Y2 Unit 7.2: Second Pass: Multimedia Figures
Incorporating essential, aligned, and accessible figures ensures students aren’t overwhelmed by heavy blocks of text. This approach aligns with the principles of Universal Design for Learning, which emphasize multiple means of representation. By including audio, video, images, charts, graphs, and other media in your pilot textbook, you engage students with the course concepts in a variety of ways. Meaningful figures support student attention and focus in ways that text alone cannot.
Remember that we aim for one figure per chapter section in order to meet our textbook criteria for success. In part this is to ensure that total media engagement time is about 18-20 minutes. Use this time estimate as a guide when you add new figures or cut excess figures. Remember that you can advise students to watch a specific time range of a longer video if you are concerned about going over the time limit.
We recommend completing step 1 during the first week of your month. Meet with your Project Manager during the second week. This leaves you 2-3 weeks to make content changes in your chapters.
Step 1: Figure Audit
To start the second pass through your chapters, do an audit of figures in your chapters. Your audit will help you to identify when figures are missing or overdone, misaligned, inaccessible, or lacking clear permissions. Here is how an audit works.
Each chapter section begins with an H2 in your Google Doc. In Pressbooks, each chapter section is one web page with a unique URL. If you keep the outline pane on the left-hand side of your Google Doc open, it is easy to see where the H2s are based on their placement in relation to the left side of the window.
Scan through each section of your chapters and use comments to take notes on your figures and spotlights. Do your scan all at once, before you do any to-dos. You can use the shorthand below for your comments:
| Shorthand | What’s the problem? | What’s the solution? |
|---|---|---|
| LO | Figure or spotlight isn’t essential for students to achieve the chapter’s learning objectives. | Communicate what function the figure or spotlight serves for learners (use the figure caption or the surrounding text). |
| ALIGN | Figure or spotlight doesn’t support content already in the text. | Connect the figure or spotlight to the rest of the chapter elements in the figure caption. |
| ACCESS | Figure or spotlight is missing accessibility features. | Add alt-text for images, check captions/transcript for videos, etc. |
| EQUITY | Figure or spotlight does not align with this project’s equity goals. | Remediate by editing the content, or revising the caption or surrounding text. |
| LICENSE | Figure or spotlight does not have clear permission for use in an openly licensed textbook. | Make a fair use determination, or seek permission from the creator. |
| ADD | Figure or spotlight is missing from this section. | Find or create the missing element. |
| CUT | Figure or spotlight is decorative, spotlight puts chapter engagement over target, or number of figures breaks established cadence.
CUT also applies to figures or spotlights where it’s not possible to resolve the problems listed above. |
Delete or move to your Parking Lot document. |
Return to the list you started during step 3 of your first pass. If you made notes about figures on your first read-through, you can add to those notes now. Prepare to meet with your Project Manager by using your list to understand what you could do to improve your figures on this pass. Together you’ll narrow the scope down to what is feasible in the available time.
Step 2: Meet with the Project Manager
Meet with the Project Manager to fill in the Year 2 Action Plan tab of the {Course #} Deliverables for Open Curriculum Development Model spreadsheet. At this meeting, you’ll define goals for this pass through your chapters.
This month-long pass includes your audit, your meeting with the Project Manager, and your completion of deliverables, so plan accordingly – what is feasible to accomplish? Prioritize 1-3 goals to accomplish during this month.
The Project Manager may recommend that you meet with other team members for help with this pass. Budget in the time it takes to connect with those roles and receive their input. In particular, if you decide to create new media, set aside time to work with a Media Developer.
Step 3: Multimedia Figures
You are done planning and ready to edit your chapters. Please read the next sections in this unit to review our expectations for including one figure per chapter section.
Licenses and Attributions for Second Pass: Multimedia Figures
Open content, original
“Second Pass: Multimedia Figures” by Open Oregon Educational Resources is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Open content, shared previously
Figure Y2 7.2. is adapted from OER Pathways Developmental Rubric and Editorial Shorthand by Stephanie Lenox for Chemeketa Press, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
