Open Textbooks: Research Findings on Affordability, Acceptance, Accessibility and Learning Outcomes Presented at the Sloan-C International Conference on Online Learning in Orlando, Florida - Fall 2011 Presenters: Deone Zell, California State University, Northridge Stephen R. Acker, Ohio State University Danielle Budzick, Cuyahoga Community College Jeff Shelstad, CEO, Flat World Knowledge

1. Open Textbooks: Research Findings
on
Affordability, Acceptance, Accessibili
ty and Learning Outcomes
Deone Zell, California State University, Northridge
Stephen R. Acker, Ohio State University
Danielle Budzick, Cuyahoga Community College
Jeff Shelstad, Flat World Knowledge
Sloan-C International Conference on Online Learning
Orlando, Florida
2011

2. Deone Zell, Ph.D.
Director, Faculty Technology Center
Professor, Department of Management
California State University, Northridge

3. Overview
• Affordability
– What’s the cost benefit to students?
• Acceptance
– What’s the faculty decision-making process?
• Accessibility
– Can they be read on multiple devices?
• Learning Outcomes
– What’s their impact on learning?

4. OER Factors Affecting Decision Process
Not free <-----------------------------> Free
Hard to find <-----------------------------> Findable
Not vetted <-----------------------------> Vetted (top quality)
Not able to rate <-----------------------------> Able to rate
Piecemeal (classroom exhaust) <-----------------------------> Integrated
Hard or impossible to modify <-----------------------------> Easy to modify
No embedded assessment <-----------------------------> Embedded assessment
Single format <-----------------------------> Multiple formats (PDF, ePUB, Mobi)
Can't mark up <-----------------------------> Can mark up (annotate, highlight)
No social note-taking <-----------------------------> Social note-taking
No impact on learning <-----------------------------> Positive impact on learning

5. Affordability
Before Now
Quality is equivalent
Save $171 per person
$206.67 $34.95
•Saved >$100,000 per semester
(680 students)

6. What’s the Relationship Between
All of These?

7. 2,044
Open
Text-
books
in
MERLOT

8. Finding

9. Finding and Rating

10. Finding and Rating

11. Finding and Rating
(MERLOT’s Advanced Search)

12. Vetted

13. Integrated

14. Ability to Modify

15. Ability to Modify

16. Editing at the Word Level

17. Inserting Stuff
Stuff

18. Embedded
Assessment

19. Formats

20. Marking-Up

21. Taking Notes Online
Social?

22. What Did Students Choose?
Bought print book
31%
Bought pieces (PDF
chapters, study guides)
64%
5% Didn't buy book

23. Learning Outcomes
Final Percentage in Class
89
89
88
Difference was statistically
87 significant even after we
controlled for incoming GPA
Course Percentage
86
85 85
84
83
82
Purchased Print (n=203) Didn't Purchase Print (n=427)

24. Possible Explanations
1. “Free” might translate to less effort
2. Marking-up and note-taking not the
same yet
3. Studying on devices presents more
distractions
4. Can’t “see and feel” accomplishments
This may change when fully interactive e-books arrive on the scene

25. Conclusion
Not free <-----------------------------> Free
Hard to find <-----------------------------> Findable
Not vetted <-----------------------------> Vetted (top quality)
Not able to rate <-----------------------------> Able to rate
Piecemeal (classroom exhaust) <-----------------------------> Integrated
Hard or impossible to modify <-----------------------------> Easy to modify
No embedded assessment <-----------------------------> Embedded assessment
Single format <-----------------------------> Multiple formats (PDF, ePUB, Mobi)
Can't mark up <-----------------------------> Can mark up (annotate, highlight)
No social note-taking <-----------------------------> Social note-taking
No impact on learning <-----------------------------> Positive impact on learning

26. Open Textbooks in Ohio
Research Findings on Affordability,
Acceptance, Accessibility and
Learning Outcomes
Stephen R. Acker
Research Director, Ohio Digital Bookshelf
OhioLINK/The Ohio Board of Regents
Presented to the Sloan-C Conference
November 10, 2011 Orlando Florida

