Manifold Mini #2
OER in Manifold
This session was held April 14, 2020. To give CUNY users an idea about the different types of OER being published on Manifold, I went through several main categories of projects from across the CUNY system. Seeing other projects can help new users understand the variety of OER CUNY users are creating, from more traditional textbooks to enriched course editions to student publications.
OER in Manifold
RECAP
CUNY OER on Manifold
I walked the group through some examples of the amazing OER built on cuny.manifoldapp.org. Anyone teaching or studying at CUNY is welcome to use Manifold. OER, Open Educational Resources, are meant for free classroom use of openly licensed material. Manifold allows for any license, but if you create a project, you are responsible for assigning the license.
TEXTBOOKS:
- Ethnographies of Work (Guttman) – chapters by individual professors, edited by a smaller group
- Facciamo un giro in carosello (Queens) – Italian language textbook created by two GC PhD candidates
COURSE READERS:
- ENG 302: Remappping the Modern (Lehman) – using many texts rather than a single text with chapters
- ENG 111: Literature and Composition (Hostos)
- Journal of the Plague Year (John Jay) – single text with chapters and table of contents on project homepage
ENRICHED EDITIONS:
- Selections from Petrarch’s Canzoniere (Hunter) — example of how you can incorporate audio resources
CRITICAL EDITIONS:
Manifold is a great place to put a group copy so that you know everyone is reading the same version. In addition to controlling the text everyone’s reading from in class, Manifold can be a place for out-of-print texts you wish to reintegrate. CUNY Student Editions (started by 18th century Americanists) are meant to widen the canon as well as providing good working texts of commonly used texts.
- The Negro and the Nation (GC) — shows how to use homepage for instructions
- CUNY Student Editions (Queens) — ongoing project which invites contributions
STUDENT EDITED COLLECTIONS:
- “Gender and Society” and us in the classroom (Brooklyn) — good example of how to let students opt in for publication (named or anonymous)
Beyond examples
Then we discussed how to get started. This brief list can be followed up with Manifold Mini #5, Publishing Your OER on Manifold.
Get Some Guidance:
- OER Starter Kit Workbook by Abbey Elder and Stacy Katz
- City College English Department OER Guide
- Building Open Infrastructure at CUNY
Assemble Your Materials
- Gather texts and choose the format
- Gather resources
- Add texts
Create Your Account:
- Make sure you have a Login at CUNY.manifoldapp.org
- Request Project Creator permissions
QUESTIONS
Can I use copy-righted sources on Manifold for teaching purposes? Or is reserved only for public domain books?
As long as you receive permission to use sources, you can use them on Manifold. The platform has no mechanism to hold you to copyright law and depends on users to adhere to fair use and disciplinary guidelines. If you have questions about specific materials, I recommend speaking with your campus OER representatives and librarians.
If copyrighted, can you make the Manifold publication private as a condition of permission from an author/publisher?
Currently, there are no access restrictions on Manifold, though that feature is currently under development (See plan in V6.0 on Manifold Github Roadmap). It is possible that closed projects will be available in the future.
Are comments moderated?
Whatever a reader adds to the text (annotation on text or comment on an annotation or resource) belongs to them. Teachers are encouraged to use private Reading Groups (which I will discuss further next week) to manage student annotations. You still cannot delete your students’ comments (unless you delete your whole project, in which case everything goes). Inappropriate comments may be flagged.