Digital library
Textbooks, references and open learning resources.
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Literature Reviews for Education and Nursing Graduate Students
Linda Frederiksen; Sue Phelps · Rebus Community · 2017
Literature Reviews for Education and Nursing Graduate Students is an open textbook designed for students in graduate-level nursing and education programs. Its intent is to recognize the significant role the literature review plays in the research process and to prepare students for the work that goes into writing one. Developed for new graduate students and novice researchers just entering into the work of a chosen discipline, each of the eight chapters covers a component of the literature review process. Students will learn how to form a research question, search existing literature, synthesize results and write the review. The book contains examples, checklists, supplementary materials, and additional resources. Literature Reviews for Education and Nursing Graduate Students is written by two librarians with expertise guiding students through research and writing assignments, and is openly licensed.
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Intro to Journalism Handbook: An Open Educational Resource for Journalism Students
Michael Downing · The Pennsylvania Alliance for Design of Open Textbooks (PA-ADOPT) · 2024
This book is intended as an open educational resource for beginning journalism students. It contains information on such topics as the First Amendment, 5 Ws (and H), the inverted pyramid, headlines and subheads, AP and in-house style, writing and editing exercises, and guidance on strategies for covering various stories and/or events. This book essentially replicates the structure of the author’s journalism classes, which are writing-intensive classes. As such, it focuses upon helping student writers begin working on reasonably serious, campus-level journalism assignments as quickly and effectively as possible. The goal is to submit stories, photos, and occasionally video to a university newspaper for publication, all the while following professional standards related to accuracy, clarity, grammar, and AP style.
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Observation and Assessment in Early Childhood Education
Gina Peterson; Emily Elam · College of the Canyons · 2020
This text focuses on the appropriate use of a variety of assessment and observation strategies to document child development and behavior. Child observations will be conducted and analyzed.
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Reflective Practice in Early Years Education
Sheryl Third · Fanshawe College Pressboks · 2022
This resource will provide a context that will allow the reader to consider their obligation to reflect from their own perspective and will explore how to create a practice that best suits their professional setting. This book will bring together in one place the history, the values, the skills and disposition required to be a reflective practitioner. It is a textbook with elements of a workbook, embedded are opportunities to watch, to think, to write, and to listen allowing the reader to become a purposeful and intentional reflective practitioner.
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Making Open Educational Resources with and for PreK12: A Collaboration Toolkit for Higher Education
Anita Walz; Julee Farley · Virginia Tech Libraries · 2023
Higher education and PreK12 are vastly different domains. As such, well-intended, collaborative efforts between higher education and PreK12 do not always result in creation of useful and reusable learning materials for PreK12 classrooms or effective, productive partnerships. Making Open Educational Resources with and for PreK12: A Collaboration Toolkit for Higher Education is a toolkit of instructional resources designed to support higher education personnel who wish to improve or build strong and generative collaborations between higher education and PreK12 educators. The toolkit aims to expand use and re-usability of PreK12-centric learning resources through informed practices regarding copyright, open-licensing, and accessibility and includes a variety of resources: videos, presentations, transcripts, activities, guides, assignments, and assessment tools.
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Foundations of Educational Technology
Penny Thompson · Oklahoma State University · 2017
This text provides a a graduate level introduction to the field of educational technology.
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Introduction to AI and Ethics in Higher Education
Reed Helpler; Amy Vecchione; Ritamarie Hensley; Anne Fensie · EdTech Books · 2024
This work examines the implications of AI on ethics, and vice versa, in higher education. It discusses these issues from the perspectives of students, educators, and administrators. Topics include types of AI deployment and integration, the impact of copyright law on AI use, issues with validity and fact-checking, and administrative and educator policies regarding AI in higher education.
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Foundations of Early Childhood Education
Amanda Dohms · WisTech Open · 2025
Discover the principles, practices, and strategies for teaching young children from birth to 8 years.
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Educational Psychology
Nicole Arduini-Van Hoose · SUNY Create · 2020
Specific topics include cognitive, social, and emotional development, individual and cultural differences in learning and interaction styles, learning theories and instruction, effective motivation in education, issues of testing and assessment, and creating environments conducive to learning.
