Faculty Showcase — Social Science
Sara Lopus, Ph.D.
from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
eTextbook:
A Variety of OERs (Open Educational Resources)
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Campus Course
SOC 308: Sociology of the Environment
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Quote
“All the articles and nearly all the books were already available at no-cost to our students through the university library. For the handful of academic books that were not yet available for free, I requested that our library acquire unlimited electronic access to the books, and they did.”
Created April 2021
Sara Lopus, Ph.D.
from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
eTextbook:
A Variety of OERs (Open Educational Resources)
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Campus Course
SOC 321: Migration
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Quote
“My main motivations to adopt OER were to save students money and to give me control over teaching exactly the content I wanted to present. ”
Created April 2021
Laurie Smith
from California State University, San Bernardino
eTextbook:
A Variety of OERs (Open Educational Resources)
California State University, San Bernardino
Campus Course
Social Work 6061: Generalist Macro Practice I
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Quote
“It is always appreciated by students when they find out the faculty member has made an effort to lower their costs yet still provide them with high quality learning material.”
Created March 2021
Adam Sanford
from California State University, Dominguez Hills
eTextbook:
Introduction to Sociology 2e
by Heather Griffiths, et al. from OpenStax
California State University, Dominguez Hills
Campus Course
SOC 101: Understanding Social Relationships: Global Perspective
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Quote
“Many of our students are low-income or first-generation, and the cost of textbooks can be prohibitive. I want to find ways to provide students with affordable course materials.”
Created March 2021
Hareem Khan, Ph.D.
from California State University, San Bernardino
eTextbook:
A Variety of OERs (Open Educational Resources)
California State University, San Bernardino
Campus Course
ANTH 3610: Cultural Entanglements and the Global Economy
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Quote
“I was always inspired by other faculty who made their courses cost-free for their students and after I explored these options a bit more, I decided to do the same. I do not believe students should have to pay additional funds for textbooks when the cost of education is already high enough.”
Created February 2021
Keslye Tinson
from San Jose State University
eTextbook:
Psychology
from OpenStax
San Jose State University
C-ID Course Identification Numbering System
PSY 110 - Introductory Psychology
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Quote
“The main motivation to adopt an open textbook was to redesign the course to be effective for both Psych majors and General Ed students. Students were able to download a PDF to their smartphone or laptop, use the Bookstore’s e-text software, or go directly to the OpenStax website for this particular resource. ”
Created February 2021
Amara Miller
from California State University, East Bay
eTextbook:
A Variety of OERs (Open Educational Resources)
California State University, East Bay
Campus Course
SOC 435: Social Psychology
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Quote
“I chose accessible and free materials to fit the various topics covered in the class as well as case studies we look at. Typically each unit has some foundational academic work as well as contemporary cases in the form of news articles or podcasts. ”
Created January 2021
José A. Muñoz
from California State University, San Bernardino
eTextbook:
Library Resources
California State University, San Bernardino
Campus Course
SOCI 590: Globalization and Social Movements
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Quote
“By using books that are accessible online through our campus library I can reduce the cost of the course for my students. Allowing students to access material online for free reduces the stress of having to purchase multiple books for a course.”
Created August 2020
Stephen Goggin
from San Diego State University
eTextbook:
American Government
from OpenStax
San Diego State University
Campus Course
Political Science 102: Introduction to American and California Government and Politics
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Quote
“I wish I had known earlier how easy it would be to add an OER to my class. In particular, while one can redesign an entire class around new OER materials, there are many, like the text I adopted, that can easily slot into an existing course.”
Created July 2020
John Mercurio
from San Diego State University
eTextbook:
American Government
by Timothy O. Lenz & Mirya Holman from University Press of Florida
San Diego State University
Campus Course
Political Science 102: Introduction to American and California Government and Politics
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Quote
“The feedback that I have received from my students has been overwhelmingly positive when it comes to the book. Many have expressed gratitude for the fact that the book is free of charge, and yet also has good content.”
Created July 2020
Meredith Williams, Ph.D.
from Humboldt State University
eTextbook:
Public Sociology Toolkit
by M. Williams and J. Teal
Go to Public Sociology Toolkit.
More Introduction to Community Action Research Free and Open eTextbooks
Humboldt State University
Campus Courses
CRIM 362 – Community Action Research
SOC 590 – Practicing Sociology
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Quote
“I created this textbook with a group of graduate students (enrolled in SOC 590: Practicing Sociology) to give us a book we could use in research-based courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels.”
Alexandrea Park, Ph.D.
from California State University, Los Angeles
eTextbook:
Boundless Psychology
by Boundless
California State University, Los Angeles
Campus Course
PSY 419 – Psychology of Gender
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Quote
“The main motivation for adopting the open textbook was saving students' money. The secondary reason was the ability to customize the book for students' needs.”
