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I am also very interested in this type of endeavor. I teach a dual credit (100 level Physical Geology) course to upper level high school students. We have been using Tarbuck & Lutgens, Earth (now 10th ed.) for many years. Please add me to the list of interested participants. Thanks! Aida On Mon, Nov 15, 2010 at 12:44 PM, Bhattacharyya, Juk <[log in to unmask]>wrote: > I would be interested in pitching in as well. > juk > > ************************************************** > "It is precisely for this that I love geology. It is infinite and > ill-defined: like poetry, it immerses itself in mysteries and floats among > them without drowning. It does not manage to lay bare the unknown, but it > flaps the surrounding veils to and fro, and every so often gleams of light > escape and dazzle one's vision." > R. Töpffer, Nouvelles Genevoises (1841) > > Dr. Prajukti (juk) Bhattacharyya > Associate professor > Department of Geography and Geology > Upham Hall 119 > 800 Main St. > Whitewater, WI 53190 > Ph: (262) 472-5257 > Email: [log in to unmask] > ************************************************ > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Glenn Simonelli [mailto:[log in to unmask]] > Sent: Monday, November 15, 2010 12:24 PM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: Creating a Geology 101 Digital Textbook as an Open Educational > Resource > > I would be interested in contributing. Please keep me in the loop. > > Regards, > Glenn Simonelli > > On Mon, Nov 15, 2010 at 12:22 PM, Dawes, Ralph <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > Care to contribute to an open educational resource for introducing > college > > students to physical geology? In other words, help write and edit a free > and > > open online textbook for Geology 101? > > > > > > > > You have probably heard about open educational resources. Besides being > > easily found on the Web, the key criteria for an open educational > resource > > (OER) are that it: > > > > 1. Is free of charge. > > > > 2. Is copyrighted for free use (or free with attribution), including > use > > in altered, edited, and excerpted forms. > > > > 3. Requires no login, registration, or user information to be > accessed. > > > > > > > > If enough of us get together and create an open Geology 101 textbook > online, > > we can leverage (1) each other's experience in teaching introductory > > geology, (2) each other's content knowledge from our earth science > research > > backgrounds, and (3) each other's pedagogical knowledge from up-to-date > > educational research, in order to group-source, as they say, a > high-quality > > digital textbook. > > > > > > > > Once it is available to the world at large, we can keep improving the > > digital textbook with future edits and revisions as it gets perused, > used, > > and commented upon. > > > > > > > > The next common questions might be: What's in it for me? Don't people > write > > textbooks, which can take years of effort, at least partly for a profit > > motive? Yes, there is a lot to be said for traditional textbooks, > including > > letting the publishers provide editing, image-making artwork, publicity, > > printing, and shipping; letting the academic marketplace filter textbooks > by > > purchasing more of those with the desired qualities; and in the end > > rewarding those who write good-quality textbooks and get them published. > > > > > > > > However, in spite of the questions we may raise about the > nebulous-seeming > > enterprise of open educational resources, and the benefits of traditional > > for-profit textbooks, OER textbooks are going to happen. In my view, the > > best way for an open, online, digital textbook for Geology 101 to happen > is > > for those of us who care most about having students be introduced to > geology > > properly at the college level be the ones who create it. > > > > > > > > That is why I am asking you to join me in this endeavor. At this point, > it > > is just an inquiry on my part. If several of you express interest, we can > go > > ahead and set up a wiki to work together, agree on the editing controls, > and > > go from there until the digital text creation and editing site is up, > > online, and its contents being composed by us, presumably sometime during > > 2011. There are no deadlines. > > > > > > > > By the way, if we spot some grant requests for proposals that the Geology > > 101 OER textbook might be suitable for, we should consider applying, as > > there will be some aspects of the work that a grant could help us deal > with > > more efficiently. But regardless of whether we do this as a bootstrapped, > > from-the-grassroots, on-our-own-time side project, or whether we find > some > > support along the way, the two key words are open and educational. In my > > view, only those who have a sense of urgency about wanting to do this > should > > step forward and get involved in helping to make this happen. > > > > > > > > In the meantime, all inquiries and comments are welcome. Thank you. > > > > > > > > --Ralph > > > > > > > > Ralph Dawes, Ph.D. > > Earth Sciences > > Wenatchee Valley College > > 1300 Fifth Street > > Wenatchee, WA 98801 > > (509) 682-6754 > > [log in to unmask] > > > > > > > > -- > Dr. Glenn Simonelli > Assistant Professor of Education > Satterlee Hall 216 > SUNY Potsdam > Potsdam, NY 13676 > 315-267-3345 > > My home page: http://www2.potsdam.edu/simonega > -- Aida A. Awad Science Department Chair Maine East High School 2601 Dempster Park Ridge, IL 60018 847-825-4484 Google Certified Trainer "All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have been convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of youth." Aristotle