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Why play works: Conceptual PlayWorlds inspiring learning, imagination and creativity in education
Marilyn Fleer; Kelly-Ann Allen; Anne Clerc-Georgy; Leigh Disney · Monash University · 2024
The focus of this textbook is on play and learning through a Conceptual PlayWorld. This evidence informed model helps teachers to plan innovative practices relevant for a range of discipline concepts. The teachers and children after reading/hearing a children’s book or nursery rhyme or fairytale jump into the story as characters from the book/story, go on adventures, meet challenges that they solve and return to the real world enriched, and excited to go back in for another adventure (potentially bringing with them things they have learned to enrich their play). The 5 characteristics of planning for a Conceptual PlayWorld are: 1) Selecting a story, 2) Designing an imaginary play space; 3) Planning an exciting entry and entry into that space; 4) Planning a problem that the characters of the story (children in role) will meet and need to solve using concepts; 5) Planning the role of the adults in the imaginary play. This evidence-informed model forms the foundation of each chapter in the book. Students will learn: ● what is a Conceptual PlayWorld ● the research that underpins a Conceptual PlayWorld ● how to plan and implement a Conceptual PlayWorld ● how to contextualise a Conceptual PlayWorld for specific ages, contexts and discipline content ● how to assess and make learning visible in a Conceptual PlayWorld ● to be leaders and innovators by designing creative and imaginative programs using a Conceptual PlayWorld model of pedagogical practice ● the utility of Conceptual PlayWorlds for creativity, imagination, and wellbeing.
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Meraki: Towards transformative learning in higher education
Chrissi Nerantzi · University of Leeds Open Books · 2025
Meraki is a vibrant addition to the world of open educational resources. Created with creativity, openness, and collaboration at its core, this living book reveals the impact education can have when it’s approached with heart, curiosity, and innovation.Across 13 engaging articles, it offers a personal yet widely relatable exploration of critical and creative teaching. It encourages readers to think differently about learning—both inside and outside the classroom—and how these experiences can be meaningfully connected.What makes Meraki stand out is its blend of reflective writing, practical ideas, and interdisciplinary thinking. Contributions from a wide range of voices—students, educators, and scholars—transform the book into an ongoing conversation about learning, growth, and change.Because it’s openly licensed, anyone can contribute. That means the book continues to grow and evolve as a collaborative project shaped by its readers.Meraki isn’t just a collection of articles—it’s an invitation to reimagine what education can be when we embrace creativity, inclusion, and shared ownership.
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The Role of Equity and Diversity in Early Childhood Education
Krischa Esquivel; Emily Elam; Jennifer Paris; Maricela Tafoya · College of the Canyons · 2020
Guided by cultural beliefs and principles, families select experiences, convey attitudes, and impart knowledge to their children to prepare them for adulthood. Accordingly, it is important for program staff to learn to collaborate effectively with families. To develop a partnership and to tap into the family as a primary resource, early childhood educators must reach out to, learn about, and develop strong partnerships with families. This process requires openness to learning and an effort to understand the individuality of each family and the diversity of the families from which the children come.
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Open Education Down UndOER: Australasian Case Studies
Ash Barber; Mais Fatayer; Rani McLennan; Alice Luetchford · Council of Australian University Librarians · 2024
Open Education Down UndOER: Australasian Case Studies is a curated, peer-reviewed, openly-licensed anthology comprising scholarly contributions from esteemed professionals including librarians, researchers, learning and teaching teams, and engaged open education practitioners across Australia. Future editions will seek to extend this coverage to Aotearoa New Zealand, and the broader Asia-Pacific region. The primary aim of this initiative is to illuminate the pivotal role of open educational practices (OEP) in the advancement of learning and teaching methodologies in the region. By showcasing diverse case studies, our goal is to foster greater awareness and appreciation for open practices, champion inclusivity and equity within educational spheres, and provide practical examples of open educational practices which can be adapted by readers for use in their own contexts.
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ReStorying Education: Critical Perspectives in Public Education
Thor Gibbins; Ed Beck; Kjersti VanSlyke-Briggs · SUNY Oneonta · 2024
ReStorying Education: Critical Perspectives in Public Education offers a foundational exploration of public education in the United States using different perspectives and critical analysis of education and educational policy. From showcasing how popular media creates narratives about teachers and school to a case study of the education system outside the United States, this text offers multiple viewpoints and purposes of education to give readers studying education a multi-faceted story of the social, political, and personal purposes of public education. Each chapter details a restorying of key aspects of education critical to developing a more nuanced understanding of public education: popular media narratives, historical, curricular, philosophical, and political.