Cesar Abarca, Ph.D.
from Humboldt State University
eTextbook:
The Wisdom of Sustainability: Buddhist Economics for the 21st Century
by S. Sivaraska
Humboldt State University
Campus Course
SW 649 – Advanced Generalist Social Work Practice for Wellness and Sustainability
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Quote
“Students were very enthusiastic to hear that I replaced expensive textbooks with an affordable textbook and two free online readings. They were also supportive of the idea of having course materials in electronic format that could be downloaded to electronic devices, rather than in paper form.”
Anne Marenco
from College of the Canyons
eTextbook:
Sociology Online Text
College of the Canyons
C-ID Course Identification Numbering System
SOCI 110 - Introduction to Sociology
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Quote
“Adopting the open textbook has not created any challenges other than finding the time to revise the book every two years.”
Heather Wylie
from Shasta College
eTextbook:
Introduction to Sociology
from OpenStax College
Shasta College
C-ID Course Identification Numbering System
SOCI 110 - Introduction to Sociology
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Quote
“Given the high level of students living at or below the poverty line and first generation college students, I felt it was very important to increase student access to course materials. I found OpenStax through personal research into OER materials that met the needs of my courses.”
Eric Strayer
from Hartnell College
eTextbook:
Introduction to Sociology
from OpenStax College
Hartnell College
C-ID Course Identification Numbering System
SOCI 110 - Introduction to Sociology
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Quote
“Most of my students are low-income and work full or part-time and I would like to see them put their bucks into a laptop or tablet and have every teacher find them online free or inexpensive books.”
Vera Kennedy
from West Hills College
eTextbook:
Introduction to Sociology
from OpenStax College
West Hills College
C-ID Course Identification Numbering System
SOCI 110 - Introduction to Sociology
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Quote
“The major motivation in adopting this textbook was to save students money, without sacrificing the quality of the content. I was impressed by OpenStax, and I thought I could work with it because the quality was equivalent to published textbooks. We had to get the approval from the curriculum committee, as we all have to use the same book. We can also use the supplements, if desired.”
Chantal Lamourelle, Ph.D.
from Santa Ana College
eTextbook:
Attachment Through the Life Course
by R. C. Fraley from Noba
Santa Ana College
C-ID Course Identification Numbering System
CDEV 100 - Child Growth and Development
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Quote
“My main motivation to adopt an open textbook was to reduce the textbook cost for students and to provide more access to courses which are cost prohibitive for some students solely due to the cost of the required text.”
Amber Hammons, Ph.D.
from California State University, Fresno
eTextbook:
A Chapter from Attachment Through the Life Course
by R. C. Fraley from Noba
California State University, Fresno
Campus Course
CFS 38 – Life Span Development
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Quote
“Affordability is a concern of mine but equally important is finding OER that are high quality, rigorous, and appropriate for college students.”
Kurt Kowalski, Ph.D.
from California State University, San Bernardino
eTextbook:
Educational Psychology
California State University, San Bernardino
Campus Course
EELB 317 – Educational Psychology for a Diverse Society
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Quote
“The biggest challenge was the lack of ancillary resources; there aren’t any. I had to develop all my own materials which is more time consuming, especially since there is no test bank. I worry a little about the lack of these resources since occasionally adjuncts teach the class and not having ancillary resources will make it more difficult for them.”
Nerea Marteache, Ph.D.
from California State University, San Bernardino
eTextbook:
Crime and Everyday Life
California State University, San Bernardino
Campus Course
CJUS 470 – Environmental Crime Prevention
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Quote
“I adopted this textbook for two reasons. First, I wanted to reduce the cost of the textbook. Second, I thought that the textbook I was using was too complicated for undergraduates, and I was looking for something a little bit easier for them to understand.”
Jerry D. Breckon, M.P.A.
from California State University, San Marcos
eTextbook:
American Government
by Timothy O. Lenz and Mirya Holman
California State University, San Marcos
C-ID Course Identification Numbering System
POLS 110 - Introduction to American Government and Politics
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Quote
“There were no major challenges in terms of support for switching to an OER textbook. However, as with switching to any new textbook there was a great deal of time (hours) spent preparing new material, syllabus, assessments, and projects to support the new OER text.”
Nerea Marteache, Ph.D.
from California State University, San Bernardino
eTextbook:
A Variety of OERs (Open Education Resources)
California State University, San Bernardino
Campus Course
CJUS 590 – Special Topics — Wildlife Crime
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Quote
“The main motivation to adopt an open textbook was to save students money and also being able to customize course contents.”