“As someone who entered the course two weeks late, it truly benefited me to have access to [Dr. Rothschild’s revision of] the OpenStax online textbook free of charge. I was able to save money in terms of not having to buy a physical textbook again after having dropped a different course. Having access to the course textbook right from my computer improved my learning experience in that course. It set me up for success knowing that the material in the online textbook would all be covered since it was specifically designed for Dr. Rothschild’s course.” – Sam Avila, Academic Affairs Chair, RWU Student Senate
“It was through direct encouragement from Lindsey Gumb, Scholarly Communications Librarian, that I chose to explore the benefits of OER. I initially resisted working with OER, because I was concerned that the dynamism of the material would be lost through an online textbook medium. This has not been the case at all. I have found that working with OER has enhanced my ANSOC 105: Introduction to Sociology classroom teaching. Initially, I adopted the OpenStax Introduction to Sociology textbook in Spring of 2018, and since then have re-written a good deal of the text (thanks to the CC-BY license), added more material, and deleted less promising material. It now feels very up to date and comprehensive. Lindsey Gumb and Hannah Goodall have been super helpful with the technical aspects of this, leaving me time to really just focus on the sociological content. The students have been very pleased that the text is always available online, is free, and is consistent with the material I bring in to the class, lectures, discussions, and projects. I have used this new and improved text to teach since the Fall of 2018 and continue to update it as we move forward. I highly recommend this to my colleagues because of both the process and the finished product.” – Dr. Teal Rothschild, Professor of Sociology
“Pressbooks is a great platform for producing open textbooks. The interface is very intuitive and easy to use, and the PressbooksEDU platform provides a number of interactive elements that can really enhance the student experience. It was a very quick learning curve to turn my existing online lecture notes into a full textbook, but it is just as easy to import and customize existing OER resources, especially if they were also written on the Pressbooks platform. The student response has been very positive, mostly due to the financial benefits of not having to buy (or carry around) a physical book. But they have also appreciated having a text that is designed specifically for their course, that is always available a few clicks away, and that can be updated instantly to reflect emerging themes. It is also personally gratifying to hear from faculty at other institutions who, conscious of the financial burden on students, are adopting my text, and hopefully customizing it to better serve the specific needs of their students.” – Dr. Paul Webb, Professor of Biology