27. Ohio’s Strategic Plan
• Drive to increase college enrollment and
attainment in Ohio tied to affordability and
improved learning outcomes.
• Ohio Strategic Summit recommended credible
research and large scale pilots
• Three projects summarized today
– Flat World Knowledge 6 campus pilot
– Next Generation Learning Challenge 6 campus pilot
– Accessible mobile learning 3 campus collaboration
Presented to the Sloan-C Conference
November 10, 2011 Orlando Florida

28. Flat World Knowledge
• Lakeland CC, Lorain County CC, Sinclair CC, Tri-
C CC, University of Akron, Wright State
University
• 364 respondents across 17 classes and three
disciplines
• Pre-post use data complete on Summer
offerings (3 courses, n=52) and Pre-use data
(n= 312) collected on all participating classes
Presented to the Sloan-C Conference
November 10, 2011 Orlando Florida

29. Flat World Knowledge Results
• Student opinions
– Survey results
– Psi Chi results
• Faculty opinions
– Focus Group
– Danielle Budzick (presenting next)
• Institutional response
Presented to the Sloan-C Conference
November 10, 2011 Orlando Florida

30. Specific findings for Flat World
• Engaging content
• Credible content
• Appropriate scope
• Accuracy
• Benefits and concerns
• Perceived value (as % of new print price)
• Quantitative data for these metrics and others
will be presented
Presented to the Sloan-C Conference
November 10, 2011 Orlando Florida

31. NexGen Learning Challenge
• OhioLINK awarded Wave I NGCL grant to build
and promote OER in math and statics
• Ohio Scaffold to the Stars OER database
– Stitz-Zeager Pre-Calculus OER book
– Marcks-Looker-Moramand Statics OER website
– Multiple sites indexed to Ohio Transfer Module
learning outcomes
• Linkable as complete curricula or
supplemental readings
Presented to the Sloan-C Conference
November 10, 2011 Orlando Florida

32. Mobile eLearning Accessibility
• OER and mobile learning greatest innovation
impact this year and next per 2011 Horizon
Report.
• Is either domain accessible and how will this
influence diffusion of OER?
– Paired eReaders (iPad, Kindle, Nook, Samsung Galaxy,
H Netbook) with software (HearRead, Jaws, ) and text
formats (Inkling, Bookshare, MathML)
– Distributed mobile learning environments to students
with print disabilities
Presented to the Sloan-C Conference
November 10, 2011 Orlando Florida

33. OER and Ohio goals
• OER can promote both affordability and
improved learning outcomes for all Ohio
students.
• We are encouraged by data and acceptance
results so far and predict growth in OER
adoptions going forward
• Diffusion strategies and commitment to
universal access will need ongoing attention
Presented to the Sloan-C Conference
November 10, 2011 Orlando Florida

34. Contacts
• Steve Acker (acker.1@osu.edu)
– Research Director, Ohio Digital Bookshelf
• John Magill (johnm@ohiolink.edu)
– Executive Director, OhioLINK
• Darlene McCoy (dmccoy@regents.state.oh.us)
– Associate Vice Chancellor for affordability and
efficiency, The Ohio Board of Regents
Presented to the Sloan-C Conference
November 10, 2011 Orlando Florida

35. Danielle Budzick
Interim District Director
Teaching, Learning, and Academic Professional Development
Course Production Specialist
The Office of eLearning & Innovation
Adjunct Faculty
Business Communications, West Campus
Cuyahoga Community College
Cleveland, OH

36. Wearing Multiple Hats

37. The Adoption Experience

38. The Teaching Experience

39. Course Design & Development
toolkit.smallbiz.nsw.gov.au
open.ems.psu.edu

40. Tri-C’s Textbook Affordability
http://sparingchange.blogspot.com/2009/03/february-and-flogging-continues-oh-and.html
mage courtesy of beans for books

