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Why I Use and Write Open Textbooks by Dr. Oscar Levin, UNC Associate Professor

08/23/2019
profile-icon Jen Mayer
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It is easy to go with one of the "standard" textbooks for your class, especially when the publisher's rep takes you out to lunch and describes all the fancy new features that their online homework systems and ebook now offer (you probably won't use these, but its nice to know they are available).  It is easy to convince yourself that, even though students might have to by over $200 for the book, the price of the book will eventually be worth it to students, given the wealth of information it contains (maybe they can find a used copy). And it is easy to use the textbook as a pedagogical backstop: to teach your class like you would anyway, leaning on your own expertise, and then being surprised when students struggle (did they even read the textbook?).

The above certainly doesn't describe everyone, but it did describe me about five years ago.  The possibility of using Open Textbooks allowed me to reflect on the way I used, and didn't use, textbooks in my teaching.  Partly because few students would read the textbook ahead of time, and partly because I wanted to give my students value beyond what they could buy in a book, I had drifted away from using textbooks as anything more than a course outline and repository for homework problems.  These functions do not require students have a textbook, so why have a textbook at all?  The solution: if the textbook is free for students, there is no harm in adopting it.  There is no harm in adopting multiple books or to writing modules to cover material books don't get quite right.  After a few semesters, these materials can be compiled into one coherent textbook tailored perfectly for our students.

What I describe here might not be easy, but we should take up the challenge to improve the educational experience of our students. 

 

 

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Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Meg Du Bray, Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, GIS, and Sustainability, College of Humanities and Social Sciences
03/19/2024
profile-icon Nancy Henke
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Dr. Meg du Bray was awarded an OER grant in the 2022-23 school year as part of Cohort 4 of OER grant recipients. Below, she discusses how she uses OER in her courses, her motivations for using OER, and the process she used (and continues to use) in converting and updating her course.

What course did you convert to OER?

I had previously used OER materials in my ENST 100: Introduction to Environmental Studies course, so I used this opportunity to search for alternatives to the OER textbook I had been using. There’s now an updated edition, and I found additional OER materials to use in other classes.

 

What open resource(s) did you use?

I used OASIS, LibreTexts, MERLOT, and OpenStax most regularly.

 

What motivated you to convert your course to OER?

I know that financial costs are a struggle for many of our students, and I want to make their education as valuable to them as possible, while also minimizing costs to them. I never want financial burden to be a reason someone can’t do well in my class, and OER makes it easier on them. Plus, environmental studies, like many fields, is a rapidly evolving and changing field. I want to be able to rely on up-to-date information!

 

Could you describe the process you went through to convert your course to OER?

When I first adopted OER at another institution, I had previously been using a textbook that I liked but didn’t feel covered all the material that I wanted it to. Once I went through and looked at the possible options, I still felt that no single text covered everything I wanted it to, but the book I use, Environmental Biology comes the closest. Over several years of trial and error, I have gotten comfortable with the text enough to try using different sections at different points in the course. This obviously required me to change lecture slides, incorporate additional readings and activities, and so on, but has allowed me more flexibility in my teaching, as well.

 

Did you encounter any challenges during the conversion process, and if so, how did you overcome them?

The biggest challenge was finding a textbook that I felt really addressed the interdisciplinary components of the field and the course. At the end of the day, I have used a number of different materials, in addition to the OER textbook (such as podcasts, YouTube clips, and pop-sci readings) to make sure I get complete coverage. Sometimes it’s about looking in different places!

 

Have you received any feedback from students about using OER in your course? If so, what has been their response?

My students have mentioned that they appreciate the lower cost of taking this course. Environmental studies textbooks can run around $100-150, and it’s nice that they don’t have to decide between that book and another. Especially since many students take this as an LAC, I believe they appreciate the low cost!

 

Can you share any advice or tips for other faculty members who are considering converting their courses to OER?

