OER Basics
This article has a short explanation of Open Education Resources (OER). For a more detailed dive, read OER - A Detailed Dive.
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What are open textbooks?
Open textbooks are free textbooks. They’re digital, often in Word files, Google Docs, PDF’s or sites like Pressbooks. They are usually not written by publishers, but by individual instructors or teams.
They’re called ‘open’ because not only are they free, but you are ‘open’ to edit them and republish them.
Open textbooks can be found on sites like The Open Textbook Library, LibreText, Pressbooks (Global Directory).
Another phrase used for open textbooks is Open Educational Resources (OER). OER is what most people call it, in part because it’s not just textbooks. There are open images, test banks, syllabi, and entire courses.
Usually, you can tell they’re open because they have a Creative Commons license.
Why not just use publisher textbooks?
Textbooks cost a lot, and have been growing in price, even compared to tuition. When textbooks are too expensive, students may not buy them, then do worse in class.
On average, students perform the same academically in courses with open textbooks.
On average, more students complete courses with open textbooks.
What do students think about open textbooks?
Here are some quotes from Boise State students about courses that used open textbooks:
“She recorded the video, she wrote the book, she is there in the Zoom for you and it's like you are encompassed with every kind of learning that would benefit a student.”
“If it's a textbook from the course, especially if it's written by the same professor or the content of the course mirrors the content of the material, then I will read it from front to back basically.
If it's a traditional textbook, then I will read it pertaining to the professor's instructions or guides because they usually tell you what pages their courses or their content or their assignments is covering.”
If you’d like to learn more about finding, editing, or even creating an open textbook for your online course, reach out to eCampus Center.
References
Clinton, V., & Khan, S. (2019). Efficacy of open textbook adoption on learning performance and course withdrawal rates: A meta-analysis. AERA Open, 5(3), https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2332858419872212.
Cho, K. W., & Permzadian, V. (2024). The impact of open educational resources on student achievement: A meta-analysis. International Journal of Educational Research, 126, 102365. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0883035524000521.