What are Open Textbooks?
Suggested Readings
Before you get started with open textbook development, you may be interested in reading the following:
- Why This Matters – Benefits to Students & Instructors on MacEwan Library’s Textbook Affordability Program website.
- Open Education in Promotion, Tenure, and Faculty Development by Iowa OER (2021).
- Writing an Online, Open Textbook: Is It Worth It? by Tony Bates (2015).
An open textbook is a textbook licensed under a flexible Creative Commons license, and made available online to be used and adapted freely by students, instructors, and members of the public.
Open textbooks:
- are created by educators,
- peer-reviewed by educators, and
- contribute to successful learning outcomes.
What Makes Open Textbooks Different From Other Textbook?
Traditionally published textbooks are produced under closed copyright, meaning they cannot be shared, re-used, or re-purposed freely online. They are usually costly (hundreds of dollars each) with new editions published frequently, rendering texts that are only a year or two old out of date. Increasingly, textbooks from commercial publishers are sold as digital rentals with digital rights management software that means students can only access books online for a short period of time (4-6 months). This prevents them from accessing a copy through a library, buying used copies, keeping the textbook for future reference, or re-selling it to fellow students.
In contrast to traditional textbooks and digital rentals, open textbooks give faculty the ability to use any portion of a textbook in their courses without requiring students to purchase an entire book. They can also make the content of a given textbook more pedagogically appropriate for their specific educational context. The flexible licensing of open textbooks also allows for collaborations on, and improvements to, textbooks from contributors around the world.
When an instructor uses an open textbook as an assigned reading, students typically have the option to access the digital edition for free through a website, or in a variety of downloadable formats including PDFs and EPUBs. Students can also print out a copy for minimal cost.
Why Use Open Textbooks?
Education is much more than the textbooks used to educate students. The quality of instruction, the entire post-secondary experience, and the learning environment all contribute to education. Post-secondary institutions do not ‘compete’ on the content of their textbooks or courses – rather an institution provides unique educational experiences. That is what makes a student choose one institution over another. Open textbooks can foster these unique educational experiences through instructors adapting and personalizing content to meet learners’ needs.
