Awarded Grant: $10,000 (2012) $60,000 (2013) Principal Investigator: Roberta (Robin) Sullivan, University at Buffalo The SUNY Tools of Engagement Project (TOEP) is an on-demand discovery learning professional development model. The goal of TOEP is to encourage faculty and staff across SUNY to explore and reflect upon the use of emerging technology tools to expand tech-infused pedagogy. Self-directed activities encourage faculty to be lifelong learners, as they become familiar with blogging, wikis, podcasting, online collaborative, and the latest web-based instructional technology tools. In Phase 2 TOEP merged with Empire State College’s 2012-13 IITG project. The six-partner collaborative expanded to 11 campuses in phase 3. Phase 4 has 19 collaborative partners and is a SUNY-wide available resource. The multi-campus project has served more than 700 faculty/staff. Each participating campus recruits faculty and staff to “learn by exploring and doing” via the project’s on-demand web-based venue. The project is extended via TOEP Fellows (campus-based mentoring teams). A badging system tracks participant’s progress and mastery. Co-PI’s and Key Partners: Cherie van Putten, Training Associate for University Center for Training and Development, Binghamton University Beth Burns, Instructional Designer, Instructional Resources, Buffalo State College Susan Jaworski, Interlibrary Loan Clerk 2, Buffalo State College Dr. Shufang Shi, Associate Professor of Instructional Technology, Early Childhood/Childhood Education Department, SUNY Cortland Nathan Whitley-Grassi, Faculty Instructional Technologist, Empire State College Dr. Kathleen Gradel, Professor, Department of Language, Learning, & Leadership in the College of Education, SUNY Fredonia Dr. Michael Jabot, Professor, Department of Curriculum & Instruction in the College of Education, SUNY Fredonia Cindi Tysick, Associate Librarian, Arts & Sciences Libraries, University at Buffalo Lisa Miles Raposo, Assistant Director of the State University of New York Center for Professional Development (SUNY CPD) Reports and Resources: Project website Video introducing TOEP Project outcomes report Mid-project report Project outcomes report 2.0 Creative Commons License:

The Open SUNY Textbook 2012 program, a very successful pilot, proved that SUNY Faculty and Libraries are interested in creating high-quality open textbooks. We received 38 proposals in a 2 week call for a writing deadline that was idealistic, libraries contributed funding and staffing to expand the program from the funded 5 open textbooks to 15. Those will be published during fall 2013. This demonstration of the Power of SUNY is key to reducing the cost of attending colleges and universities for students. It is vital to higher education leveraging the creative talents of their faculty, librarians, and staff, and provides the sustainability and scalability to Open SUNY. Using lessons learned from the pilot, we seek to expand learning resource production and participation to better meet some of the needs of SUNY faculty, our 440K current students, plus the anticipated 100K online SUNY students, and beyond.

Principal Investigator: Cyril Oberlander, SUNY Geneseo This project funds an innovative and collaborative pilot to develop Open SUNY textbooks and develop the venture partnerships to sustain open textbook publishing among SUNY institutions. The grant provides incentive funding to invite faculty to create open textbooks during a pilot phase that builds a community of practice for creating cost-effective course readings, engages libraries in publishing service and infrastructure, promotes academic reusable content models, explores student roles in publishing, and utilizes a hybrid distribution model. Participating libraries are from SUNY Geneseo, SUNY Brockport, University of Buffalo, SUNY Upstate Medical, SUNY ESF, SUNY Fredonia, with support from SUNY Press. During fall 2013, the Open SUNY Textbook program will publish 15 free online textbooks, thanks to the support from a SUNY Innovative Instruction Technology Grant (IITG) and library funding, and the time and talent of librarians and consultation by SUNY Press. Co-PI’s and Key Partners: Charles Lyons, University at Buffalo Open SUNY Textbook participating Libraries or IT: The College of Brockport, SUNY ESF, SUNY Fredonia, SUNY Geneseo, SUNY Monroe Community College, SUNY Oswego, SUNY Upstate, and University of Buffalo. SUNY Press serves as a consultant to the project. Reports and Resources: Open SUNY Textbooks Journals and Press Articles: “Online textbooks open a new chapter in learning” Note: Open Textbooks are a key strategy that can make access to college more affordable, can expand opportunities for learning across the globe, and develop critical support to build academic friendly publishing models that are sustainable and produce high-quality open educational resources. Creative Commons License: