UBC is committed to making education more affordable and accessible by supporting the integration of open educational resources (OER) into credit courses. This year, eight projects have been awarded OER Affordability Grants through the OER Fund to reduce the cost of learning materials and enhance access for students.
Funded initiatives span a range of activities, including the creation of open-access textbooks, development of interactive digital learning tools, curation of diverse datasets for teaching, and the expansion of existing OER with new instructional and assessment resources. These projects support both students and instructors by providing high-quality, adaptable materials that align with course objectives and promote inclusive, engaging learning experiences.
Funded Projects:
- Adapting and Enhancing an OER Textbook for BIOL200
- Principal Investigator: Vivienne Lam, Faculty of Science
- This project aims to integrate the Fundamentals of Cell Biology open textbook with BIOL200 course. In addition to adopting the text, the team will develop new materials to enhance instruction and reduce student costs.
- Diverse Data Repository for Data Science Education
- Principal Investigator: Katie Burak, Faculty of Science
- This project will create an open-access repository of datasets focused on diverse topics, including equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). The datasets will be accessible via a public website and as R and Python packages.
- Comprehensive Open Textbook on Hydrometallurgy
- Principal Investigator: Amir M. Dehkhoda, Faculty of Applied Science
- This project will develop a detailed open textbook that explains the principles and processes of hydrometallurgy.
- Interactive OER Textbooks for First-Year Chinese
- Principal Investigator: Qian Wang, Faculty of Arts
- This initiative will develop two open textbooks for CHIN131 and CHIN133. The project focuses on affordability, culturally relevant content, and alignment with UBC’s strategic goals. Materials will include 12 interactive lessons with videos, audio, and assessments.
- The Regression Cookbook: A Data Science-Based Approach to Regression Analysis
- Principal Investigator: Gilberto Alexi Rodríguez Arelis
- This open educational resource bridges statistics and machine learning, offering a comprehensive guide to regression analysis using both R and Python. The resource emphasizes practical modeling skills and supports a structured approach to data analysis.
- Expanding Open Patho: Enhancing Accessibility and Instructor Support
- Principal Investigator: Gang Wang, Faculty of Medicine
- This project builds on the existing Open Patho textbook by creating additional materials based on student and faculty feedback. New resources will include an instructor guide, visual aids, a test bank, clinical simulations, and patient video interviews.
- An Introduction to Nepali: Open Textbook for Beginning Learners
- Principal Investigator: Mark Turin, Faculty of Arts
- This project will create an open textbook for beginning Nepali learners. Given the limited number of universities offering Nepali language instruction, this resource will support UBC’s role as a global hub for Himalayan language and cultural education.
- The BRAIN Guide: Building Resources and Accessibility in Neurology
- Principal Investigator: Larry Leung, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences
- This project will produce The BRAIN Guide, an OER consisting of a program guide for educators to adopt and adapt the BRAIN framework and a case and question bank for students, featuring interactive, assessment-style materials.
Please see the OER Fund: Funded Projects page to see more information and to access the full list of project supported by the OER Fund.
About the OER Fund
The UBCV OER Fund aims to support affordable and inclusive access to learning materials through the development, adaption, and use of open educational resources in UBCV credit courses. The OER Fund consist of two grant pathways: OER Affordability Grants of up to $25,000 which are awarded on annual cycle and OER Rapid Innovation Grants of up to $2,000, which are open on a rolling basis.
Congratulations to all awarded projects!
