3.2 Are YOU Ready?
Are YOU ready to adopt an open textbook? Still have questions? Wondering what other faculty members are doing with their adoptions, and more importantly, HOW are they doing it?
Read the following interview with Dr. Rajiv Jhangiani
Dr. Jhangiani, with Kwantlen Polytechnic University, took an existing open textbook, revised it to meet his needs and then released it back to the commons under an open license for others to use.
Open Textbook Pioneer Saves Students Thousands in Textbook Costs
In 2012 Dr. Sato was approached by BCcampus about the BC Open Textbook Project. When he realized he could swap out a ninth edition, 1000 page, $200 physics textbook with a free, openly licensed, digital tome available in e-pub and pdf versions, Dr.Sato quickly made the decision to participate.
The three State of California Higher Education Systems are working together to provide you easy access to quality FREE and OPEN eTextbooks that everyone and anyone can use for teaching and learning. In the link above they have a faculty showcase section of the site that highlights stories of faculty who are adopting open textbooks.
Tips for Success
In the linked section of this article from Jisc (view the piece under “Tips for Success”, a UK research organization that works in the areas of using digital technologies for education and research) there are some practical suggestions around the implementation of OER adoption and sharing in institutions.
Discussion
- How ready do you feel you are to adopt an open textbook?
- Are there ambiguities you're unsure of that would need resolution before you could move forward?
- Do you need support from others at your institution to adopt? If so, what kind of support? It's also totally legitimate to say "I don't know if I'm ready because I don't know what I need to consider"!