Session 2: Project Scoping (July 2023 Cohort)

Textbook Success Program July 2023 Cohort
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Thanks for the excellent session today and for your patience while I attempted to set up breakout rooms :sweat_smile: @july23-cohort. Before dropping a lot of information on you, I want to point out that the Week 2 homework (expected deliverables) is at the bottom of this recap announcement. I’ve included links to any documents and locations that are relevant to a particular task. Let me know if you run into any issues.

Otherwise, here’s the chat transcript from today. See below for Key Links, Recap, then the Homework Checklist. The final HW item is to post a response to this thread before Session 3!

Key Links

Recap

This session started off with a brief overview of the different stages of the open publishing process. Knowing what goes into publishing can help you as a creator plan for the work involved. The model depicted in the slides is cyclical to demonstrate that you will progress through the publishing process in unique ways, sometimes circling back or working in multiple stages all at one, in correspondence with the unique parameters in your project. There is no one way for all projects in our cohort, but understanding the different stages in the process, will help you plan ahead to better navigate those unique contexts.

Prior to our next session, please complete the activities listed on your Handout for Session 2 [link above], under the Homework Activities. I’ve copied the checklist to the bottom of this recap. The checklist includes further working on your Project Summary [link above], and starting to locate suitable OER in your discipline. As a reminder in the template, you’ll consider:

  • Title: informative for reader and adopter.
  • About the project: Brief, highlight any unique elements or aspects about the resource
  • Audience: Think beyond the courseThe/classroom about student accessibility needs, reading levels, backgrounds, contexts, etc.
  • Significant Learning Outcomes: Phrasing Overarching OER Outcomes and more specific sub-goals can guide you in the location of suitable resources or inform you of gaps that you will need to fill.
  • About the content: list of topics or concepts covered, plus a brief structural breakdown of the book or course materials
  • License: Thinking about the permission you might (not) want to grant future adopters will help you define the license of your choice down the road.
  • Team: list the full group of people involved in the project
  • Support or funding: mention institutional support and/or funding if applicable
  • Participation options: pathways to contact the team to get involved
  • Measures of Success: short and long-term goals that don’t solely need to be quantitative

Another important part of the Project Scoping stage is the coordination and forming of an equitable team. A first step in this process is for you to set up systems and tools that will help your team to organise and make transparent all project- related communication. This will also allow for everybody to feel fully involved and contribute seamlessly, i.e. access, discuss, write, edit, and/ or format your OER. If you haven’t done so yet, please finalize this setup with your teams.

Next week, we’ll continue to plan and finalise the vision for the project with our session on storytelling and communication. I look forward to connecting with you then again.

Share Team Progress Updates in Forum

To let each other know of the progress you are making as you are working through the tasks of the week, post your reply to Session 2: Project Scoping thread in the Discussion Forum prior to our next session:

  • What Session 2 activities have you managed to complete?

  • What challenges, if any, have you faced, and what solutions have you found to address those?

  • Leave a few thoughts around the items with regards to the upcoming Session 3: Storytelling and Communications [Read the initial 5 slides]

    • that excite you,
    • you would like to know more about,
    • or you have questions about.
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I am not sure if I am posting this in the right location, so please correct me if I am not.

I completed most of the Project Scoping w/s, excluding a few parts at the end. I left off where it got into licensing. I did share the link with my project group.

I have had to spend a little bit of time figuring how Textbook Success works/ where things are located (and I am wondering if I am posting this in the correct spot).

Story telling makes me think of how we will portray information, readers interested, and perspective.

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Hi @jalsup , you posted your update here in the right spot and your project scoping in your ‘team’ area. Great job! We’ll talk in future sessions about licensing, so you will have a lot of time to think about what license will work best with your OER. Have a great day and stay cool out there!

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Posting for the first year writing group –
We have worked on most parts of the project scoping worksheet, focusing especially on motivators and structure which I anticipate will guide the rest. We are also keeping an eye on the reader section of our book and how best to approach it with copyright and licensing. This may pose some challenges and may impact our design, e.g. make a list of recommended sources to link out to rather than include as full text. We are also wanting to align our work with the teaching we’ll be doing individually in the fall, so we will likely meet in late August to discuss how to leverage the teaching for the project and vice versa.

Personally, I am curious about the indigenous framework listed in the slides and how this is developed and engaged with. I am also intrigued with how education is in quotes on slide 10 and interested to have a conversation about how this idea fits in with others’ projects and our general collaborations through OER. (I for one am invested in challenging conventional and institutionalized conceptions of education, even/especially from within university settings.)

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I’ve done a rough scope and determined what is actually feasible for the first edition of the OER (a case study book similar Gorski & Pothini (2018)'s Case Studies on Diversity and Social Justice. I’ve figured out the appropriate license (CC-BY-NC-ND) which means that anyone can use it and distribute it but they cannot change or adapt it. I’ve mostly completed the scoping doc, but I think that my success measures are still a little weak and need some massaging. You can see the document here.

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Hi @mmurphy I’m glad that you decided on the license that seems appropriate for how you want it shared. I look forward to seeing how your measures for success take shape over the course of the project–you have the broad strokes right now, which is perfect.

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