During his 2019 TAA Textbook & Academic Authoring Conference presentation, “Why I Chose to Publish OER, What I Learned, and Do I Have Regrets”, with Jeanne Hoover, Dave Dillon, TAA Council member and author of the award-winning open textbook Blueprint for Success in College and Career, shared the 5R activities permitted by open access. Defining the “open” in open content and open educational resources (OER), Dillon noted, “The terms ‘open content’ and ‘open educational resources’, describe any copyrightable work that is either (1) in the public domain or (2) licensed in a manner that provides users with free and perpetual permission to engage in the 5R activities” below.
Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: August 30, 2019
This week’s collection of posts from around the web includes several ways to advance your academic writing efforts and to focus on your personal definition of success. Our first article suggests that the first step toward success is in selecting your research topic. Our next two focus on the literature – first as resources, second as tips for conducting qualitative research. We then explore reasons you may not want to apply for external funding and methods for teaching the practice of research. Finally, we look at new possibilities in open access publishing agreements.
Mark Twain once said, “Focus more on your desire than on your doubt, and the dream will take care of itself.” This week, consider your definition of success and your dream for your academic writing. Focus on that desire and see where it takes you. Happy writing!
Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: August 9, 2019
This week’s collection of posts from around the web is filled with actionable items you can incorporate into your textbook…
Open access is now: Good news or bad news?
At the TAA Conference in Philadelphia this past month, I heard many comments about open access. They varied widely from support, to derision, to misunderstanding, to apathy.
First, what is open access? In its purest form, open access is offering or publishing material online, free of cost or barriers with an open license that removes most restrictions on use and reuse. The open access or OA movement has been around twenty plus years with its roots going back much farther than that.
Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: June 7, 2019
This week’s collection of articles from around the web includes publishing advice from the perspective of an editor, ways to…
Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: April 19, 2019
Yes or no? The simplest of questions, with the simplest of answers, yet often applied to the most difficult of concepts and discussions. This week’s collection of articles explores several questions you may be asking: Is Sci-Hub good for scholarly communication? Is this the best method for planning? Should we invest more in understanding the researcher experience? Should I hire a proofreader or editor? Should I pre-publish my research? Should I publish in open access journals?
Yes or no? No longer the simplest of answers. The truth is that as we explore these and other questions of value, the answer is rarely as simple as yes or no. It’s more often “whatever is right for you” or, in other words, maybe. But those decisions are what move us forward.
So are you ready to move forward with your writing this week? Yes or no? Happy writing!