Plaintext
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT™…
OPEN TEXTBOOK
PUBLISHING
1. What is it?
The open educational resources model, including text-
books, has emerged as a response to rising text prices, a need
Scenario for greater access to high-quality learning materials, the prolif-
Each fall semester, Dr. Avi teaches a course on the history eration of e-reader devices, and a trend in publishing toward
of the Middle East. The best textbook she has found is ade- electronic media. Open textbooks avoid the all-or-nothing ap-
quate, but it has some gaps in perspective that she believes proach of traditional copyright—under which copyright holders
detract from a full understanding of the issues in the region, retain all rights to their work—instead being released under an
and the textbook is expensive—a new copy costs $150. For open license that allows copyright holders to specify which uses
the current term, she decides to forgo the traditional text- they allow. For example, using an open license, a copyright holder
book in favor of an open textbook that she located in an could allow reproduction and reuse of a text in its entirety but not
online collection of open educational resources. With open for commercial purposes. Alternatively, an open textbook could be
resources, Dr. Avi can not only use content from the primary completely open, with no restrictions, or copyright holders might
textbook she has selected but can also supplement that reserve only the right of attribution so that their names remain as-
text with additional material—essays, maps, charts, images, sociated with their work. A range of licensing options, including
videos—from other open resources. In this way, she can Creative Commons, are available for open textbooks, or copyright
piece together a set of course resources that closely match holders may craft their own unique open licensing language.
the learning objectives in her syllabus. She anticipates that
although growing numbers of students seem comfortable 2. How does it work?
reading texts electronically, some will certainly prefer having Those who create or contribute to open textbooks are
printed copies, and so she arranges for a print-on-demand often motivated by the conviction that content—particularly for
option for the textbook. educational purposes—should be open and that models of in-
struction are evolving that depend on open content. At the same
Dr. Avi starts the course by covering the earliest recorded
time, some creators receive compensation for their work.
history of the area. When class discussions move off-topic in
Sometimes open texts are developed by teams of authors, illustra-
interesting ways, she is able to quickly locate sections from
tors, editors, and publishers who are paid by academic depart-
other open textbooks and use those in her teaching. Then,
ments or supported through grants. Several foundations sponsor
during third week of class, events in the Middle East take a
open text creation by providing funds for open textbook work-
dramatic turn, and Dr. Avi recognizes that she and her stu-
shops, peer reviews, and repositories. Authors and other creators
dents have an unprecedented opportunity to write history
might choose to develop open textbooks with the view that publi-
as well as read it.
cation may enhance their careers, or these individuals may receive
She tells her class to watch the unfolding situation via news- financial compensation through sales of printed copies. In some
feeds from a variety of national and international news cases, revenue is provided through advertising within the textbook.
sources. She instructs learning teams to compose their In yet another model, when the copyright expires on an older text-
own historical accounts based on the information from book, it is sometimes repurposed as an open resource.
their newsfeeds. Two students who have contacts in Middle
Students typically pay little or nothing for online access to open
Eastern countries interview friends and family for firsthand
textbooks. Where there are charges for printing or for specific
reports, which are included in the write-ups posted in the
electronic formats, these costs can be a fraction of the expense of
class blog. During class discussions, Dr. Avi asks which
a traditionally published text. In classroom use, many open learning
events in history have laid the foundation for current situ-
resources can be modified by the instructor or the students, as is
ations, and the ensuing discussion is lively and informed. In
done in textbooks that use wiki technologies, such as the ChemWiki
lieu of a final paper, she has each team write a brief chapter
series from UC Davis.
for the open textbook based on the information they have
gathered and discussed as a class. 3. Who’s doing it?
Many open texts are available from for-profit publishers
such as Flat World Knowledge, Lulu, O’Reilly, and Textbook Media.
