The Pennsylvania Alliance for Design of Open Textbooks (PA-ADOPT) is pleased to announce the immediate availability of our eighth free and open eTextbook: Introduction to Data Science Using Python, by Dr. Afrand Agah, Professor of Computer Science at West Chester University.

“This book contains two parts, the first is designed to be used in an introductory programming course for students looking to learn Python, without having any prior experience with programming. Basic programming concepts are discussed, explained, and illustrated with a Python program. Ample programming questions are provided for practice. The second part of the book utilizes machine-learning concepts and statistics to accomplish data-driven resolutions. Python programs are provided to apply scientific computing to conclude statistically driven results.”

PA-ADOPT is made up of four participating institutions from the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education: Cheyney University, Kutztown University, Millersville University, and West Chester University. The PA-ADOPT project is aimed at addressing gaps in the open eTextbook marketplace, improving student learning, and mitigating rising student costs. It is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Open Textbook Pilot Program, and the eTextbooks created by the consortium are released as Open Educational Resources (OERs)

All of PA-ADOPT’s faculty cohorts have been filled, but if you are a WCU faculty member who is interested in building their own OER eTextbook, please contact Marc Drumm, Senior Instructional Designer in the Teaching & Learning Center and Principal Investigator of PA-ADOPT, at mdrumm@wcupa.edu.