This presentation will highlight how two educators used SoftChalk to transform traditional flat texts into engaging, interactive OER course materials.

As a key component of the Reading Curriculum Team for the Kaleidoscope Grant (http://www.project-kaleidoscope.org/), Jacqui Cain developed an interactive reader using SoftChalk to adapt “The Hound of the Baskervilles” for use in lower-level basic skills courses. Ms. Cain will explain the collaboration process and creation of the materials, demonstrate the reader, discuss the next phases of this project and briefly review two OER projects currently in development.

Malissa Attebery from Lone Star College created a World War II ecourse using the OER textbook written by Henry Jud Sage, a Virginia Community College faculty member. His original etextbook is located in the College Open Textbooks repository (http://www.collegeopentextbooks.org). Using SoftChalk, this flat text was made interactive and portable to multiple web-based learning environments, enabling the learner to see, hear, and further explore the content.