The Affordable Learning Exchange (ALX) works with instructors who want to transform their courses with open and affordable materials—from writing or curating their own textbooks to adding more diverse voices to the syllabus and even creating lending libraries for necessary supplies. Thanks to a partnership between the Office of Technology and Digital Innovation (OTDI) and University Libraries, ALX projects in 2023 will save students nearly $100,000 in material costs.
The Affordable Learning Exchange (ALX) has been awarding grants for the past seven years to instructors who want to transform their courses. Grant winners were primarily focused on reducing the cost of their course materials for students. “While these goals remain at the core of the ALX mission, the murder of George Floyd in 2020 prompted us to [...] expand our scope to encompass broader social justice topics," said Ashley Miller. Several instructors at Ohio State share Miller's passion and have taken the opportunity ALX provides to infuse their courses with racial justice.
The Affordable Learning Exchange (ALX) has awarded grants to 21 instructors for 2022. This new cohort is planning to use those funds to support affordability and racial justice projects for courses at Columbus, Lima and Newark campuses. These projects cover a wide range of disciplines—from math to music, art and design to architecture, sociology to psychology. The hard work of these instructors over the next year will result in over $80,000 in direct savings to students!
Since 2018, Associate Professor Sébastien Proulx has been using Affordable Learning Exchange (ALX) grants to reimagine his courses in the Department of Design. Proulx is using his 2020 Racial Justice grant to add a course module around decolonizing design, a discipline that is traditionally Eurocentric. Proulx hopes to help make diversity and ethnic issues a normal part of the conversation and study of design, rather than an afterthought.
The Affordable Learning Exchange (ALX) will be requesting proposals for their latest grant opportunity beginning September 10 . ALX awards grants to instructors who want to transform their courses using open and affordable course materials. A variety of grants will be available to meet the financial and support needs of a wide range of projects—from adopting existing open materials to re-imagining an entire course.
Millar saw an ALX grant as a way to bring the online course materials for his MUSIC 1101 class to a higher standard, and to improve the experience for students of all majors to critically engage with and participate in music.
The Affordable Learning Exchange (ALX) has awarded grants to 16 instructors in 2021. This new cohort is planning to use those funds for a wide range of projects, such as combining multiple sources into one free textbook, utilizing existing open resources, creating “lending libraries” of...
The Affordable Learning Exchange (ALX) is expanding their scope this autumn by piloting a racial justice grant. This new opportunity will support instructors who are incorporating assignments, resources and approaches for teaching students about issues facing Black Americans and other marginalized groups.
