Digital library
Textbooks, references and open learning resources.
External
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.
External
CALL Principles and Practices
Joy Egbert; Seyed Abdollah Shahrokni · Washington State University · 2018
This book takes as its organizing principles both the system of conditions that are known to support effective language learning and the goals that a variety of standards in the field have set out for us and our students, and what constitutes effective computer-enhanced pedagogy and why.
External
Understanding and Supporting Learners with Disabilities
Paula Lombardi · University of New Hampshire · 2019
This book is a cloned version of Understanding and Supporting Learners with Disabilities by Paula Lombardi, published using Pressbooks under a CC BY-NC-SA (Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike) license. It may differ from the original.
External
The Digital Storytelling Handbook
Jordan Schugar; Chris Penny; Hannah Glatt · The Pennsylvania Alliance for Design of Open Textbooks (PA-ADOPT) · 2024
The Digital Storytelling Handbook is designed to provide an introduction to digital storytelling and its multifaceted applications in the higher education classroom space. This eTextbook gives storytellers practical tools to help them think about different reasons for making digital stories and different ways to think about using and incorporating digital stories into teaching, learning, and living. In this eTextbook, readers will also learn how experiencing digital stories — as either the author or the audience — builds cultural competence and teaches us about humanity and the human experience. Co-authored with students, this eTextbook was written in the spirit of OER with the expectation that future readers and students have an opportunity to contribute a chapter, idea, approach, or methodology of the eTextbook’s basic content.
External
The Alchemy of Assessment and Evaluation
Jessica Kahlow · Mavs Open Press · 2024
This comprehensive guide illuminates the art and science of educational assessment, blending ancient alchemical wisdom with modern AI innovations. Part one lays the foundation, exploring essential principles of assessment and evaluation and its pivotal role in shaping learning outcomes. Part two delves into diverse assessment types, from formative assessments driving real-time adjustments to summative evaluations measuring overall achievement. Part three offers expert guidance on crafting effective assessment designs, ensuring authenticity and inclusivity. Part four examines the alchemy of feedback and grading, empowering educators with strategies for constructive engagement and growth. Part five focuses on evaluations, showcasing methods to assess program effectiveness and student progress over time. Whether you’re an educator refining assessment practices or an instructional designer harnessing AI’s potential, this book equips you to turn every educational challenge into a golden opportunity.
External
Open ELA
Alexander Greengaard · Pima Community College · 2024
Open ELA is a complete course in Reading and Language Arts for instructors and self-directed learners in Adult Basic Education settings. These materials are designed to aid students in completing the GED exam and to support college and career pathways. This course includes resources for the Reading and Language Arts, Social Studies, and Science portions of the GED exam. It also includes GED Study Guides and lessons contextualized to college and career exploration and readiness. Open ELA covers six units of study: Understanding Literature, Intro to Communications, Metacognitive Reading, Film & Television Studies, Reading for Science & Social Studies, and Journalism.
External
Teaching Pronunciation with Confidence: A Resource for ESL/EFL Teachers and Learners
Agata Guskaroska; Zoë Zawadzki; John Levis · Iowa State University Digital Press · 2024
Teaching Pronunciation with Confidence is an essential resource for both English teachers and learners, designed to effectively build strong pronunciation skills and knowledge of pronunciation. This guide covers key topics, including English sounds, word stress, intonation, rhythm, prominence, connected speech, and pronunciation diagnostics to guide improvement. The book includes a wide array of interactive H5P activities and sound recordings, which can be used for classroom teaching, or homework and individual practice. These exercises provide practical experience, reinforcing the concepts covered in each chapter.
External
Amalgamation
Timothy Krause · Portland Community College · 2023
This intermediate writing course is designed for ESOL students as their first step toward academic writing in U.S. colleges. Each two-week unit integrates vocabulary, grammar, and composition in a "just in time" fashion so that students receive instruction on the key tools they need in order to accomplish new writing goals. The lessons cover a basic essay, narrative essay, process essay, and compare/contrast essay. There is also a final one-week unit devoted to editing and proofreading skills. This edition is an update and expansion of work by Delpha Thomas.
External
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!
External
Advanced-Level Writing in the University Classroom and Beyond: Mindful Practices for Technical, Business, and Scientific Communication
Dawn Atkinson; Stacey Corbitt · Montana Technological University · 2026
Welcome to the 2026 edition of Advanced-Level Writing in the University Classroom and Beyond: Mindful Practices for Technical, Business, and Scientific Communication. To encourage this open textbook’s use in various undergraduate classes, it has been developed as an all-in-one resource that concentrates on technical writing, business writing, scientific writing, and technical editing. It offers a no-cost alternative to commercial products, combining practical guidance with interactive exercises and thoughtfully designed writing opportunities. If you would like to access a Word Document version of this text please email Author, Stacey Corbitt, scorbitt@mtech.edu.
External
The Roles and Responsibilities of the Special Educator
Paula Lombardi · University of New Hampshire · 2023
This book is evolving into a book by and for teacher candidates pursuing licensing in Elementary, General Special Education, and Early Childhood Special Education in New Hampshire and surrounding New England states. These teacher candidates share their knowledge about teaching PreK-12 learners with disabilities and the many roles and responsibilities of the case manager/special educator.
