Presenter: Matthew Hampton − Planning, Public Policy and Management, Political Science
Co-Presenter(s): Grace Trammell
Faculty Mentor(s): Emily Simnitt
Session: (In-Person) Data Stories—The Languages of Data
Textbooks are an essential aspect of learning in higher education curriculum. In many cases professors will require students to purchase one or multiple textbooks, creating an additional financial burden for students. When this happens, students are left with few options: find a lower- cost alternative, or drop the class. Thus, textbooks are a means of creating a literacy and education gap within higher education, with low-income students most impacted by it. However, Open Educational Resources (OERs) are a means to reduce this gap by providing equitable literature to all students within higher education. In recent years, (OERs), free academic texts, have in-part filled the gap by providing public knowledge to students and other groups. With the use of OERs openly accessible on the internet or in libraries, community members not affiliated with universities also have the opportunities to learn about various subjects they may not have had before. While working on an in-house University of Oregon OER, the Talking Stories website, we discovered that putting together a well-researched OER had as much to do with compiling credible academic information as presenting it in a way that anybody, regardless of education level, can understand. Based on this, we will share our experience and knowledge gained during this project to creating change and expanding community literacy. We will speak to how broadening academic text accessibility through OERs can increase community literacy.