Check as many OER sites as you can. Even if you can’t convert your entire course to OER, you might find some really neat activities, or even complete syllabi that help you rethink your courses. I now check the OER sites first to get inspiration to develop new courses!

Social Sciences, Biological Sciences, Geography, GIS, and Sustainability, Open Initiatives & Resources, Open & Affordable Educational Materials
Open Educational Resources by Willy Maxwell, UNC Bookstore Manager
07/15/2019
profile-icon Jen Mayer
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image of Willy Maxwell, UNC Bookstore managerOpen educational resources (OER) learning materials are openly licensed digital educational materials that can be used instead of traditional textbooks and other courseware. The concept has been available for some time but is emerging now as a viable option to reduce the cost of learning materials while still providing rich, up-to-date content.

A recent study finds that one in nine students currently uses OER materials, and of that group, more than half use it to supplement print or digital textbooks. Instructors that consider price when selecting course materials may achieve the goal of reducing costs by assigning more OER. Professors can design courses on their own by building on available content from OER aggregators that host large collections of open resources. The process requires careful vetting to ensure the materials are high quality, peer reviewed and formatted properly.

Another option is to adopt OER content curated by a third party. For example, Lumen Learning reviews content from a variety of sources, selects the best available OER and adds timely updates, learning design and technical support to produce effective courseware for introductory courses, general education and developmental education available through an LMS. Working with Follett, students are charged only $10 to $25, which represents a significant savings compared to the cost of traditional learning materials. OER have already proven to increase student success measured by course completions and grades earned of a C or better. Students using OER enjoy an average of 83 percent savings with the same or better learning outcomes.

 

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Open Educational Resources and Accessibility by Becky Smith, Interim Director of Disability Support Services
06/06/2019
profile-icon Jen Mayer
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Becky Smith Open Educational Resources (OER) expand educational opportunities and are a great tool for all students. These resources aim to remove legal, financial, and technical barriers that can prevent access. But how do they measure up for disabled students? The truth is that many OER are not designed with inclusivity in mind for disabled students. From a disability support program perspective, there is a long way to go before digital materials are accessible to everyone. In the meantime, there is some good news. OER are still a better choice than traditional resources for college students with disabilities and here are some reasons why:

  • Permissions granted by an open license remove legal barriers to adapting and customizing OER, making it possible to create learning environments that are more flexible and robust for all students.
  • OER offer the opportunity for instructors to curate materials authored by a diverse set of individuals, including those who identify as disabled, normalizing and reducing stigma while sharing viewpoints that have historically been marginalized.
  • Unlike commercially published materials, OER that are adapted to meet accessibility requirements can be retained and freely shared with communities, reducing duplicative work at and across institutions.
  • OER adoption can reduce costs, which benefits all students, but can be especially beneficial for students with disabilities who may face additional financial pressures.
  • It is more common for OER to be shared in formats that can be adapted for accessibility, unlike proprietary publisher content where editable files are notably difficult to obtain.

There has also been a significant push by university disability service offices and educators to encourage campuses to adopt universal design principles when developing courses and materials. Universal design is a concept for designing and delivering products or services that are useable by people with the widest range of capabilities. There are seven principles of universal design. One organization that aims to incorporate universal design principles and expand inclusive and equitable practices, specifically for OER, is the Flexible Learning for Open Education or FLOE Project which offers an Inclusive Learning Design Handbook. The handbook is, itself, an OER designed to help others create resources that are accessible to a diverse range of individual needs and learning preferences. Resources like the FLOE Project and others are great tools for creating inclusive learning resources without having to reinvent the wheel. The key is to be aware of the diverse needs of learners. Whether it is your plan to adopt or design OER please keep in mind inclusivity for all. While all OER are not created equally, there are still benefits for all students over traditional resources.

 

Thomas, C. (2018, October 8). OER and Accessibility: Working Toward Inclusive Learning. Retrieved from https://sparcopen.org/news/2018/oer-accessibility-working-toward-inclusive-learning/


 

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