!

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Hi, My name is Dr. Shahriar Hossain. I am the interim department head and Associate Professor of Engineering Technology at Northwestern State University.

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Hello! My name is Valerie Salter. I am an Assistant Professor and Coordinator of Hospitality Management & Tourism at Northwestern State University. I am a member of the Food Safety and Sanitation cohort. This is my first project with OER, LOUIS, and Rebus, and I look forward to engaging with everyone in the community.