Using an Open Textbook for Your Class

1. Find the right textbook. Look for some in OER repositories.
2. Review and evaluate to see if it matches your criteria based on content, presentation, online accessibility, production options, platform compatibility, delivery options, interactivity, consistency between online and printed versions, and available supplemental material (test banks, PowerPoints, etc.).  For more information, see Faculty Checklist for Evaluating Course Materials from Open Oregon Educational Resources.
3. Decide if you want to use as is or modify it. One of the benefits of open textbooks is flexibility to modify and customize them for specific course designs as much or as little as you desire. If you want to make edits or append content, make sure the Creative Commons license allows for that (every CC license except the non-derivative licenses allows for modifications). If you are interested in modifying an open textbook, check out Adapt and Create Grants.
4. Distribute to your students. Many OER are freely available online to view in a browser or download a file. If you’re using a textbook from Pressbooks, provide the link to the textbook to your students. They can either select which file type they would like to download (if available) or view it online using the link. You can also embed a text from Pressbooks into your Canvas course.
5. Inform the college or university library. Ask if a hard copy of the assigned open textbook can be added as a reference to the library stacks. However, if you anticipate frequent updates to the content in your textbook, maintaining a current print copy may be difficult.
6. Report open textbook adoptions to the bookstore. Reporting your use of OER to the bookstore is one of the requirements of completing your grant project. Detailed instructions can be found in Submit Grant Deliverables

Preparing Your Application

Different grant applications will require different information. Typical Adopt projects may involve selecting and adopting existing OER content that doesn’t need any modification, or very mild modification such as migrating resources into Pressbooks, and modifying your course to utilize the adopted OER. In general, you will need the following prepared:

• Name, contact info, and department for all participants.
• Course name and abbreviation for the modified course(s), along with the average annual enrollment and sections taught or impacted.
• Project summary that includes:
  • Motivators behind the project.
  • Detailed budget breakdown and funding rationale.
  • Outline of an anticipated timeline, including an expected implementation semester and any milestones throughout the project.
  • How the new resources will improve your course and support course learning objectives.
• A letter of support for your project, signed by your Dean or Department Head.