What Happened to the Book: Anatomy & Physiology OER Textbook with University of Hawai’i
Almost 4 years ago, in March 2021, we held a virtual Book Sprint with a team of 10 faculty members from the University of Hawai’i’s many campuses to write an Anatomy and Physiology OER textbook. This was the first virtual Book Sprint with the university after two successful Sprints in 2019.
The Anatomy and Physiology textbook is part of an OER textbook series published by the University of Hawaii at Manoa to drastically reduce the cost of learning materials for its students across the islands. At the same time, with the freedom to build on existing OER, instructors can create content that fits their own teaching style and the needs of their students.
An Award-winning Textbook in 2024
Recently, this Anatomy and Physiology OER textbook won the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technology Outstanding Work (WOW) Award! The WOW award recognizes outstanding efforts to apply innovative solutions to a challenging educational need. There are several innovative solutions that the authors of the Sprint included in the Anatomy and Physiology OER textbook.
First, the book is available for free online — thus allowing students, especially those from marginalized populations, to access the comprehensive material without the usual $200 price tag.
Second, the book is culturally responsive and contains localized content. The anatomy and physiology content is situated in the local context, history, society, and ecology of the Hawai’ian islands. Thus, woven into the text are information on local health issues, food, environment, and common problems affecting the native Hawai’ian communities. In a blog post on the book, textbook co-author Jason Kenji Higa explained, “We hope that by seeing themselves and others in the textbook, students will experience and express empathy, interest in learning about each other, and form a diverse social network during their academic journey.”
And third, of course, as the authors share in their blog post on WCET — the book was collaboratively written through a Book Sprint! The 10 authors were from all over the Hawai’i islands, joining together through a virtual Book Sprint due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Textbook co-author, I-Chia Shih noted, “This was a challenging process but we pulled through because of everyone’s effort and continuous support from our administrators. When combining the interdisciplinary expertise of every author plus the existing A&P OER resources, the development of our textbook became a creative, open-minded, and achievable process.”
Our warm congratulations to our partners at the University of Hawai’i System and the authors of this Book Sprint!
An OER Textbook with Student-Centered Design
Organized by OER technologist Billy Meinke-Lau and Professor Sheryl Shook, this Book Sprint aimed to create a resource to inspire students to follow the medical path. The authors focused on creating a useful, accessible, and enjoyable companion for students on their learning journey.
Moreover, the authors wanted to situate the anatomy and physiology content in the local context, history, society, and ecology of the Hawai’ian islands. Thus, woven into the text are information on local health issues, food, environment, and common problems affecting the native Hawai’ian communities.