Open textbooks are complete electronic textbooks that, unlike commercial e-textbooks, are accessible online at no cost, and affordable to be purchased as a printed book. The material inside open textbooks is similar to traditional texts - the difference is that open textbooks are licensed to allow users to legally access and reformat copies of the text at no additional cost. This presentation discusses how open textbooks offer schools entry opportunities to use open education resources, deliver content via mobile devices, give faculty a way to integrate new technology delivery tools that meet today's student’s preferences, and allow for customized course materials while lowering student costs.

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

2. 1/30/20152
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.)
Open Goes Mainstream?

3. 0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01 03
Textbook Price Increases
in Perspective Percent
Change 1986-2004
Textbooks
186%
Inflation
72%
Source: GAO
• Students acquire
additional debt
• Don’t purchase
textbooks
• Take fewer classes
• Select classes based on
textbook costs

4. $238.95
Bundling
comes 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

5. Open Textbooks
ONE SOLUTION

6. 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

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

8. 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

9. That title was not listed, but…

10. 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…

11. Available from Lulu for
$5.14 or as a free
download

12. 12
Why leave traditional textbooks?
1. No textbook fits exactly - and it’s all or nothing - though this is
changing even with traditional publishers due to pressure…
2. 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
3. Textbooks are bundled with [too] many re$ources, labs etc.
4. Print textbooks don’t have the advantages of eTextbooks –
but commercial eTextbooks are not open

14. 14
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

15. 15
An open textbook has been…
Changed by the creators from
Copyright
All Rights Reserved
to
Copyleft
Some Rights Reserved
under an open license
e.g., Creative Commons License
From the Creative Commons store

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

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

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

19. 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

20. THE PROCESS 3 STEPS
CC licensed by larry&flo 2007

21. Starting Out
DO NOT search here Use repositories
21

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

23. 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 discovery of resources
• Users can link to OR download resources
• Users can ADD resources

24. 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

25. 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

26. Other Digital Repositories

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

28. 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

29. 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

30. 2 EVALUATE

31. 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

32. 32
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?
32

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

34. Sample
Chapter
Navigate table of
contents
Key terms link
to definition

35. 3 ADOPTION AND USE

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

37. 37
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…
37
From Flickr ronk53

38. ADDITIONAL LEARNING & TRAINING

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

40. More…
40
Presentation, more information & updates
http://pccc.libguides.com/etextbooks

41. 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
Presentation, more information & updates
pccc.libguides.com/etextbooks