I joined this OER fellowship for a pretty simple reason: textbooks cost too much, and my students shouldn’t have to pay $200 to learn calculus. That part hasn’t changed. But somewhere along the way, the work shifted on me. It stopped being just about finding free resources and started being about something bigger. The Cost Barrier is Just the Beginning I came into this with a clear conviction: textbook costs hurt students. That belief hasn’t changed—if anything, it’s deepened. But I now see that cost is one piece of a much larger puzzle. The question isn’t just “How do I make this course free?” It’s “How do I make this…

I’ve joined an OER project to convert Calculus I (MAT 1500) and Calculus II (MAT 1600) into zero-textbook-cost courses. Like many students, I know how expensive textbooks can be—especially for foundational classes like these. If we want our students to succeed in STEM, the first step shouldn’t be a $200 book. This isn’t just about finding a free textbook. It’s about building something better: interactive problem sets, videos that actually help, and real-world examples that make calculus feel relevant. I want these resources to be accessible, clear, and designed with Kingsborough students in mind. I’m looking forward to sharing what I build and learning from others in the OER community along the…