Others are stored in repositories that enjoy some combination of
government, university, and foundation sponsorship and that state
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THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT™…
OPEN TEXTBOOK
PUBLISHING
as their express goal a desire to bring down the high cost of text- 6. Where is it going?
books. Among these repositories are CK-12, Curriki, OpenLearn New learning theories and practices, open licenses, multiple
(UK), and the California Open Source Textbook Project. One re- platforms, and cooperation among educational institutions and
pository of open educational resources, Connexions, offers a full publishing companies have led to a publishing environment that is
range of educational content free to a worldwide audience. It is changing rapidly. Open textbooks, which offer students easy ac-
available in multiple languages and suitable for learners at any cess and lowered costs, require new models for ensuring the qual-
educational level. By some estimates, as many as half of the open ity of the texts themselves. These models may include peer re-
textbooks currently available are not included in any collection views, instructor reviews, and student reviews. In fact, students
but are available in places such as the author’s individual website; may find themselves increasingly involved in selecting and building
for these disparate resources, College Open Textbooks and their own learning materials. Instructors will find it easier to choose
MERLOT maintain listings of open textbooks in repositories and individual, more narrowly targeted pieces of course content and
on individual sites. can tailor those resources to the needs of their classes. Instructors
who must write their own content to fill in the gaps for their courses
4. Why is it significant? may find it easier to make these shorter works available to other
Although the open textbook model currently provides a instructors. And in the end, open publication may encourage
fraction of the textbooks needed by schools, colleges, and uni- commercial publishers to provide additional services, such as
versities, the philosophical model on which it is built represents modifiable textbooks, resources in a variety of formats, and various
a new direction in publishing, one that offers tremendous cost access options such as rentals, subscriptions, and per-chapter
savings to the student and thus lowers one economic barrier to downloads that improve availability and affordability and allow
postsecondary education. At the same time, open resources can more targeted course content selection.
promote active learning through student interaction with the
text, particularly when they contribute to authorship. For in- 7. What are the implications for teaching and
structors, open educational resources can make it much easier learning?
to create new combinations of lessons and class activities, with The open textbook publishing model offers new collaborative op-
less concern about veering into the gray areas of fair use. In fact, portunities for authors, who can join communities of writers on
instructors using forums such as Writing Spaces (which offers a sites that offer open licensing. Authors, illustrators, and editors can
venue for instructors teaching composition) can easily move into choose to contribute many types of course content to the growing
authoring because these sites make it easy for them to take ad- field of open educational resources, including essays, animations,
vantage of open-licensing options to publish shorter texts or to video demonstrations, detailed drawings, and classroom activi-
collaborate with colleagues on longer works. ties—all without taking on the burden of writing an entire book.
5. What are the downsides? Instead of depending heavily on a single text, instructors can de-
The traditional publishing model features robust editorial sign content for their courses on an as-needed basis, choosing
and distribution mechanisms designed to ensure the quality and from an array of books, articles, videos, audio recordings, and
availability of printed textbooks. Open textbook publishing cur- readings published at a number of venues. They can even encour-
rently lacks this structure, raising legitimate concerns about the ac- age students to move beyond being passive consumers of educa-
curacy and reliability of the content. Without the imprimatur of a tion by contributing to their own texts, participating in the creative
traditional publishing company, an open text may seem to be miss- and constructive aspects of learning.
ing an essential credential that speaks to its validity. This places
an extra burden on the instructor to ensure an open text is com-
plete, accurate, and appropriate for student needs. Authors may be
reluctant to embark on textbook creation without the backing of a
publisher that not only provides support in the form of editors, il-
lustrators, and compensation but also undertakes specialty tasks
such as troubleshooting copyright issues that surround the various
intellectual property components found in a text. In everyday use,
open textbooks might also present new concerns: where such texts
are required during a lecture or discussion, students must have in-
class computer access, an e-reader, or a printed copy of the mate- EDUCAUSE 7 Things You Should Know About™…
rial. The widespread adoption of open textbooks might have an
impact on the economic model of traditional campus bookstores. EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit membership association created to support those
who lead, manage, and use information technology to benefit higher
education. A comprehensive range of resources and activities are available to
all EDUCAUSE members. For more information about EDUCAUSE, including
membership, please contact us at info@educause.edu or visit educause.edu.
March 2011