Hello, @june21-cohort! It’s hard to believe, but tomorrow marks 12 weeks since we started the program. And it’s the last of our weekly sessions before we begin meeting on a monthly basis. We’ll start off a little bit differently than usual by reviewing the Rebus curriculum covered in Weeks 1-11. The recap should take about 15 minutes. Then you’ll have a chance to complete a Program Evaluation. Then we’ll do our normal updates, which will set us up for thinking about your goals for the months ahead.
This session will be an important check-in since it’s our last for a month. I know from our recent updates that a lot of folks are busy with obligations related to the start of the fall semester, but please try to make sure your team is represented. It will be an important session for us. I’m really excited to see your progress, and I look forward to hearing about what kinds of goals you intend to set for your projects.
There’s no handout for tomorrow’s session, but here are the slides and course evaluation:
Goal 1: finalize OER content outline (what makes it in, how to structure the sections / chapters)
Goal 2: finalize who authors which sections / chapters
Goal 3: reconnect with Pressbooks team at UW-Madison for further support
Goal 1: I need to establish exactly what content in going into the textbook, depending on whether current instructors of WHUM have material they want to share.
Goal 2: I want to draft the main introduction to the book and maybe even to the first texts (Creation Myths).
Goal 3: My principal aim in the next month is to really get started with the document on Pressbooks.
Goal 4: Finally get the project homepage into shape.
Goal 1: Determine a template or format that can be used for the chapters to facilitate the content creation.
Goal 2: Establish how we’ll keep each other up to date on progress, timeline and issue resolution.
Hello @june21-cohort! Thank you very much for a great finish to our initial 12 weeks of TSP! Here’s the chat transcript from this week’s session. There are two items I want to highlight, especially for those who were unable to attend:
If you haven’t already, please complete the Course Evaluation (for Sessions 1-12). We’ll have another evaluation at the very end of the program in 9 months. Thanks to all who already completed it. We greatly appreciate your feedback.
If you haven’t yet responded to this topic thread, please do so by the end of this week with 1-2 goals for you/your team to touch base on at the next TSP check-in (Sept. 21 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern). I’d love to hear from at least one member from each of the teams!
We hope that 12 weeks of the TSP have helped you see that the open publishing process is not as mysterious or complex as you may have thought! You may have seen some patterns forming between each of the stages we’ve covered. While we’re not doing an in-depth overview of each stage, we’re hoping that you can keep in mind these general principles to guide you along your way:
Plan ahead and revisit your approach at each stage (think through the process, create supporting documents, and meet with your team before diving into action)
Be public about the work on your project (so everyone on the team is on the same page, and so others know how to chip in or offer support)
Consider your audience and their needs from the very beginning (so your resource is more accessible, usable, and valuable)
Collaborate and provide pathways for people to join (different perspectives can strengthen your resource, and more people can help share the workload)
Nothing is set in stone or unchangeable (your resource can mould to fit changing needs or goals, and can be easily modified even after it is released)
Books and communities go hand in hand (you are creating both an OER and a group or team around this OER who is invested in using it and seeing it live on)
Remember that everyone involved in these projects, yourself included, is human (so be conscious of workloads, take breaks when needed, and focus on keeping the team connections intact)
What to expect at our monthly check-ins
Our first check-in is September 21st. Remember that all our check-ins are already on your calendars, and will be at our usual slot on Tuesdays at 1:00 PM Eastern.
The check-ins are a space to get support from Rebus and your fellow cohort members. You can share updates, ask detailed questions, talk through challenges, and go into as much detail about how principles are applying to your project as you want. You can use monthly check-ins to set goals for progress and hold yourself accountable. As I mentioned during this week’s session, the check-ins will be less about me presenting content to you and more about you sharing your updates, asking questions, and helping each other.
While the structure of these check-ins may change as we go, it’ll only be in service of your projects and to support you better. Keep your eye on our Rebus forum. It is a place to go to ask for help and offer support, share progress (everyone can start a new conversation) in between check-ins. Use the cohort tag @june21-cohort, tag individual members as needed, and if you are tagged in a discussion, please take a few minutes to respond. I will moderate the discussion, but it will only be fruitful if we are all actively participating.
Finally, you may want to come back to all the documents we have referenced over the past 12 weeks. All these resources are collected in a Curriculum Hub — hopefully this is more easily navigable.
