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Georgia State University

Open Education Week (March7-11)

OpenEdBanner2016Open Education Week starts today! Check back with the GSU Library Blog each day this week as we highlight OER (Open Educational Resources) each day.

Today, we’ll highlight a few high quality open textbooks housed in the GSU library. All of the textbooks listed below have a creative commons license with generous use rights. Need to know more about creative commons? Join this webinar at 4:00 today:  “An Introduction to: Creative Commons, Open Educational Resources & Open Policies.”

The following books can be downloaded online for free, or check out the print copy from the GSU library if you prefer a more tactile experience.

Writing Spaces Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 by Charles Lowe and Pavel Zemliansky

Click the links above for a free online copy or get the print book on Library North 4: Call Number: PE1417 .W735 2010. From the Parlor Press:

Volumes in Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing offer multiple perspectives on a wide-range of topics about writing, much like the model made famous by Wendy Bishop’s “The Subject Is . . .” series.  In each chapter, authors present their unique views, insights, and strategies for writing by addressing the undergraduate reader directly.  Drawing on their own experiences, these teachers-as-writers invite students to join in the larger conversation about developing nearly every aspect of craft of writing. Consequently, each essay functions as a standalone text that can easily complement other selected readings in writing or writing-intensive courses across the disciplines at any level. Topics in Volume 1 of the series include academic writing, how to interpret writing assignments, motives for writing, rhetorical analysis, revision, invention, writing centers, argumentation, narrative, reflective writing, Wikipedia, patchwriting, collaboration, and genres.Volume 2 continues the tradition of the previous volume with topics, such as the rhetorical situation, collaboration, documentation styles, weblogs, invention, writing assignment interpretation, reading critically, information literacy, ethnography, interviewing, argument, document design, and source integration.

The Missing Link by Michael Mendez

Click the link above for a free online copy or get the print book on Library North 3: Call Number: TK5105.888 .M46 2014. This book is peer reviewed as part of the OpenSUNY initiative. From the OpenSUNY website:

This text provides the developer with an understanding of the various elements of web development by focusing on the concepts and fundamentals through the examples within, providing a foundation that allows easier transition to other languages and a better understanding of how to approach their work. The reader will be introduced to topics in a manner that follows most project development methods, from initial conceptualization and design through front end development, back end development, and introducing additional concepts like accessibility and security, while focusing on responsive design techniques. Each section of the text includes opportunities to practice the material and assess increased knowledge after examining the topics.

How We Got from There to Here by Eugene Boman and Robert Rogers

Click the link above for a free online copy or get the print book on Library North 4: Call Number: QA331.5 .R54 2014. This book was reviewed by the Mathematical Association of America. From the OpenSUNY website:

This book covers the major topics typically addressed in an introductory undergraduate course in real analysis in their historical order. Written with the student in mind, the book provides guidance for transforming an intuitive understanding into rigorous mathematical arguments. For example, in addition to more traditional problems, major theorems are often stated and a proof is outlined. The student is then asked to fill in the missing details as a homework problem.

College algebra, (3rd Corrected Edition) by Carl Stitz and Jeffrey Zeager

Click the link above for a free online copy or get the print book on Library South 4: Call Number: QA154.3 .S75 2013. Description from Merlot:

College Algebra is an introductory text for a college algebra survey course.  The material is presented at a level intended to prepare students for Calculus while also giving them relevant mathematical skills that can be used in other classes.  The authors describe their approach as “Functions First,” believing introducing functions first will help students understand new concepts more completely. Each section includes homework exercises, and the answers to most computational questions are included in the text (discussion questions are open-ended).  Graphing calculators are used sparingly and only as a tool to enhance the Mathematics, not to replace it.

Precalculus by David Lippman and Melonie Rasmussen

Click the link above for a free online copy or get the print book on Library South 4: Call Number: QA39.3 .R37 2015. From the open textbook store:

The first portion of the book is an investigation of functions, exploring the graphical behavior of, interpretation of, and solutions to problems involving linear, polynomial, rational, exponential, and logarithmic functions. An emphasis is placed on modeling and interpretation, as well as the important characteristics needed in calculus. The second portion of the book introduces trigonometry. Trig is introduced through an integrated circle/triangle approach. Identities are introduced in the first chapter, and revisited throughout. Likewise, solving is introduced in the second chapter and revisted more extensively in the third chapter. As with the first part of the book, an emphasis is placed on motivating the concepts and on modeling and interpretation.

Math in Society by David Lippman

Click the link above for a free online copy or get the print book on Library South 4: Call Number: QA11.2 .L57 2013. From the opentextbookstore:

This book is a survey of contemporary mathematical topics, most non-algebraic, appropriate for a college-level quantitative literacy topics course for liberal arts majors. The text is designed so that most chapters are independent, allowing the instructor to choose a selection of topics to be covered. Emphasis is placed on the applicability of the mathematics. Core material for each topic is covered in the main text, with additional depth available through exploration exercises appropriate for in-class, group, or individual investigation. This book is appropriate for Washington State Community Colleges’ Math 107.