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From Textbook to Homework: �A Collaborative Journey in Developing Our Spanish OER Projects with LibreTexts

Hugo Díaz-Rodil, Sierra College and American River College

Sarah Harmon, Cañada College

Alejandro Lee, Santa Monica College

Cristina Moon, Chabot College

�OpenEd Week 2024

“From Textbook to Homework: A Collaborative Journey in Developing Our Spanish OER Projects with LibreTexts” �is licensed CC-BY 4.0 by Prof. Hugo Díaz-Rodil, Dr. Sarah Harmon , Dr. Alejandro Lee, and Dr. Cristina Moon.

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Presentation Topics

Nice to meet you!

Grammar and Homework Ancillaries

The Bedrocks of the Projects

And there were many!

Creating and Integrating Assignments

Meet the Teams

Gaps in Spanish OER

Creating the Material

IDEA and Accessibility

Lessons Learned

Questions and Acknowledgements

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QR Code for These Slides

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Meet the Teams!

Nice to meet you!

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Current Project Team

Cristina Moon, Ph.D.

Professor of Spanish�OER/ZTC Coordinator�Chabot College

Professor of Spanish�Santa Monica College

Sarah Harmon, Ph.D.

Adjunct Professor of Spanish and Linguistics�OER/ZTC Coordinator�Cañada College

Hugo Díaz-Rodil, MA

Instructor of Spanish at �Sierra College and �American River College

Alejandro Lee, Ph.D., MLIS

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Previous Project Team Members

Prof. Nancy Ballesteros-Meléndez, C.Phil.

College of the Canyons and Mount Saint Mary’s University-Los Angeles

Entrada Libre
Tarea Libre

Nicolás Crisosto

Formerly of Los Angeles Community College District Accessibility Specialist

Education and Technology Consultant, TechAccess Solutions Crisosto Consulting

Entrada Libre
Technical support on Tarea Libre

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Gaps in Spanish OER

Grammar and Homework Ancillaries

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Filling the Gaps in Spanish OERs

There have been several projects for Spanish OER textbooks:

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The missing gaps

Grammar manual for 2nd year Spanish
Homework ancillary for 1st year and 2nd year Spanish

Frequently mentioned as a reason to not switch away from publisher materials
Difficulty in finding an accessible OER platform

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Project # 1: Entrada Libre

Intermediate/advanced college-level Spanish OER grammar manual for second language learners and heritage speakers of Spanish
Entrada Libre should be used in conjunction with other OER resources such as Acceso (for the cultural component) and Antología Abierta de Literatura Hispana (for the literature component).
Funding from Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI), RFP I
Licensed as CC-BY-NC 4.0 (open license)
Technical support from LibreTexts, particularly with new technologies
Written June-December 2019; published June 2020.

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Entrada Libre Grammar Manual

24 grammar topics covered in most intermediate/advanced Spanish textbooks and courses
Reading with examples of grammar points in context
Grammar explanation
Self-graded H5P exercises

Authors:

Nancy Ballesteros-Meléndez

Nicolás Cristoso

Alejandro Lee

Cristina Moon

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Project # 2: Tarea Libre

Homework set for First-Year (collegiate) Spanish courses
Licensed as CC-BY-NC 4.0 (open license)
Written in accordance with California C-ID Transfer Model Curriculum for SPAN 100 and SPAN 110
Funding from Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI), RFP IV
Technical support from LibreTexts, particularly with new technologies
Written Summer 2022-Winter 2023; published May 2023
Media either self-created or openly-licensed

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Tarea Libre Modules

1,400 activities
14 modules (7 modules per semester)
4-5 sections per module with vocabulary and grammar
5 ‘pasos’ of vocabulary and grammar exercises per section

Preliminar
Empecemos
Continuemos
Practiquemos
Avancemos

3 comprehensive assessments per module

Hablemos
Escuchemos
Leamos

Authors:

Nancy Ballesteros-Meléndez

Sarah Harmon

Alejandro Lee

Cristina Moon

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Project #3: Tarea Libre 2

Homework set for Second-Year (collegiate) Spanish courses
Licensed as CC-BY-NC 4.0 (open license)
Written in accordance with California C-ID Transfer Model Curriculum for SPAN 200 and SPAN 210
Funding from LibreTexts and the CA ZTC Acceleration grants received for Chabot College and Santa Monica College
Technical support from LibreTexts, particularly with new technologies
Written Spring 2024; will be ready for Fall 2024 terms
Media: either self-created or openly-licensed

