The University of Iowa Libraries announces OpenHawks, a campus-wide grant program that funds faculty efforts to adopt or develop Open Educational Resources (OER) for enhanced student success.
What are OER?
OER (such as textbooks, videos, assessment tools, lab books, research methods, or interactive course modules) are free for students and carry legal permission for open use. The open licenses under which these items are released allow users to create, reuse, and redistribute copies of the resources.
Why use OER?
Removing cost barriers to course materials opens student access and positively impacts learning. OER provide further benefit when faculty fully integrate free resources into their curricula by “remixing” or tailoring materials to enhance specific learning objectives.
Acknowledging the rising costs of educational resources and increasing financial pressures on students, the UI Libraries works to provide creative solutions in partnership with other campus units. As a result of this collaborative work, OpenHawks grants support faculty efforts to use OER at any level: adopting or remixing existing materials, developing open access assessment and learning tools, redesigning courses, or creating an original OER to share under an open license.
How to apply
The UI Libraries will issue a formal Call for Proposals in March 2019. The award levels outlined below provide guidance for grant applicants on the amount of funding that may be approved for different types of proposals. UI instructors can apply for awards at any of these levels.
| Award Type | Award Range | Requirements |
|---|---|---|
| Adoption | $500-$1,000 | Use an existing open textbook for a course with no editing and minimal course adaptation required. |
| Remixing | $750-$2,000 | Adapt, update, combine, or improve existing OER to replace a currently used textbook. Use of library-licensed materials may also be considered. |
| Support Materials | $1,000-$3,000 | Develop test bank questions, teaching support materials, quizzes, interactive learning aids, or other support materials for existing OER. |
| Course Redesign | Up to $5,000 | Redesign a course around the use of OER. |
| OER Creation | Up to $10,000 | Create an original Open Educational Resource to be used in a course and shared under an open license. |
OpenHawks grants are funded by the Office of the Provost and UI Student Government (UISG) and administered by the UI Libraries with support from the Office of Teaching, Learning & Technology (OTLT), University College, and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS).
For more information about OER:
- UI Libraries OER page
- UI Libraries OER guide
- SPARC guide to OER
- Open Textbook Network resources
- Faculty and instructors interesting in applying for OpenHawks funding can direct questions to Scholarly Communications Librarian Mahrya Burnett at mahrya-burnett@uiowa.edu.
This year’s Open Access (OA) theme (2018): “Designing Equitable Foundations for Open Knowledge” is especially relevant to a project our team recently published in an OA journal. As a University of Iowa graduate student in the College of Public Health, I worked closely with Assistant Professor Kelly Baker, PhD, and her extensive international network to develop a thesis project conducted in an internally displaced persons (IDP) community in Corail, Haiti. The community was established as part of the 2010 earthquake relief effort. Reflective of IDP communities worldwide, Corail has become a permanent residence for many families. Yet, residences face unsanitary and unsafe conditions due to a lack of permanent sanitation infrastructure and access to waste management services. The goal of the thesis project was to evaluate young children’s exposure to environmental hazards during play in public neighborhood areas that contain deteriorated latrines, trash, free-roaming animals, and open drainage canals.
JEIRAN HASAN is a graduate student pursuing a Doctorate of Musical Arts in flute performance and pedagogy. She works at the Rita Benton Music Library. Hasan assists students, faculty, and researchers with a wide variety of questions. “When I began working in 2014, I had no idea how much the library would change my life,” she says. “The most interesting aspect of working in the library is the interactions I encounter with students from different backgrounds and interests. With my familiarity in Turkish, Farsi, Arabic, Russian, and Azerbaijani, I have been able to assist international patrons and patrons interested in ethnomusicology.”
CLARICE KELLING is a senior majoring in education with a minor in theatre. She works at the Main Library in Access Services (Service Desk and Circulation). Kelling helps reshelve materials and assists patrons at the Service Desk in the Main Library. Kelling began working at the library her freshman year. “Working here has helped me gain knowledge about libraries. As a future educator, I need to be able to find sources easily as well as help others search and handle various materials for their academic goals,” she says. “At the Main Library, I have the opportunity to practice this while also gaining inside knowledge about how libraries aid in education no matter the grade.”
MELISSA LAUER is a sophomore with a triple major in English, creative arts, and studio arts, with a minor in history. She works in Conservation and Preservation. Lauer mends and preserves books at the Main Library, where she “maintains the integrity and availability of the library’s circulating and non-circulating collections, caring for the materials that make the library the invaluable resource that it is. [Working in] the conservation lab has seamlessly united my majors in English and Creative Writing and Studio Arts and minor in History, deepening my appreciation of the physical book, my understanding of its content, and my love of the historic connection that the books I heal perpetuate.”
ELIZABETH RIORDAN is a graduate student pursuing a Master of Arts in library and information science. She works at the Main Library in Special Collections. Riordan feels fortunate to have landed in Special Collections at the UI Libraries. “When I enter work at Special Collections, I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have let the unexpected take me to where I am now,” she says. Riordan supports research through the rich narratives available in Special Collections—the kind of narratives that deepen our understanding of history and allow researchers to interact with source materials in ways that reveal the stories of past eras and help us understand our path forward.