Author: Lisa Louis

This author has written 14 articles
Read more about the article Opening the Classroom: Using Open Educational Practices to Reimagine Teaching and Learning

Opening the Classroom: Using Open Educational Practices to Reimagine Teaching and Learning

Have you heard of "open educational resources" or "OER"? These are educational materials that are available for free via the Internet which can be used, reused, remixed, and redistributed by anyone who wants to learn or teach.1 We often hear about OER in the context of textbook affordability. Students these days pay a lot of money for the textbooks which are produced by for-profit publishers. Studies have shown that many students are forced to choose between paying for textbooks and…

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Read more about the article Why We Cancelled Lexis-Nexis (and How We Made the Decision)

Why We Cancelled Lexis-Nexis (and How We Made the Decision)

This summer, Bell Library was faced with a choice. The database Lexis-Nexis, long a mainstay among library online resources, was coming up for renewal. We could have just renewed it automatically. Lexis Nexis seems foundational. Essential, even. But some concerns brought us up short. Usage was way down over previous years. The price has gone up over the same time span. And there were some problems with the contract that the company wanted us to sign. The TAMU system has…

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Read more about the article Podcasting for Everyone…At Your Library!

Podcasting for Everyone…At Your Library!

Have you ever listened to a podcast and thought: "Hey, I could do that!" Well, I'm taking a class on podcasting this summer, and I can tell you that yes, you probably can do that, but there is a lot to know about the equipment, audio editing, software, storytelling, and interview preparation. To create a podcast episode you will need a recording setup and audio software to edit the recording. And guess what? The library's got you covered in the…

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Read more about the article What do you spend on textbooks?

What do you spend on textbooks?

March 4-8 was Open Education Week, a week when we celebrate the power of the Internet to democratize education by providing a platform on which tools for learning—everything from videos and class modules to lecture notes and entire textbooks or courses—can be made freely available to anyone wanting to learn. In spite of the fact that we have the digital technology to provide learning materials at low to no cost and that many brilliant minds all over the world are engaged…

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