Open Education Week 2025 at Pressbooks

“Any book or knowledge source remains relevant longer when it’s dynamic, or embracing of continuous change.”

These words appear in the introduction of the most recent edition of Humans R Social Media, a cutting edge, open access “living book” on new media penned by information scholar Diana Daly and several contributors, including her students.

Presenting a compelling vision for what’s possible with openly-licensed learning materials, Humans R Social Media has seen almost constant evolution since it was first published in 2017. Daly, then a newly appointed faculty member at the University of Arizona’s School of Information, set out to create a textbook that would address the dynamic needs of modern students exploring media studies.

Teaching 300 students per semester in a course titled “Social Media and Ourselves,” Daly found the traditional lecture model unsatisfying and began searching for a way to incorporate active learning and student voices into her teaching. This desire gave birth to the textbook as a means of exploring culturally responsive pedagogy.

Incorporating student voices in a rapidly evolving field

When she began teaching the course, Daly struggled to find content that resonated with her students. Traditional research and academic publishing in the field lagged behind the rapidly evolving social media landscape, and her students themselves had a lot of practical experience with this topic. Daly wanted her course content to feel current and relevant. Even more importantly, she wanted to use class time for meaningful interactions, fostering a learning environment that reflected students’ realities and incorporated their insights.

The first edition of Humans R Social Media was published using TopHat, a platform where students initially had to pay for access. This version aggregated Daly’s knowledge but lacked the dynamic, collaborative element she envisioned. “I wanted something that felt like it was shared with students, not sold to them.”

This led to the creation of the “Social Media and Ourselves” podcast and the iVoices Media Lab, a three-year project funded by the University of Arizona’s Center for University Education Scholarship. Through this project, undergraduate students were able to engage hands-on with the topic through contemporary media tools and channels. As part of this work, students were hired to help migrate the textbook to Pressbooks as an open educational resource (OER) to allow for greater interactivity and collaboration, as well as free access. 

Instead of traditional essays, students were encouraged to tell their stories and create media for the book, decentralizing Daly’s voice and making this a truly shared endeavor. You can view student contributions in the galleries of the newest edition:

Gallery of video stories

Gallery of memes

Social Media and Ourselves podcast episodes

Reaching a broader audience of collaborators

One of the pivotal moments in the book’s continued evolution came in 2022, when Nathan Schneider, an assistant professor from CU Boulder (and contributor to the most recent edition), reached out to thank Daly for the book. This began a conversation about continuous updates, and an idea was born to turn the text into a “living book”. 

Currently Daly and Schneider are creating a shared governance plan for this book to go on continuously with annual updates managed by a group of collaborators. They are using processes modeled on open source software, something Schneider has deep experience with having previously worked with founders of open-source software projects to help them transition toward forms of community-centered governance.

The project involves a growing number of collaborators, and is always open for input, according to an open invitation included in the textbook itself. Whether it’s students suggesting improvements or faculty proposing new chapters, “contributors of any kind can become members of the project and collectively govern its future.”

The impact of culturally responsive pedagogy

Cheryl Casey, the Open Education Librarian at the University of Arizona, conducted a study in which students expressed deep gratitude for the experience. Students expressed that it was incredibly motivating and made them feel like their voices and opinions matter.

Student survey responses on open pedagogy:

“It made us feel like our opinions and our voices were heard and appreciated for the first time.”

“I like how it puts student voices out in the world.”

“I feel like I learned more and had more motivation to learn this way.”

“More classes should be like this.”

The opportunity to be published “gave me more incentive to make sure my assignments were my best product.”

The book has not only enhanced the classroom experience but also advanced Daly’s career. She received a university teaching award and, attributable in part to this innovative and inclusive project, ultimately she became the associate dean of the University of Arizona College of Information. “Everybody who’s running education in academia these days is coming to realize that student input and culturally responsive curricula are the way forward. When you demonstrate that you do that, you get a lot of rewards—in your classroom, in your professional life, and in your relationships,” Daly concluded.

Advice from the field

Looking to embark on a similar project? Dr. Daly has these words of advice:

Empower student voices

“Recognize that your students have knowledge and honor that through assignments and inquiry that invites them to share that knowledge. When it’s appropriate make it part of your course”.

Teach students about their rights

Be transparent about licensing and privacy. Teach your students about their rights, permissions, and options regarding their content and have them sign an MOU (memorandum of understanding) to acknowledge how they will contribute to the project.

Share with the community

Monitor analytics to understand trends, and reach out to institutions where the book is gaining traction to learn more about how they’re using it (you can see this information in the referring domains section of Pressbooks analytics).

Pay attention to the data

Monitor analytics to understand trends, and reach out to institutions where the book is gaining traction to learn more about how they’re using it (you can see this information in the referring domains section of Pressbooks analytics).

The newest edition of Humans are Social Media was published May 31, 2024 and is available to read, adopt, or adapt through Pressbooks. If you are interested in contributing or becoming part of the project, your feedback is welcome.