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New Lecture Slides/Videos Completed for OpenStax Astronomy 2e

by Robert Wagner 9 months, 2 weeks ago

I had previously uploaded links to lecture slides and videos for the first edition of OpenStax Astronomy. I spent much of my sabbatical this past spring updating these videos. I focused on updating the content and on shortening the videos (average video length is now about 11 minutes.) There are between two and five lectures for each chapter in the textbook. 

All of these are released under a CC-BY license so that other are free to adapt them to their own classes. The videos are available through YouTube (The final lecture for Chapter 30 will be released on Wednesday) and the lecture slides are available through a Google Drive link. The information has been uploded to the Commons here, but I wanted to share here as well. The document containing all information and links is available here: OpenStax Astronomy 2e Lecture Materials.

Starting next week, I will be releasing weekly videos on the Astronomy Picture of the Day (Monday) , Misconceptions in Astronomy (Wednesday), and Special Topics in Astronomy (Friday).

I hope that some find these useful - feel free to use and adapt to your own classes as you feel best! Suggestions and comments are always welcome!

Lindsay Josephs 9 months, 2 weeks ago

Hi Professor Wagner!

Thank you for sharing this resource - it's incredible! The OpenStax team is inspired by instructors like you who are committed to making educational resources more accessible for all. Do we have your permission to share your Astronomy videos and lecture slides on our social media pages (Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook)?

Thank you!

Best,

Lindsay Josephs

Demand Generation Specialist

OpenStax

Robert Wagner 9 months, 2 weeks ago

Linday,

Please feel free to share them through any methods you find useful.

I learned about OpenStax at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Jan 2017 and started incorporating itno my classes that fall. I was able to attend CreatorFest in 2019 which encouraged me to continue the creative process. I was fortunate to have a sabbatical this spring which allowed me to update the slides - adding new material and trying to make them more accessible. All videos are captioned and I have manually reviewed and edited the captions myself. Images on the lecture slides all have alt-text added and I have tried to use different colors to make a better contrast on the slides. 

I appreciate the openStax astronomy textbook which has allowed me to offer a zero cost textbook for my students allowing us to get a quick start on the semester!