It's An Open Book: Adopting Open Textbooks

It’s an open book…
Adopting Open Textbooks
Ken Ronkowitz
Passaic County Community CollegeCommunity College Consortium for Open Educational Resources
NJEDge.Net Annual Conference November 2010

11/17/2010
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Open Goes Mainstream?
Free Books…Project Gutenberg has taken out-of-copyright books in the public domain and scanned them into its library…
Want to download a copy to your computer, Kindle or iPhone? Head to ManyBooks.net.
The use of so-called open source textbooks, offered by companies like FlatWorld Knowledge, is also on the rise. “Students who are assigned open source textbooks can usually download a copy for free, or they can buy a printed and bound version for $20 to $40,” Ms. Allen said. (Suggest it to your future professors.)

Students acquire additional debt
Don’t purchase textbooks
Take fewer classes
Select classes based on textbook costs
Textbooks
186%
Inflation
72%
Source: GAO

Bundlingcomes with CengageNOW, Personal Tutor with SMARTHINKING, InfoTrac 2-Semester Printed Access Card
$213.95
Used 5th Edition
Online @ $14.94-$81.78
New 6th Edition
$213.95
$238.95

Open Textbooks
One Solution

Introduction to Economic Analysis
R. Preston McAfee, Caltech
ISBN: 160049000X
Used at:
Harvard, NYU, Cal Poly, UC-Santa Barbara, Caltech, Oregon State…
www.introecon.com
Online: Free
PDF/Word: Free
Hard copy: $15.20

Collaborative Statistics
Barbara Illowsky & Susan Dean
ISBN: 9780978745973
For more information:
www.collegeopentextbooks.org
Online: Free
PDF/Word: Free
Hard copy: $31.98

My Introduction to Open Textbooks
I found a book I wanted to use
$47 on Amazon
After searching online using the usual search paths, I stumbled upon collegeopentextbooks.org and searched on the author

That title was not listed, but…

Which led me to…
cyber.law.harvard.edu/wealth_of_networks/
A authorized wiki that offers the book to read/download for free (pdf), Reviews and Blogs, Discussions, Interviews, Video & Audio Resources
And materials on his publisher’s site
yupnet.org/benkler/
And the other title by Benkler…

Available from Lulu for $5.14 or as a free download

Why leave traditional textbooks?
No textbook fits exactly - and it’s all or nothing - though this is changing even with traditional publishers due to pressure…
Students complain
- about high prices - an average two-year college student spends nearly 75% of what they spend on tuition on textbooks
- if only a few chapters are used in the course
- when sent to different places for readings and materials
Textbooks are bundled with [too] many re$ources, labs etc.
Print textbooks don’t have the advantages of eTextbooks – but commercial eTextbooks are not open
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An open textbook is…
Modifiable by the instructor
Digital, Modular
Adaptable
Low cost to the students
Usually free for those with computers and internet access
Printable for “free” or for a small fee (print centers etc.)
Sometimes available in bound copies for $10-$40
Labeled for reuse Flickr MrKCools
14

An open textbook has been…
Changed by the creators fromCopyright All Rights Reserved
toCopyleftSome Rights Reserved under an open licensee.g., Creative Commons License
From the Creative Commons store
15

Some Open Textbook Myths
Creators never receive monetary compensation for open textbooks.
Written by anonymous amateurs or crowd-sourced.
Derivative versions damage the author’s reputation.
They are of lower quality and
Out-of-date (expired copyrights, public domain)
Publishers and bookstores are enemies of open textbooks. (Okay, that’s partially true…)
Open Textbooks and eBooks are the same thing 
16

Open Textbooks & e-Textbooks
E-texts (publisher online textbooks):
Have restrictive licenses (e.g. no modifications)
Still costly
Accessible for a limited time period (semester)
Usually have restrictions on the amount of material students can print
Open Textbooks:
Can usually be modified/customized
Can be viewed/read for no cost online
Are permanently available in a repository or as a download
Can be fully printed for a low cost

