In this month’s webinar, Dr. Delmar Larsen, Professor of Chemistry at UC Davis and Director of LibreTexts, shared how users can build customized OER in a variety of disciplines using LibreTexts various systems and tools. He also introduced ADAPT, a multifaceted online assessment infrastructure to accompany LibreTexts books and provide a wide range of question options.

To watch a recording of this webinar, visit our YouTube channel or click on the video linked below:

To foreground the rest of his talk, Dr. Larsen introduced The LibreTexts Mission, which is “Implementing a Community build platform (for the Construction, Curation, Adoption, and Adaption) of OER that is Comprehensive and can be Curated at multiple levels.”

This Mission is tied directly to LibreTexts’ goals as a community-centered project, and one that prioritizes the development of dynamic, curated libraries of content rather than, for example, static PDFs.

So, what is the LibreVerse?

The title of this month’s webinar is “An Introduction to the LibreVerse,” so you may be wondering how that relates to LibreTexts.

As Dr. Larsen explains, LibreTexts is the brand name for his “project, team, and company,” whereas the LibreVerse is “an interconnected ecosystem of technologies” that are supported by the LibreTexts team and partners.

This movement from talking about LibreTexts as a platform to the LibreVerse as an ecosystem has come about due to regular growth and development of the platforms and tools connected to LibreTexts, and to reiterate the community efforts behind the work happening on the platform.

There are various systems that make up the LibreVerse, which are presented in the graphic below. These include: ADAPT, Project Solo, Jupyter Notebook, Javascript Server, Learning Analytics, Bot Server, Commons & Conductor, and Forums.

Dr. Larsen broke down each of these components during his talk, a few of which are highlighted below in the sections below. If you would like a more full explanation of these platforms and tools, please watch the full recording above.

The Commons and Conductor

The Commons:

What is it? The Commons is the front-end information for locating and adopting courses on the LibreVerse. This is how most users will start interacting with the platform.

What does it do? The Commons houses the individual books, libraries, collections, and homework that make up the LibreVerse.

The Commons contains both LibreCommons, a centrally-managed instance, and Campus Commons, which are branded instances managed by individual institutions. While Campus Commons instances do come with a cost, LibreCommons is free by default as part of the LibreVerse’s dedication to openness.

The Conductor:

What is it? The Conductor refers to the back-end tools which make the LibreVerse more useful.

What does it do? Allows users to manage information about their OER projects, coordinate peer review, manage team communications, track adoption information, and more. For example, a user could set up alerts so they are made aware when a new resource is released within the Biology Library in LibreTexts.

Learning analytics are one of the more exciting pieces of data collected by LibreTexts,

Tools and Technologies

The OER Remixer

What is it? One of the first parts of the LibreTexts system to be created, the OER Remixer is a tool for collating, organizing, and editing OER on the LibreTexts platform.

What does it do? The Remixer allows instructors to see a birds-eye view of a book in the LibreTexts system, to reorganize, delete, or add to that text, and to easily combine sections from other texts available on the LibreTexts platform.

The LibreStudio

What is it? LibreStudio is a free, public H5P assessment repository.

What does it do? LibreStudio allows users to search, reuse, and adapt assessments and exercises shared by other instructors in the system.

ADAPT

What is it? ADAPT is a homework system that is “flexible, dynamic, comprehensive, integrated, LMS-agnostic, and powerful.”

What does it do? ADAPT integrates the technologies that are part of other individual homework systems (H5P, QTI, WebWork, IMathAS, Jupyter, and more) into a single system hosted by LibreTexts for users.* Both automated-grading and open-ended questions can be integrated into this system.

*ADAPT is built with various technologies in order to better support the wide range of disciplines represented in the LibreTexts Libraries, from Chemistry to the Humanities.

Additional bells and whistles

• Learning Analytics: Book creators can review analytics related to reading time, page activity, and other access analytics which can be used in studies to better understand the use and impact of OER in your courses.
• Accessibility: Features for assessing the accessibility of content are built into the platform, including a system which flags content while it is being written and (in the Conductor) an accessibility report function.
• Reader View: In the upper right corner of each page in LibreTexts, users can now click to enable “Reader View,” which provides a more attractive and streamlined appearance while reading online.
• Dissemination options: Content in LibreTexts can be downloaded as a PDF and purchased in print, for those who prefer that option. EPUB and LMS files (common cartridge) are also available.

Interested in learning more?

Watch the full recording or check out LibreTexts for yourself today!