New book: Introduction to Data Science Using Python

Posted on by Marc Drumm
zoomed in view of python coding on a computer screen

The Pennsylvania Alliance for Design of Open Textbooks (PA-ADOPT) is pleased to announce the immediate availability of our eighth free and open eTextbook: Introduction to Data Science Using Python by Dr. Afrand Agah, Professor of Computer Science at West Chester University.

“This book contains two parts, the first is designed to be used in an introductory programming course for students looking to learn Python, without having any prior experience with programming. Basic programming concepts are discussed, explained, and illustrated with a Python program. Ample programming questions are provided for practice. The second part of the book utilizes machine-learning concepts and statistics to accomplish data-driven resolutions. Python programs are provided to apply scientific computing to conclude statistically driven results.”

Please help us spread the word about our books and web site to further our work to reduce costs for students, bring equity to higher education classrooms, and give faculty the flexibility to design their own learning experiences. All of our books are available to download in both ePub and PDF formats from our Bookshelf.

New book: Basic Statistics Using R for Crime Analysis

Posted on by Marc Drumm
zoomed in view of a magnifying glass, computer mouse, highlighter, and laptop

The Pennsylvania Alliance for Design of Open Textbooks (PA-ADOPT) is pleased to announce the immediate availability of our seventh free and open eTextbook: Basic Statistics Using R for Crime Analysis by Dr. Jaeyong Choi, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at West Chester University.

“Limited access to subscription-based statistical software poses obstacles when students want to apply the skills they acquired in college. Although students may learn programs like SPSS or Stata while at the university, they often find themselves unable to continue using these programs after graduation, making their acquired skills obsolete. As an open-source software program, R offers a solution to this challenge. It is freely accessible to anyone, including students, after they graduate. Therefore, I decided to write a freely available book for those interested in becoming crime analysts, focusing on learning statistics without delving too deeply into mathematics. Moreover, this book emphasizes practical applications by utilizing R for data analysis, ensuring students can develop relevant skills beyond the university. I hope that students can easily follow the instructions in this book and replicate the same outcomes using the provided data. This practical experience will demonstrate the value of statistics and R, ideally inspiring students to further their learning in these areas.”

Please help us spread the word about our books and web site to further our work to reduce costs for students, bring equity to higher education classrooms, and give faculty the flexibility to design their own learning experiences. All of our books are available to download in both ePub and PDF formats from our Bookshelf.

New book: Building User Interfaces for Modern Web Applications

Posted on by Marc Drumm
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The Pennsylvania Alliance for Design of Open Textbooks (PA-ADOPT) is pleased to announce the immediate availability of our sixth free and open eTextbook: Building User Interfaces for Modern Web Applications: React Programming by Dr. Cheer-Sun Yang, Professor of Computer Science at West Chester University.

“Since Facebook released React as an open-source software library for front-end programming in 2013, React has gain popularity quickly. Although there are other frameworks or libraries, React is considered a programmer-friendly JavaScript library using the functional programming approach for the front-end web application development. Teaching and learning React can provide training in Functional Programming, Software Engineering Principles, and the Event-Driven Programming Paradigm. The ultimate goal of this eTextbook is to provide a timely support for teaching the state-of-the-art technology as the React ecosystem evolves.

In this eTextbook, the prerequisite concepts about HTML/CSS, JavaScript, and Bootstrap/React-Bootstrap are introduced first, followed by the main React language features. Finally, the Software Engineering Principles are introduced from the design, development, to debugging and maintenance. The main objectives are threefold: (1) provide concepts about JavaScript Programming, (2) introduce the concepts of modularity, functional programming, and (3) teach the concept of reusable User Interface (UI) as the front-end of modern model-view-controller (MVC) web applications.

Although learning other technologies in the React ecosystem is imminent, it is the hope that this book paves the groundwork for the future learning and growing in the field of modern UI development.”

Please help us spread the word about our books and web site to further our work to reduce costs for students, bring equity to higher education classrooms, and give faculty the flexibility to design their own learning experiences. All of our books are available to download in both ePub and PDF formats from our Bookshelf.

New book: Intro to Journalism Handbook

Posted on by Marc Drumm
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The Pennsylvania Alliance for Design of Open Textbooks (PA-ADOPT) is pleased to announce the immediate availability of our fifth free and open eTextbook: Intro to Journalism Handbook: An Open Educational Resource for Journalism Students by Dr. Michael Downing, Professor of English at Kutztown University.

“This book is intended as an open educational resource for beginning journalism students. It contains information on such topics as the First Amendment, 5 Ws (and H), the inverted pyramid, headlines and subheads, AP and in-house style, writing and editing exercises, and guidance on strategies for covering various stories and/or events.

This book essentially replicates the structure of the author’s journalism classes, which are writing-intensive classes. As such, it focuses upon helping student writers begin working on reasonably serious, campus-level journalism assignments as quickly and effectively as possible. The goal is to submit stories, photos, and occasionally video to a university newspaper for publication, all the while following professional standards related to accuracy, clarity, grammar, and AP style.”

Please help us spread the word about our books and web site to further our work to reduce costs for students, bring equity to higher education classrooms, and give faculty the flexibility to design their own learning experiences. All of our books are available to download in both ePub and PDF formats from our Bookshelf.

Learn About PA-ADOPT at OLC Innovate 2024

Posted on by Marc Drumm
rows of empty seats in an auditorium
OLC Innovate 2024

If you’re planning to attend the upcoming OLC Innovate conference in Denver, stop by to hear Marc Drumm, PA-ADOPT’s Principal Investigator, and Hannah Glatt, Learning Experience and eTextbook Designer, present “How a University’s eTextbook Development Program Became a Multi-Institutional OER Consortium: PA-ADOPT” on Friday, April 12 from 11:15am to noon MT. We’ll talk about the approach we took to introducing West Chester University faculty to producing their own eTextbooks, the methods we use and topics we teach, and how this eventually led to receiving a grant from the U.S. Department of Education to expand this program into leading four Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) institutions in a three-year project to create OER eTextbooks focused on Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Health, and Writing courses.