External
Content Area Language and Literacy
Saadia Ali; Margaret Berg · University of Northern Colorado · 2024
Content Area Literacy courses have long been a requirement in teacher education programs for pre-service teachers for the secondary level and, sometimes, for the elementary level. The 2020 World-class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) Framework takes a genre approach that aligns well with the traditional Content Area Literacy courses in teacher preparation programs. WIDA argues for an educational approach that fosters (a) equity of opportunity and access, (b) integration of content and language, (c) collaboration among stakeholders, and (d) a functional approach to language development. This textbook examines the elements that make up the Simple View of Reading with adjustments made for the increasing Multilingual student population. Then, the text focuses on the Key Uses of Language (KLUs) developed by WIDA with examples of how these are employed in different Content Areas. The final chapters focus on the unique needs and benefits of Multilingual students within U.S. classrooms.
External
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.
![Children, Families, Schools, and Communities [Revised Edition]](/api/files/covers/otl-1630.webp)
External
Children, Families, Schools, and Communities [Revised Edition]
Joan Giovannini · ROTEL · 2023
Children, Families, Schools, and Communities is an introductory text in the field of Child and Family Studies. It provides a lens for understanding the evolving definition of “family” through socially constructed and ecological theory frameworks. It promotes strategies for culturally sustaining and deeply collaborative relationships between families, schools, and communities through the use of home-grown advocacy strategies based on community-driven data. Children, Families, Schools, and Communities is an adapted OER text from Rebecca Laff’s and Wendy Ruiz’s Child, Family, and Community.
![Why Do I Have to Take This Course? A Guide to General Education [Revised Edition]](/api/files/covers/otl-1623.webp)
External
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.
External
The Whole Child: Development in the Early Years
Deirdre Budzyna; Doris Buckley · ROTEL · 2023
The Whole Child is a textbook that gives an overview of development, beginning in the mother’s womb through the age of eight. It starts with a look at perspectives of early childhood, including how children have been viewed historically as well as cross-culturally. There is a complete overview of the important theorists that have helped to deepen and bring clarity to how children develop. These theories include psychodynamic, behavioral, social cognitive theory, cognitive theory, humanistic, multiple intelligence, growth mindset, and Bloom’s taxonomy. Understanding the implications of each theory is important foundational knowledge for the study of development. Developmental domains at each stage is examined alongside important milestones. The biology of the brain is given important consideration. Some of the many factors that influence a young child’s development are also included in this text.
External
Qualitative Research – a practical guide for health and social care researchers and practitioners
Darshini Ayton; Tess Tsindos; Danielle Berkovic · Monash University · 2023
This guide is designed to support health and social care researchers and practitioners to integrate qualitative research into the evidence base of health and social care research. Qualitative research designs are diverse and each design has a different focus that will inform the approach undertaken and the results that are generated. The aim is to move beyond the “what” of qualitative research to the “how”, by (1) outlining key qualitative research designs for health and social care research – descriptive, phenomenology, action research, case study, ethnography, and grounded theory; (2) a decision tool of how to select the appropriate design based on a guiding prompting question, the research question and available resources, time and expertise; (3) an overview of mixed methods research and qualitative research in evaluation studies; (4) a practical guide to data collection and analysis; (5) providing examples of qualitative research to illustrate the scope and opportunities; and (6) tips on communicating qualitative research.
External
Action Research
J. Clark; Suzanne Porath; Julie Thiele; Morgan Jobe · New Prairie Press · 2020
Action research is a common journey for graduate students in education and other human science fields. This book attempts to meet the needs of graduate students, in-service teachers, and any other educators interested in action research and/or self-study. The chapters of this book draw on our collective experiences as educators in a variety of educational contexts, and our roles guiding educator/researchers in various settings. All of our experiences have enabled us to question and refine our own understanding of action research as a process and means for pedagogical improvement. The primary purpose of this book is to offer clear steps and practical guidance to those who intend to carry out action research for the first time. As educators begin their action research journey, we feel it is vital to pose four questions: 1) What is action research, and how is it distinct from other educational research?; 2) When is it appropriate for an educator to conduct an action research project in their context?; 3) How does an educator conduct an action research project?; 4) What does an educator do with the data once the action research project has been conducted? We have attempted to address all four questions in the chapters of this book.
External
Designing Arguments for Academic, Public, and Professional Audiences
Phillip Marzluf · New Prairie Press · 2021
This college-level textbook guides students through five different types of arguments: evaluations, responses, persuasive rhetorical arguments, proposals, and practical professional development arguments. Students are introduced to rhetorical concepts and strategies to enable them to more effectively appeal to different types of audiences. Students will gain practice in audience-based reasoning, basing their reasons and evidence on the assumptions, beliefs, and values of their readers.
External
Confident Supervisors: Creating Independent Researchers
Susan Gasson; Christine Bruce; Ian Stoodley; Jillian Blacker · James Cook University · 2023
Confident Supervisors is intended to be both a textbook and a professional development resource for Higher Degree Research supervisors and researcher developers involved in providing workshops and resources to support research supervisors in their practice. Throughout this book, authors introduce different theoretical frameworks and concepts to provide supervisors with tools and strategies for responding to the challenges and opportunities associated with research supervision. It contains chapters written by current supervisors and research support partners who are engaged in the scholarship of supervision and can share the practical and theoretical constructs they employ in their practice. The authors have been drawn from a broad range of higher education and research contexts and contribute understandings of local and global relevance. This openly available eBook responds to turbulent times in higher education, offering practical tips and suggestions for supervisors to pivot to changing contexts.