Open Educational Resources and E-Textbooks

"Open educational resources (OER) are free and openly licensed educational materials that can be used for teaching, learning, research, and other purposes."  From the Creative Commons

Video Credit: 2016, Research Shorts, A Review of the Effectiveness & Perceptions of Open Educational Resources As Compared to Textbooks, CC BY

Description: Students spend a lot of money on textbooks. Alternatives to the expensive textbooks that come from commercial publishers are open educational resources, or OER. But, are these free resources as effective or of the same quality as textbooks? The research says yes. This video summarizes the available research synthesized in Hilton, J. (2016) Open educational resources and college textbook choices: a review of research on efficacy and perceptions. Education Tech Research and Development, 64(4), 573 - 590. Download the original research from: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1...

• Open educational resources (OER) usage and barriers By John Hilton

• Course Materials Adoption: A Faculty Survey and Outlook for the OER Landscape 

• Affordable Course Materials: Electronic Textbooks and Open Educational Resources. 

• Cost, Outcomes, Use, and Perceptions of Open Educational Resources in Psychology: A Narrative Review of the Literature 

• The Adoption of Open Educational Resources by One Community College Math Department 

• Evaluating the Impact of Open Educational Resources: A Case Study 

• A framework for assessing fitness for purpose in open educational resources 

• Cost-Savings Achieved in Two Semesters through the Adoption of Open Educational Resources 

• Evaluating the Effectiveness of Adopting Open Educational Resources in an Introductory American Government Course 

• University students and faculty have positive perceptions of open/alternative resources and their utilization in a textbook replacement initiative 

• The Coming Wave of Affordable Textbooks

Librarians are available (and would love) to assist faculty with electronic texts.  Some ways we might be able to help: 

1. Selection of materials: If you aren't sure where to look for high-quality texts, or if you would like to recommend a purchase.

2. Implementation: Integrating electronic texts into your syllabus, assignments, course structure, or D2L pages.

3. Making decisions: Electronic texts might not be right for everyone - we can help you explore the options and decide.