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HyFlex Learning and Teaching: A Guide for Educational Innovation
Lisa Jacka; Julie Lindsay · University of Southern Queensland · 2025
This comprehensive guide explores HyFlex learning - an innovative approach that combines hybrid flexibility to transform teaching and learning experiences. Authors Lisa Jacka and Julie Lindsay expertly demonstrate how HyFlex empowers students through choice, flat learning, and accessibility, creating truly equivalent learning experiences regardless of mode.Perfect for educators, course coordinators, and learning designers, this resource provides practical strategies for implementing digital-first design, overcoming common barriers, and reimagining assessment practices. Through case studies, interactive reflections, and implementation roadmaps, readers will discover how to effectively integrate educational technologies to support transformative pedagogies.Whether you're beginning your HyFlex journey or enhancing existing practices, this book offers a flexible approach to engagement. Read it linearly or explore specific sections based on your needs. Embrace the future of education where learner autonomy, accessibility, and equivalent experiences converge to create meaningful connections in any learning environment.
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Applications of Educational Technology
Susan Stansberry · Oklahoma State University · 2018
Welcome to the Applications of Educational Technology eBook. The resource comes alongside the Oklahoma State University Emerging Technologies and Creativity Research Lab, where students in this class will play and help in transforming education through creative habits! The purpose of this online resource is to serve as an interactive open textbook for EDTC 3123 Applications of Educational Technology at Oklahoma State University. We invite you to ask questions, contribute resources, and participate in making this a living, collaborative resource for all educators!
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A Handbook of Higher Education Leadership
Ed Ray · Oregon State University · 2024
Thirty-five experienced and accomplished higher education leaders have come together to provide twenty-five essays on twelve topics about which all leaders, aspiring leaders and students of higher education should be informed. This is a labor of love, provided for free electronically, and there are no star turns here. Each essay is focused on providing the reader with advice based on wisdom acquired from lessons learned. Some topics covered include: beginning and completing a leadership position, responding to authority, establishing accountability, budget policy, long-term planning, affordability and student success, creating a safe community, fundraising, research funding, college athletics, and crisis management.
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Why Do I Have to Take This Course? A Guide to General Education [Revised Edition]
Kisha Tracy · ROTEL · 2024
Why Do I Have to Take This Course? A Guide to General Education developed out of many years of thinking about general education courses and curriculums. We, as university personnel, do not always succeed in explaining why we have certain requirements. Even though these courses make up a significant percentage of our college careers, there is not often time set aside to talk about general education and explore its purpose and goals. When we do not know the reason why we are doing something, it can sometimes lead to apathy and even resentment. Once we have an idea of the purpose, then we can start to appreciate and learn. It is worthwhile to spend some time thinking about these purposes, both “official” and personal ones, in order to maximize student learning. This textbook helps students systematically study how general education requirements are developed, their history, post-graduation value, etc. It emphasizes exploration of the significance of individual learning outcomes, especially through the lens of John Lewis’ philosophy of “good, necessary trouble.” For instructors adopting this book, it is designed to assign in its entirety or in parts as instructors can choose to emphasize relevant learning outcomes. It is also designed for use by advisors, especially with advisees who express concerns over taking certain requirements.
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Fostering Communities of Transformation in STEM Higher Education: A Multi-institutional Collection of DEI Initiatives
Jonathan Briganti; Jill Sible; Anne Brown · Virginia Tech Publishing · 2024
Dive into the multifaceted landscape of inclusive excellence in STEM education with Fostering Communities of Transformation in STEM Higher Education. This scholarly work examines transformative initiatives from Virginia Tech, Radford University, Trinity Washington University, and Towson University, showcasing their role as catalysts in cultivating inclusive excellence across diverse STEM disciplines. Take inspiration from their projects and guidance from their lessons learned with this collection.
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Foundations of Education: Cultivating Diverse Perspectives
Ceci De Valdenebro; Tanya Mead; Jennifer Margolis · Open Oregon Educational Resources · 2026
Shaping and inspiring future minds is arguably the most vital work humanity can do. Preparing future educators requires us to grapple with the history of education, reflect on our own experiences and biases, and continually adapt to meet the unique needs of our students and communities—and this book was written to guide that journey.