This content was published: February 11, 2019. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Math faculty earn 2018 OLC Digital Learning Innovation Award for open textbook
Photos and story by Celina Baguiao
A group of Portland Community College math faculty has earned the 2018 Online Learning Consortium (OLC) Digital Learning Innovation (DLI) Award.
The honor recognizes the PCC faculty for advancing undergraduate student success through the adoption of digital courseware. PCC was one of 10 teams selected from among 64 submissions in the third year of the OLC’s competition.
From left to right, Ross Kouzes, Ann Cary, Ralf Youtz, Alex Jordan, Cara Lee, Scot Leavitt and Carl Yao.
Math instructors Alex Jordan and Ann Cary led the team of seven faculty from Sylvania and Southeast campuses, including Ross Kouzes, Scot Leavitt, Cara Lee, Carl Yao and Ralf Youtz. The group authored an open-source textbook for basic algebra titled “Open Resources for Community College Algebra” and was was written using a new open-source software package, making it an interactive and accessible HTML eBook.
In addition to providing professional, print-ready PDFs, the textbook also integrates WeBWorK, which is an open-source online homework system for math and sciences courses, as well as embeds video lessons that correspond to the reading content.
“The mission of the OLC DLIAwards is to discover student-centered active learning solutions that advance the world of digital learning for all students,” said Kathleen Ives, CEO and executive director of the Online Learning Consortium. “The awarded projects in this year’s competition truly support this mission and serve as valuable models that other institutions can emulate as they embark on their own digital courseware initiatives.”
Last fall, Cary accepted the PCC award at the 2018 DLIAwards during the OLC Accelerate Conference in Orlando, Fla. The $10,000 prize will fund edits to textbook this spring following changes to the course content that are under development by the Math Department.
The awards were determined by two rounds of review by an institutional-level and higher education organization-level staff, who narrowed the field of submissions down for final review by a panel of national judges.
About Celina Baguiao
A Los Angeles native, Baguiao joined Portland Community College in 2016 as the Community Relations Manager at the Sylvania Campus. Spending her entire career in higher education, she has a background in public relations, athletics and event... more »
This is so well deserved. Thank you for all you do for our students!
Hey, Ho! Way to Go MTH!
=:-D