“Open Education Resources for Teaching Introductory Astronomy”
Panelists:
Andrew Fraknoi (Foothill College and Univ. of San Francisco), Chris Impey (Univ. of Arizona), Lauren Woolsey (Grand Rapids Community College), Allyson Sheffield (LaGuardia Community College)
With the cost of commercial textbooks and manuals rising to (pardon the expression) astronomical levels in recent years, many authors and instructors have turned to Open Educational Resources (OER), which consist of materials that are openly licensed by their creators and often available free of charge online. In this panel, some of the leaders of the OER efforts in our field will share their experiences and resources, including textbooks in astronomy and astrobiology, lab activities, slide sets, short videos, apps, interdisciplinary aids, and more. We will also have a few things to say about the political pressures and financial models that lead to such projects, and what might be in store for the future. Open Education is a growing movement across education in all fields, and in many ways astronomy is ideally suited for OER and related pedagogies. There will be time for comments and questions from the participants.
