This course allows students to develop effective written and verbal communication strategies specifically for the workplace. From idea gathering to drafting to delivery, this course will prepare students to effectively write, present, and communicate in a variety of methods and styles, tailored to professional audiences.

This course allows students to develop effective written communication strategies specifically for the workplace. From idea gathering to drafting to delivery, this course will prepare students to write a variety of documents, including memos, letters, and reports, tailored to professional audiences.

Calculus is the mathematics of CHANGE and almost everything in our world is changing. In this course, you will investigate limits and how they are used to calculate rate of change at a point, define the continuity of a function and how they are used to define derivatives. Definite and indefinite integrals and their applications are covered, including improper integrals. Late in the course, you will find Calculus with parametric equations and polar coordinates, sequences and series, and vectors.

Counseling 116: Career/Life Planning and Personal Exploration is designed to cover theories and concepts of values, interests, skills and personality as applied to the career/life planning process and its application to labor market trends. Short/long term career/life plans will be developed. Students will develop an awareness of diversity and its relationship to psychological, sociological and physiological forces within the workplace.

This course covers relations and functions, specifically, linear, polynomial, exponential, logarithmic, and rational functions. Additionally, sections on conics, systems of equations and matrices and sequences are also available.

The focus of this textbook is preparing students for a college education with the study and life skills they need to become successful students.

Textbook for introductory composition, focusing on writing processes, essay writing, and research writing.

This Composition Reader is an edited, curated collection of OER material for you to use as you see fit in your course.  It consists of personal essays, literature, video and audio files, web writing, and long-form journalism.

An introductory cultural anthropology textbook covering all major topics and produced by Lumen Learning.

This course introduces students to the writing process as a means of developing ideas into clear, correct, and effective writing.

Earth science is the study of our home planet and all of its components: its lands, waters, atmosphere, and interior. In this book, some chapters are devoted to the processes that shape the lands and impact people. Other chapters depict the processes of the atmosphere and its relationship to the planet’s surface and all our living creatures. For as long as people have been on the planet, humans have had to live within Earth’s boundaries. Now human life is having a profound effect on the planet. Several chapters are devoted to the effect people have on the planet. Chapters at the end of the book will explore the universe beyond Earth: planets and their satellites, stars, galaxies, and beyond.

The first comprehensive, peer-reviewed open access textbook for biological anthropology courses. Produced with support from the Society for Anthropology in Community Colleges (a section of the American Anthropological Association) and a grant from Minnesota State. Available free of charge for use in any setting.

In February, 2020 ancillary materials will be published, including test banks, PowerPoint slides and study guides. If you (adopting faculty) develop any ancillary materials you would be willing to share as open access materials on this website, please contact us at: explorationstextbook@gmail.com

If you adopt part of all of this textbook, please let us know by filling out our Adoptions survey. This information will help us report back to our funding agencies and, ultimately, help us develop more high quality, open access educational materials.

When you ask the question “What is geology?” most people will initially respond that it is the study of rocks. This is true, but geology is also so much more than that. The truth is that geology is an intricate part of your everyday life.

To be information literate, a person must be able to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information. By the end of this unit you will be able to Define Information Literacy, Define the four domains that fall under Metaliterate Learners, Identify a lack of knowledge in a subject area, Identify a search topic/question and define it using simple terminology, Articulate current knowledge on a topic, Recognize a need for information and data to achieve a specific end and define limits to the information need, and Manage time effectively to complete a search.

This course serves as an overview of business practices on a global scale, including a look at cultural, legal, and logistical perspectives.

Business can refer to a particular organization such as WalMart or to an entire market sector—for example, “the music business.” Compound forms such as agribusiness represent subsets of the word’s broader meaning, which encompasses all activity by suppliers of goods and services in the agricultural industry.  Business can also refer to an individual who earns his or her income by working from home selling items through an online auction site like eBay.  The concept of business has enough definitions and applications that we could almost say that everything is business. Throughout this course we will explore the various functions, roles, and characteristics of business while keeping in mind that business is like the air we breathe—everywhere!

