Robin Yaure

Unizin Engage Pilot: HDFS 129

Robin Yaure, Associate Teaching Professor, Baccalaureate HDFS Program PSU Mont Alto, participated in the Fall 2017 Unizin Engage Pilot supported by TLT and the University Libraries.

Yaure wanted to offer her students a free textbook. By participating in the Unizin Engage pilot she was able to offer students access to the course textbook at no cost. TLT and University Libraries paid the book access fee for her and Dr. Jackie Schwab’s students during the Fall 2017 offering of HDFS129 at PSU Mont Alto.

Unizin Engage is an e-book platform that allows students to view e-versions of published textbooks through the Canvas course management system by clicking on a link within their course space. The e-reader allows students to highlight, take notes, share notes, and ask questions which the faculty can respond to and all students can view. On the instructor end student reading behaviors can be viewed through the use of data analytics. These tools allow instructors to see how much time students are spending on each page of the textbook and if they are reading during the assigned dates or if they are cramming before a major assignment or exam.

“Robin has already began to provide us with incredibly useful feedback on the e-reader, which we will be taking back to Unizin as they work to improve their product,” said Julie Lang, TLT OER Coordinator. “While this is a pilot initiative we are hopeful that it will continue into the future and students will be able to purchase e-books at reduced cost through the Unizin agreement with publishers.”

Some students still prefer to have a printed version of their textbook and Engage allows students to print out the pages if they desire.

The Engage Pilot will be expanded during the Spring 2018 semester. TLT is partnering with the University Libraries to provide faculty development in late Fall 2017 around the pedagogical approaches that can be achieved with the Engage Platform.

You can read more about how Unizin works with universities and publishers to make sure that all students have the course materials they need on the first day of class at the Engage website. If you would like to learn more about Robin’s project please refer the October 2, 2017 TLT Faculty Panel recording and the slide deck.