2017-18 Teaching and Learning Excellence Division Calendar: Sustainable Assignments for Student Engagement and Meaningful Learning
For December, the Teaching & Learning Excellence Division calendar: “Producing Sustainable Assignments for Student Engagement” focuses on developing an online textbook as a type of sustainable assignment. One of the goals of teaching and learning excellence is to create engaging learning experiences for students. Traditional assignments typically end when they are graded. Sustainable assignments, on the other hand, can provide meaningful learning experiences that last beyond the classroom. An online textbook may sound intimidating, but when you share the work with your students it can be a positive learning experience for everyone. Developing an online textbook should be a collaborative process. An advantage is the ability to tailor the textbook to your course learning outcomes. Also, the cost of your online open textbook can be considerably lower than a traditional textbook, or even free.
Use your online textbook just as you would any other textbook. Online open textbooks are meant to be shared, updated, and reused by others. To keep the textbook relevant and current future classes can update the textbook as needed. Additional resources, such as multimedia content, can also be created to be a part of the textbook.
For an example of how an online textbook can be developed read Robin DeRosa’s blog post “My Open Textbook: Pedagogy and Practice” that describes her experience developing an online textbook.
If you’re an ACC faculty member interested in using sustainable assignments for your class, contact a TLED instructional designer.
Tags: blog, calendar, collaboration, learning strategies, online, online textbook, pedagogy, sustainable assignment, tailored learning, textbook
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