The Affordable Classroom
Open Access Textbooks
Agenda
• An introduction to open education and open
textbooks
• Why use an open textbook?
• Demo: Building a mix and match course
• Paul Chafe: Open Access textbooks in SSH205
Open Education
“A collection of practices that utilize online
technology to freely share knowledge” – UBC
•Open access journals (DOAJ)
•Open data (Toronto Open Data)
•Open source software (Firefox, Wordpress)
•Open educational resources (OER Commons)
•Open textbooks
BC Campus, “Adopting Open Textbooks.” http://adoptotb.com
Benefits of Open Access
• Jack Andraka – high school student who
invented screening test for pancreatic cancer
by reading open source journals articles
By XPRIZE Foundation (Flickr: V
2013) [CC BY 2.0
(http://creativecommons.org/l
], via Wikimedia Commons
Open Educational Resources
• “teaching, learning or research materials that
are in the public domain or released with an
intellectual property license that allows for
free use, adaptation, and distribution” –
UNESCO
• The 4Rs – Reuse, Revise, Remix, Redistribute –
David Wiley
BC Campus, “Adopting Open Textbooks.” http://adoptotb.com
Open Textbooks
• “a textbook that has been released with an
open license”
• The open license allows the textbook to be
copied, shared and revised.
– the textbook can be distributed to students for
free.
– educators have the right to change the content of
the textbook, allowing textbooks to be customized
to meet the specific needs of learners
Why Use Open Textbooks?
Price
• Average undergraduate cost textbooks and supplies
$200.00CAN per course
• Textbooks on average increasing at a cost of 6%-7%
per year and sometimes more
• Estimated 82% increase in the price of college
textbooks since 1982 in the US
• E-textbook licences often expire and are sometimes
limited to only 6 months
• Textbook refreshment cycle of every three years
means the used textbook market is limited
Why Use Open Access Textbooks?
Access
• U.S. PIRG survey found 65% of 2000 students
surveyed had opted out of buying the
required textbook because of price
• 94% of the students who had skipped buying
textbooks believed it could hurt their
performance in class.
• 48% of the students said that they had
altered which classes they take due to
textbook costs
Why Use Open Access Textbooks?
Improved student performance
• US study of 4,183 science students showed
an increase of . 65 points on standardized
tests using open textbooks
• Virginia State University study showed
higher grades in courses that used open
textbooks
Case Study: University of Virginia
• Study looked at student experience of open
textbooks
• 991 students in 9 business courses
• Increased student marks
• Students were satisfied with the resources
• Improved access to resources (parity)
• Weakness – possibly better suited to
introductory courses
Martin, M., Hudson, A., Warren, K., Hilton III, J., & Wiley, D. (2012). Open Textbooks and
dent Access and Outcomes. European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning.
How to use an open access textbook
How to use an open access textbook:
Selecting Course Readings
• The idea that courses must have “required
reading” can lead to the label “required”
being applied to “all course-linked reading
assignments”
• An overwhelming amount of “required”
readings forces students to make choices
about the amount of time they are willing to
invest in completing the readings
Hobson, E.H. (2004). “Getting Students to Read: Fourteen Tips.”
Idea Paper 40. The Idea Center.
How to use an open access textbook:
Selecting Course Readings
• The selection of the reading material also has
a major impact on student compliance.
– Readings used for purposes that they were never
intended, or “not appropriate to the context in
which they are used.”
– For example, dense or specialized reference books
being assigned as a primary course teaching and
learning tool.
Hobson, E.H. (2004). “Getting Students to Read: Fourteen Tips.”
Idea Paper 40. The Idea Center.
How to use an open access textbook:
Selecting Course Readings
• Provide students with material that they not
only need to know, but is also engaging and
“has some application to their own lives and
thoughts”
• When possible, “feed them small doses of the
stuff they’re used to seeing, such as Web sites,
blogs, and graphic novels”
Immerwahr, J. (2013). Reading Assignments. Teach Philosophy 101
Weir, R. (2009). They Don’t Read! Inside Higher Education.
How to use an open access textbook:
The Mix and Match Approach
• Putting individual copyrighted chapters on ereserve using fair dealing
• Remixing open access resources to focus only
on what is needed for your particular course
• Providing links in your course shell to material
on the web
• Working with the library to clear copyright on
on different types of material
Build an Mix and Match Course
Build an Mix and Match Course
Build an Mix and Match Course
One chapter from a traditional
textbook (used under
fair dealing)
Build an Mix and Match Course
Build an Mix and Match Course
Build an Mix and Match Course
Build an Mix and Match Course
Build an Mix and Match Course
Build an Mix and Match Course
Build an Mix and Match Course
Build an Mix and Match Course
Build an Mix and Match Course
Adopt an Open Access Textbook
• Research what is out there
• Review and evaluate
• Decide if you want to use as is OR edit
and customize
• Distribute to your students and cite
• Let other instructors know how it worked
out
Supports available at Ryerson
• LTO will help with best practices on textbook
creation
• The library can host Open Access Textbooks in
the RULA Digital Repository
• Copyright Librarian will help with research on
open access resources
• E-Learning Librarian can help with tips on
software etc.