Why create an OER textbook?

The cost of textbooks is a social justice issue. The unfortunate truth is that more and more students aren’t purchasing required textbooks. In the report Fixing the Broken Textbook Market (2014) by the Center for Public Interest, research indicates that approximately two-thirds of the surveyed students had chosen not to buy or rent some of their required course materials because they couldn’t afford them. The study also states:

The ideal alternative is open textbooks. Free online, free to download, and affordable in print: open textbooks operate in the exact way student respondents felt would improve their performance in class. Not only are open textbooks more accessible, but they have the potential to save students $100 on average, per course, per semester. (p. 13)

Open access books and articles are now identified as part of the many formats included under the category of open educational resources (OERs). A study by Feldstein et al. (2012) found that in courses using OERs, more students had better grades and lower failure rates than courses with textbooks from traditional publishers.

References

Feldstein, A., Martin, M., Hudson, A., Warren, K., Hilton, J., & Wiley, D. (2012). Open textbooks and increased student access and outcomes. European Journal of Open, Distance and E–Learning. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ992490.

Fixing the Broken Textbook Market: How Students Respond to High Textbook Costs and Demand Alternatives. (2014). Center for Public Interest Research. Retrieved from  https://uspirg.org/sites/pirg/files/reports/NATIONAL%20Fixing%20Broken%20Textbooks%20Report1.pdf

Textbook Description

The OER book is an interdisciplinary reference textbook focused on teaching college students how to develop written documents as seen across diverse professions. The edited collection includes individual stand-alone chapters that follow a standard template with content written by experts in a variety of fields. Each chapter is co-authored by 2-3 experts for each chapter submission.

All chapters are peer-reviewed, and the edited collection is published as an open educational resource (OER) textbook involving a Creative Commons license and stand-alone website. Additional publishing platforms may be added later, such as the Open Textbook Library and Amazon Kindle Publishing.

The goal of the publication is to provide a valuable resource on writing in the disciplines that is easy to access and free of charge to all users. Every chapter is dedicated to the “why” and “how” of a specific type of document found in different professions.

High quality un-published works as chapters are invited for the edited collection. The chapters should be developed according to the scope of the call for chapters and the chapter template.

Call for Chapter Proposals

Chapter Submission Guidelines

Peer Reviewer Guidelines

Writing the Disciplines Textbook - Press Release