How to Use This Sample Course Shell

  • Total Reading Time
  • 7 minutes

Overview

We've put together these course materials based on the OpenStax Open Education Resource textbook and incorporated effective course design elements for an online environment.

ALL of the material included here is optional. None of it is required in order to use the OpenStax textbook. We've just tried to create a starting point for you as a foundation for making this course "your own."

 

Adoption Tracking 

The course textbook is made possible through generous philanthropic grants. Our future grant funding is based on the number of students we impact. Please let us know you're using OpenStax by completing the adoption form at https://openstax.org/adoption Links to an external site.

(Estimated form completion time: two minutes.)

 

OpenStax will not share your email with other organizations unless you express interest in one of our partners within the adoption form. 

 

Customization Instructions

Customizing your course is easy! There are two different types of customization highlight notes to look out for in the course: Customization Notes to Faculty and Content for Faculty to Customize. We suggest that you delete customization notes and yellow-highlighting before students enter your course. 

 

Customization Notes to Faculty

 Keep a look out for instructor customization notes.

They will be characterized by a green background with white text:

instructor customization notes HTML style

 

Content for Faculty to Customize

You'll find text highlighted in yellow to indicate where you'll need
to customize the content based on your situation.
(We suggest you remove the highlighting once you've edited the text.)

example of highlighted text for customizing

 

 

How to Access Your OpenStax Textbook 

How to access your textbook Links to an external site.

 

Textbook Endorsement Disclosure 

This project is not an endorsement of OpenStax as a sole provider of OER texts. We are starting with OpenStax as, at this point in time, OpenStax is ahead of other developers in ensuring texts are accessible and have ancillary materials such as PowerPoints and test banks available.  As texts from other OER developers meet higher accessibility guidelines and have more community-developed ancillaries, we will be expanding our course shells to include those texts as well.

Modules

We've separated the textbook into modules, by chapter.

 

The Getting Started Module

This module is intended to provide your students with the resources and guidance they need to be successful in an online course. We've suggested an introductory discussion and "Update Your Profile" assignment as low-risk preliminary activities.

 

Canvas Orientation Module

This is a useful resource for those students who may be brand new to the Canvas learning environment.