Faculty, librarians and administrators gathered Friday to celebrate the publication of their new volumes that may be downloaded and reproduced for free, as part of an ongoing project designed to create open educational resources for students and the general public.
The volumes were published through the state’s Remixing Open Textbooks through an Equity Lens (ROTEL) project, which promotes textbook affordability, student success, and inclusion and equity to benefit all students, particularly those from minoritized populations. The project provided stipends for faculty to remix and/or develop accessible, intentionally inclusive open textbooks that reflect students’ local and lived experiences.
“Academic research has always been crucial to faculty life, and the books we celebrate today include truly innovative and interdisciplinary work that elevates teaching and learning on this campus, and extends far beyond it,” President Hodge said at the authors’ event in Hammond Hall. “That’s because our faculty have embraced the importance of creating open educational resources that allow students of all ages - whether they are college students on this campus or adult learners simply indulging their intellectual curiosities - to engage scholarly texts at no cost. That is a powerful symbol of our community’s commitment to reducing barriers of access to education.”
Assistant Commissioner for Academic Effectiveness Robert J. Awkward of the Department of Higher Education’s Office of Academic Affairs and Student Success saluted the faculty participants for embracing the ROTEL project.
“Without this work by faculty, this work doesn’t exist,” he said.
Awkward said the effort by faculty to make their works culturally relevant was also remarkable, noting students from diverse backgrounds can review the books and illustrations and find them relatable.
The ROTEL project has supported the production of 27 books across six institutions, 10 of which were published by Fitchburg State faculty. “Fitchburg rocks,” Awkward said. “Democratization of access to knowledge, that’s what this is all about.”
The latest volumes and authors include:
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The Art of Music: Music Appreciation with an Equity Lens, by Associate Professor Amy McGlothlin of the Humanities Department, written with Boston University faculty member Jennifer Bill. The book is a comprehensive music appreciation textbook with musical and cultural examples from medieval to present times.
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Polyphony, by Assistant Professor Jennie Snow, Professor Elise Takehana and Associate Professor Diego Ubiera of the English Studies Department, is a functional, creative, and radical resource for facilitating critical conversations about multilingualism, the politics of language, and linguistic justice in the first-year writing classroom.
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Algebra, Patterns, and Functions for Elementary School Teachers: A Workbook Approach, by Professor Mary Ann Barbato of the Mathematics Department, is an accessible interactive workbook designed for future teachers with material on algebra, patterns, functions and statistics as they relate to elementary and middle school mathematics and beyond.
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Introduction to Communication and Media Studies, by Associate Professor J.J. Sylvia IV of the Communications Media Department, examines communication and media studies, covering key communication theories and illustrating how to develop information and media literacy through critical thinking and rhetorical analysis. It also discusses the historical evolution and impact of mass media until the present day.
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The Basics of Health, Wellness and Fitness, by Associate Professor Jessica Alsup of the Exercise and Sports Science Department, is written for anyone who could benefit from learning more about health, wellness, and fitness. Throughout the text, readers will learn about health and wellness, setting goals, physical activity and exercise, cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength and endurance, body composition, flexibility, nutrition, stress management, as well as self-care and sleep. In addition to providing important information about the above topics, the text also includes self assessment assignments and self-reflection opportunities.
Other faculty-authored volumes in the ROTEL series include:
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The Data Renaissance: Analyzing the Disciplinary Effects of Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and Beyond, by Associate Professor J.J. Sylvia IV
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Biological Psychology, by Associate Professor Michael Hove and graduate Steven A. Martinez
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Why Do I Have to Take this Course? by Professor Kisha Tracy
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Heritages of Change: Curatorial Activism and First-Year Writing, by Professor Kisha Tracy
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Statistical Problem Sets in WeBWorK, by Professor Peter Staab and Rachael Norton
The authors described their experiences creating the text and the valued support they received from the university, including Dean Jacalyn Kremer and Strategic Projects Librarian Connie Strittmatter of the Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library.
The launch party was sponsored by The ROTEL Project, Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library, the Open and Affordable Education Committee, and the Center for Faculty Scholarship. The ROTEL Project is 100% funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education.
To learn more about the project, or to download any of the volumes for free, visit rotel.pressbooks.pub.