This ready-to-adopt Introduction to Business course develops students’ understanding of business fundamentals with learning design structured around timely, real-world case studies and examples. Key topics include the role of business, the global economic and legal environment, ethics, marketing, accounting and finance, and managing processes and operations. Enriched OER content (text, video, simulations, etc.) orients students to the shifting business landscape and prepares them for success in business program curriculum and the workplace.

This course was written by Linda Williams of Tidewater Community College and Lumen Learning and is supplemented by content from OpenStax Principles of Economics, Boundless Business, and videos from multiple sources.

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Our Criteria
Accuracy and Currency
How accurate is the material, based on current standards in the field?
If the material is inaccurate, does it acknowledge conflicts in perspectives and changes over time?
If the material is outdated, does it serve other purposes (to provide historical perspective, to provoke discussion, or to serve as an example)?

Within this review of Lumen's Open Educational Resource (OER) Introduction to Business by Linda Williams, I chose to pick one part of the course content to review - Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The material is based on current standards within the business ethics foundation. This portion of CSR goes over current terminology such as "green-washing" and connects to current controversies within CSR, which is important to students going forward in business. Thus far, I see that this information serves discussion purposes, as well as historical relevance. The chapter starts with President Calvin Coolidge's vantage to of business not being a part of business, outside of people being a foundation to business.

Bias
How does the material acknowledge perspectives (of the authors, of other experts in the field, of critical voices, etc.)?
How does the material present facts, opinions, and judgments?
How does the licensing of the material allow the instructor to remix or revise biased content?

The material doesn't acknowledge the author's perspective, which doesn't give a bias. It does present facts within the chapter. In my review, I am unsure if educators can revise the content; but, educators can add portions of the course OER to their classrooms, i.e. CANVAS or Blackboard.

Ability to Overcome Barriers to Engagement
How does the material engage students? Does the material reflect student experience and views?
How do students access the material? Does it require technology skills? Can it be accessed in multiple ways through multiple means?
How does the material/resource respond to accommodative and adaptive technologies?

In reviewing the CSR chapter, I was happy to see video supporting "Increased Pressure from Consumers" subsection of the chapter. This could be a great reflection of students views. This material does require technology skills in order for access to this chapter and OER book. In my review, I was able to connect to the OER course and chapter through a desktop computer, but I did not connect via a mobile phone. For accessibility (ADA) purposes, it is possible to use "talk to text" or "speechnotes" with this OER.

Publishing Process & Licensing
How was the material published? What kind of review/editing process was used?
How is the material licensed and stored? Can it be remixed and revised as needed? Is it subscription-based and if so, who pays for the subscription?
What is the 'permanence' of this material? Is it temporal (likely to be removed or taken down)? What would be the back-up plan if license/access to this material is lost?

Depending if the educator uses "Waymaker", "OHM", or "Candela", each student could pay between $10 to $25 per student as a subscription, in comparison to over $100 for a textbook. Lumen offer workshops and training within their OER program.

Relevant to Course & Institution
How does this material align with course objectives and learning activities?

At the beginning of the CSR chapter, it gives student outcomes such has the definition of CSR, describe the impact of CSR to its stakeholders, and give examples to students of what CSR is within business. This material is align to "Introduction to Business" student outcomes, as well as to AACSB International accreditation.

Relevant to Students
How does the material reflect student interests and learning goals?
How does the material give student autonomy in their learning?
How does the material encourage interaction, critical thinking, and deeper learning/processing

You are probably reading this book because you are taking an introductory Communication course at your college or university. Many colleges and universities around the country require students to take some type of communication course in order to graduate. Introductory Communication classes include courses on public speaking, interpersonal communication, or a class that combines both. While these are some of the most common introductory Communication courses, many Communication departments are now offering an introductory course that explains what Communication is, how it is studied as an academic field, and what areas of specialization make up the field of Communication. In other words, these are survey courses similar to courses such as Introduction to Sociology or Introduction to Psychology. Our goal in this text is to introduce you to the field of Communication as an academic discipline of study.