Open textbooks, diversified content and social justice: Project launch
18 February 2020
Help us celebrate the launch of a Deakin-led national digital equity research project! Interested researchers, librarians and academics are invited to join us on 26 February at Deakin Downtown for finger food, drinks, and an overview of the research project ‘Open textbooks, diversified content and social justice: a national scoping study’.
| When? | 4.00 pm to 5.00 pm, Wednesday 26 February 2020 |
| Where? | Deakin Downtown – Level 12, Tower 2, 727 Collins Street, Melbourne (Collins Square). |
| Catering? | Finger food and drinks will be provided |
| Cost? | This is a free event |
| Register? | Register here! |
Attendees will have the chance to network with Deakin Teaching and Learning staff and CRADLE researchers.
Open textbooks are a recent innovation in free digital texts that can be:
- distributed at no cost;
- printed at cost-price; and
- modified for local needs, such as to improve gender, socio-cultural and indigenous representations in the curriculum.
Recent North American research suggests that equity students benefit most from free textbooks – similar to the benefits of scholarships/financial aid – by lifting grades and course progress rates. This study replicates the UK national scoping study with equity-focused additions, using a social justice framework to test the potential within the Australian context in terms of redistributive (economic) benefits, as well as the recognitive and representational benefits of making what is inside the textbook more socio-culturally inclusive.
To read more about the project, please visit the project website: http://australianopentextbooks.edu.au/
