Definition of Adapt

The term adaptation is commonly used to describe the process of making changes to an existing work. We can also replace “adapt” with revise, modify, alter, customize, or any other synonym that describes the act of making a change.

In addition to cost to students, one of the biggest advantages of choosing an open textbook is it gives faculty the legal right to add to, adapt, or delete the content of the textbook to fit their specific course without obtaining permission from the copyright holder. This is possible because the copyright holder has already granted permission by releasing their work using an open license, such as a Creative Commons license. This type of license gives users permission to use and reuse, share, copy, retain and modify the textbook without consulting the author.

Reasons to Adapt an Open Textbook

One of the benefits of using an openly licensed textbook or other educational resource is that you are free to adapt it to fit your needs. In other words, you can adjust the educational resources to fit your course curriculum, not the other way around. Other reasons for revising an existing open work might be to:

1. Address a particular teaching style or learning style.
2. Adjust for a different grade or course level.
3. Adapt for a different discipline.
4. Accommodate a different learning environment.
5. Address diversity needs.
6. Meet a cultural preference.
7. Meet a regional or national preference.
8. Address a school, district, or institution’s standardized curriculum.
9. Make the material more accessible for people with disabilities.
10. Add material contributed by students or material suggested by students.
11. Translate the material into another language.
12. Correct errors or inaccuracies.
13. Update the book with current information.
14. Add more media or links to other resources.
15. Use only a portion of the book for a course.^[1]

What Will You Change?

Adapting or changing an existing open textbook doesn’t need to be onerous. The changes you make can be as simple as:

• Changing the title of the book, some or all of its chapters or chapter sections.
• Adding new images.
• Removing a chapter that isn’t pertinent to your course.
• Selecting a chapter to be used, leaving the rest of the book behind.

Sometimes, an adaptation might require more than a few simple changes. For example:

• A significant number of chapters might be removed, modified or combined with chapters from another resource to fit the course curriculum.
• Chapters might be reordered to more accurately fit the order in which material is presented in a course.

It might be necessary to add material from other open textbooks or open educational resources to the open textbook you are adapting. You can find openly licensed images and other content on our OER A-Z list.

Maybe you decide to write new material to fill in the gaps of an existing textbook such as new examples or exercises. (If you do this and plan to release the finished work as an open textbook, remember that your new work will be included under this license.)

Will It Be Difficult?

How easy or difficult this will be depends on a number of factors, including:

• How much content do you wish to change? Do you want to remove chapters, or rewrite entire chapters of content?
• What technical format is the original textbook in? A Word document is much easier to modify than a PDF document.
• What type of license is the content released under? Does it have a Creative Commons license that allows for modification or adaptation of the content?
• How comfortable are you with using technology and creating content?

Keep a Record of Changes and Additions

As the author, you retain copyright of all new material you create. This means that even if the new material you create is released under an open license, as the author, you will receive attribution for your contribution.

As you edit and make changes (text and images) and/or add new material, such as a chapter or section within a chapter, keep a list so these additions/changes:

• Can be included as part of the Copyright Notice.
• Can be accurately attributed to you, the author.

Minor changes, such as fixing grammatical or spelling mistakes, don’t need to be documented.

If you add material from another openly licensed work to your adaptation, especially text, record the source and where it is used in your adapted version. This information is needed for the wording and placement of each attribution statement, which is required for each open CC BY (Creative Commons Attribution) licensed work you use.

Changing Images: Add New Ones or Remove Old Ones

With an openly licensed resource, you are welcome to remove images that don’t fit your needs, or you can add new ones. You are also permitted to edit existing images. (Check the license of the image you plan to change to ensure that its permissions fit your intended change.)

Use a Copy Editor and Subject-Matter Expert

Even the best author benefits from the keen eyes of a copyeditor. This individual looks at your work with fresh eyes and can provide feedback on grammar, spelling, readability, clarity, and consistency.

A subject matter expert (SME)—presumably a colleague or other individual who is an expert on the topic you’re writing about—can provide suggestions about the content. It is best that the SME reviews your work before the copyeditor.

One final step is to have a copyeditor (preferably different than the one who copyedits your work) proofread the final draft.

Permission to Adapt

When it comes to working with open textbooks (and open educational resources in general), one of the conceptual hurdles faced by most people is around the notion of adapting or changing someone’s work. What exactly can be adapted within the scope of an open textbook, and won’t the original author get upset if you change their work?

Changing someone’s work can feel uncomfortable. But rest assured, if the author has released their textbook under a Creative Commons license that allows for adaptation (which is any Creative Commons license that does not have a No Derivative (ND) attribute added to it) then they expect that you will change the content, providing you give them the proper attribution (covered in 4.5 Caption, Citation, and Attribution). Using information and media from an open textbook or other open educational resource is NOT considered plagiarism.

But What Can You Change?

Anything and everything in an open textbook can be changed as long as the conditions of the open license are met. The modifications or changes you make can be fairly minor or major depending on what you need to do to make the book work for you. That is the beauty and power of open textbooks. You are in charge of the resource. You have been given permission to change it ahead of time by the original author. Take advantage of it. They want you to.

Why You Should Use Openly Licensed Materials

If you are looking for content to add to your textbook, you should look for and use Creative Commons licensed material. While you can use material that has not been released under a Creative Commons license, it does limit how others can use or reuse that material. You must first obtain written permission from the copyright holder to use copyrighted material in the textbook and clearly note in the textbook the specific material that is copyrighted. This is to ensure others using the book in the future know they cannot reuse that material.

Don’t Forget the Public Domain

Once the copyright of a work has expired, been forfeited, or is inapplicable, it is part of the public domain, meaning that permission is not required to use it or make changes to it. Creative Commons provides public domain tools that enable authors and copyright owners who want to dedicate their works to the worldwide public domain to do so, and facilitates the labeling and discovery of works that are already free of known copyright restrictions.

Preparing Your Application

Different grant applications will require different information. Typical Adapt and Create projects may involve selecting or completely modifying one or multiple existing OER, but 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.