Tamara Powell

Entrepreneurial acts in the academy: Disrupting the textbook model to create an open, digitally-delivered technical communication text

This article examines the development of an Open Educational Resource for technical and professional communication courses. Beginning with a grant to create an open textbook, as described by the Affordable College Textbook Act, the advantages of open textbooks are considered. Additionally, the challenges of working with existing materials and developing a process from the ground up are discussed. Key in this article are best practices for other teams who may consider the entrepreneurial act of textbook creation.

Measuring faculty perceptions of instructional technology

Electronic learning requires more work for faculty; that work does not often translate into better pay, increased scholarship and publication, increased status, or other results valued by academia. Despite electronic learnings dubious benefits to faculty, it is clear that electronic learning is here to stay, and with that fact comes another question: what is the best way to assist faculty in keeping up with the technology? To address this research question this study looks at the impact of faculty training on their adoption of instructional technology. Phase 1 is underway, and the researchers will report on the results of that phase at the conference.