Some Benefits of Open Textbooks
Higher efficiency - use/reuse/remix modules
More adaptable to learning styles, cultures, geographies, devices… (than proprietary files/devices)
Use only content is needed: saves paper, toner, and weight – may also avoid some confusion for students
More feedback from teachers and students to the creators (authors, illustrators, publishers, editors...) for global textbook improvement
Free for those with computers or readers and Internet access & lower cost for printed and bound versions
Students can better afford more classes & other books or materials
18

Two Community College Organizations
Community College Consortium for Open Educational Resources (CCCOER)
97 colleges join to give 2-year schools a big voice in open textbooks and other OER
Community College Open Textbooks Collaborative
A group of 12 organizations funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation to increase the demand and supply of open textbooks
19

The Process 3 Steps
CC licensed by larry&flo 2007

Starting Out
DO NOT search here
Use repositories
21

1 Identifying Titles
Full reviews are also available with comments and ratings for each chapter
22

What is a Digital Repository?
A system to store and manage a variety of digital resources
Content is
created once
stored once
used or repurposed times
Facilitates discoveryof resources
Users can link to OR download resources
Users can ADD resources

What’s in The Orange Grove?
Textbooks that are freely available with nonrestrictive licenses
But also, all types of digital content
Audio/video files
Documents / slide presentations
Textbooks
Images, animations
Simulations
Quizzes
Web pages

Who can use the repository?
Faculty are Primary Users
have direct access to content
make content available to their students
Students and Public
can search and have direct access only to public resources

Other Digital Repositories

Search Criteria
Subject
Student Learning Objectives
Course titles, descriptions
Level
Format
Material type (Quiz, reading, etc.)
Author or expert

Develop Selection Criteria
Your discipline may already have selection criteria
How should the criteria differ from those created for printed textbooks?
Use standardized criteria
Based on discipline requirements and best practices
Modify existing criteria
For modules, e-books, and other formats
Use available reviews

Possible Selection Criteria
Accuracy
Appropriateness
Accessibility
Authority
Content
Cultural relevance
Currency
Easily customizable
Flexible format
Modularity
Pedagogical style
Peer reviewed
Portability
Reading level
Usable interface
Error-free

2 Evaluate

Check Peer Reviews
On collegeopentextbooks.org, there are reviews linked to titles have been submitted by educators and professionals in the field.
"They are the opinions of the individual authors and do not represent an endorsement of any textbook by the Community College Open Textbook Collaborative"
The Outline of American Literature, newly revised, traces the paths of American narrative, fiction, poetry and drama as they move from pre-colonial times into the present, through such literary movements as romanticism, realism and experimentation. Online and as PDF

Contact All Stakeholders
Curriculum Committee, Department, Dean or other group that approves textbook adoptions
IT - restrictions on requiring computer/internet access?
Department colleagues, adjuncts, TAs
College bookstore
College library / Media center
Print Shop
Students (soft launch?)
Others?
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32

Online View
Download to print or offer as file
Online version
Buy hard copy

Sample Chapter
Navigate table of contents
Key terms link to definition

3 Adoption and Use

3 Adopt and Use
Choose the parts of the textbook that fit your course, rather than letting the textbook drive curriculum design and the syllabus.
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36

3 Adoption Paths
Soft Launching?
Use for readings and homework only
Use only in classroom
Use in the Learning Management System
Use for remediation (offer a prior level textbook)
Use for
lifelong learning
dual enrollment
Grants
K-20 initiatives…
From Flickr ronk53
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Additional Learning & Training

Join In
College Open Textbooks Community CollegeOpenTextbooks.ning.com
OpenTextbook AdvocateTrainers Learning Stream for College Campus OER Promoters OpenTextbookAdvocateTrainers.ning.com

More…
Presentation, more information & updates http://pccc.libguides.com/etextbooks
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Presentation, more information & updates pccc.libguides.com/etextbooks
Ken Ronkowitz is the Director of the Writing Initiative at PCCC and an Advocate/Trainer as part of the Community College Consortium for Open Educational Resources oerconsortium.org

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It's An Open Book: Adopting Open Textbooks

by Ken Ronkowitz on Nov 17, 2010

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