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Tarea Libre 2 Modules

800 activities
8 modules (4 modules per semester)
4-5 sections per module
5 ‘pasos’ of grammar exercises per section

Empecemos
Continuemos
Practiquemos
Avancemos
De todo un poco

3 comprehensive assessments per module

Hablemos
Escuchemos
Leamos

Updated Entrada Libre 2.0 grammar manual coming

Authors:

Hugo Díaz-Rodil

Sarah Harmon

Alejandro Lee

Cristina Moon

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Creating the Material

Creating and Integrating Assignments

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So Many Options…

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Why LibreTexts?

Quickly becoming a central repository for OER content
Innovative solutions
Easy access for California Community Colleges, including creating campus bookshelves
Easy integration into Canvas
Accessibility at the core
Lots of support! (Workshops, YouTube videos, Discord channel, email)

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Creating OER Textbooks in LibreTexts

Benefits of using LibreTexts:

Use it as-is in LibreTexts
Download it as .pdf

Important option for Bookstores to have print-optional copies for students

Customize it by remixing the units using the Workbench in LibreTexts
Import it to a LMS (Canvas, Blackboard, etc.)
Buy print version direct from LibreTexts �(typically $10-$20 + $6 shipping)

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Creating OER Homework in ADAPT

Adopt as-is from ‘alpha’ courses
Adapt and remix exercises
Create your own and add to your course

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Tarea Libre: LibreStudio and ADAPT

LibreStudio for H5P-based questions (multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank) and audio recordings–imported into ADAPT

ADAPT native questions (select choice, matching, vocabulary presentations, readings)

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IDEA and Accessibility

The Bedrocks of the Project

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Inclusion of Ethnicity and Backgrounds

ASCCC OERI IDEA Framework (2022)
Culturally-responsive pedagogy
People from around the Spanish-speaking world, including the Philippine Islands and Equatorial Guinea: Concha Buika, el silbo gomero, el español en las Islas Filipinas
People of African, Asian, Indigenous and mixed ethnic groups: Jorge Drexler, Perú Negro, los chifas peruanos, Guaraní, Taíno, Levantine communities in Mexico
People from the LGBT+ community: Bienestar Clinic in Los Angeles, Gender-neutral names in exercises

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Inclusion of Accessibility in Graphics

and Readings

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Accessibility Challenges with H5P

Very few exercise types are accessible

Only real choices: Multiple choice, True/False, Fill in the blank
Some differences of opinion about accessible options

Harder to control content across OER platforms
Harder to set up alternative pathways for non-accessible activities (A11y)
Issues and errors with importing certain activities into ADAPT
H5P is based in Norway, which has different accessibility standards than the US (and not likely to update to US standards)

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Reasons We Favored ADAPT

More accessible assessment types that are generally accessible, including matching and select choice (drop-down menu)

Note: Make sure to use UDL best practices when drafting

Easier to create alternative pathways (A11y)
Easier to copy, clone and modify activities
Better insertion of audio and video media that integrates with the page (especially for those using adaptive technology)
Quicker response by ADAPT personnel to address issues and create solutions

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Lessons Learned

And there were many!

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What Worked for Us

Having a great team is probably the most important part.
Google Docs to draft and collaborate on content
Google Sheet progress tracker
Regular weekly meetings via Zoom and regular text messages
Outside support:

OERI continuous support; they kept us on track!
LibreStudio Support Team
ADAPT Support Team

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It’s Important to Be Inclusive!

Content that is inclusive–not just what is ‘normally offered’.
Incorporating UDL and accessibility from the start
Thinking ahead with backwards design
Planning, planning, and more planning…

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Lessons Learned

Time goes by really fast.
Dream big, but you will need to pare things down.

Great collaborators → Great motivators

Summaries of articles to avoid copyright issues and content disappearing.
Creation of own topics, media.
Use of Creative Commons licensing.

Issues with formatting (font size, colors, tables), H5P activities in Libretexts.
H5P has many accessibility issues, limited options. Moving to ADAPT native questions addressed many of these issues.