41. FINANCIAL
BOOK
CULTURE
SELECTION
MARKETING
& PUBLIC TEXTBOOK PUBLISHERS
RELATIONS AFFORDABILITY
TRAINING
TECHNOLOGY
DESIGN

42. Why We Are Doing What We Do!
“Not having to worry about how I am going to afford books takes
an enormous amount of pressure off of my back, thus
allowing me the leisure of concentrating more on my studies.”
“I like the convenience the e-book provides. It's nice
to know that I can go to my parents or a friends
house and complete my homework right from their
house without having to double back for my book.”
“I purchased the book online. It seems I set at my
computer ALL day long and it is nice to be able to
take the book and get away from the computer for a
while. It still saved me money, so I am happy.”
“I am a single mother of two small children and need every dollar I can get. Having this low-cost
alternative is a great help and puts less strain on me.”

43. Removing all barriers between publication and use
of high quality, higher education content.
Jeff Shelstad
Founder and CEO
Flat World Knowledge
jeff@flatworldknowledge.com

44. Who is Flat World Knowledge?
– Almost 5 year old educational start-up
– 20 miles due north of NYC
– Focused on higher education segment
– Well funded (BDMI/RHI/Bessemer +)
– A content and platform company
– Live content from authors
– Personalized MIYO content for faculty
– Format/device agnostic for students
– Access and affordability

45. Rights/Licenses
"All rights reserved"
a phrase that originated in copyright
law as part of copyright notices. It
Most --- Restrictive --- Least
indicates that the copyright holder
reserves, or holds for their own use, all
the rights provided by copyright
law, such as
distribution, performance, and
creation of derivative works; that
is, they have not waived any such
right.

46. ―4R’s of Open-ness‖
Reuse - right to copy and use verbatim copies
Revise - right to adapt, rework, and improve
Remix - right to combine into new OERs
Redistribute - right to share derivatives

47. Open Content Options

48. Flat World Business Model
1. great authors….
great content (textbooks)
fully
supported
top professionally
authors developed

49. 2. Pass CONTROL to the
Local Expert
Faculty/Institution
openly licensed
openly MIYO
licensed

50. Pass CONTROL to the
Local Expert
Our Core Principles:
 Core value for professor (gatekeeper) is control;
 All professors customize, just via syllabus;
 UI/DIY can scale control;
 Economics of 1 in business (faculty/student);
 Professor derivatives will feed the ―long tail‖ – catalog.

51. ―In all the years I’ve been a professor,
we’ve never had the perfect book.
Now we do—and it’s affordable.‖
– Dr. Scott Hunt, Econ Committee Chair, Columbus State CC

53. The Magic of MIYO…
1. Create a Derivative and Publish…and
2. MIYO rebuilds the book(toc, index, pagination, etc.)
3. MIYO generates multiple learning formats
• Web-Books (HTML) (Free to all learners)
• Soft Cover Books (PDF High-Res)
• Print-it-Yourself Books (PDF Low-Res)
• Mobile Reader Books (ePub & .mobi for iPad, Kindle, etc.)
• Accessible Books (Daisy-Readable and Digital Braille)
• Audio Books (.MP3)
4. Let students choose best format for them

54. 3. Access + Affordability + Portability = Learning
!
EE
FR

55. ―…the pilot was a
tremendous success. The
retention rate was
90.2%, representing an
increase of 10 to 15%…
For an educator, it does
not get any better than
that.‖
Case study – Cerritos College

57. Saved 800 Students
$67,000
in Textbooks costs (Fall 2010)
And… saw course
completion
Increase by 15%.

58. • 150+ Authors; 45 titles • 2,000+ Total Faculty • 350,000+ Acad. Yr. 2011;
• 60 available spring 12 • 1,200+ Institutions • 800K+ in Acad. Yr. 2012
• 50%+ from Big 3 • 420 / 1,160 / 2,500 • 44 countries worldwide
U
Income Start with Quality Free Access
Market Share Make it Better (or not) Affordable Choices
Customer Retention Control New Editions Fit to Learning Style
Social Impact Affordability & Access Improved Outcomes!
early results