Overview: Open Textbooks

Introduction to Open Textbooks

Open Educational Resources (OER) textbooks are freely available educational materials that offer an alternative to traditional textbooks. They are accessible, adaptable, and cost-effective, providing valuable resources for both educators and students. Below is a guide on where to find OER textbooks, how to check their licensing, and how to integrate them into your courses.

Cartoon of figure pointing to sign that says "OER"

Finding OER Textbooks

Method 1: Using an OER Repository

OER repositories are online platforms where openly licensed educational resources are stored and made accessible. They play a crucial role in advancing open education by:

Organizing Materials: Aggregating textbooks, lesson plans, videos, and interactive modules, making them searchable and easy to retrieve.
Providing Access: Offering user-friendly interfaces to view or download resources for offline use.
Sharing Licensing Info: Displaying licensing details (e.g., Creative Commons) to help users understand permissions and restrictions.
Facilitating Community Contributions: Allowing educators to contribute new materials, expanding available content.

Explore a full list of repositories on the OER Repositories page linked below. Or by clicking the 'Next' button at the bottom of this page.

OER Repositories

Method 2: Using Institutional or Subject-Specific Respositories

University Repositories: Many colleges and universities host OER collections—check institutional websites or academic networks.
Canvas Commons: SDCCD faculty can use Canvas Commons to find and share OER, with filtering options to narrow by district-created materials.
Campus Libraries: Your library may have curated OER collections or subject-specific repositories. You'll find the links to each campus' OER resources below, but your librarians can also help you with resources beyond OER (such as non-OER options that they have available to students at no cost).

Mesa City Miramar Continuing Ed

Licensing and Attribution

Open textbooks are usually licensed under Creative Commons or similar licenses, which specify how the content can be used. The most common licenses include CC BY (attribution required), CC BY-SA (attribution and share alike), and CC0 (no rights reserved). For additional support, refer to the OER Licensing page to understand the permissions and restrictions for each license type

👀 OER textbooks usually have licensing information listed on the title page, in the introduction, or in a dedicated licensing section.

Using OER Textbooks

Integrating OER textbooks into your courses can enhance accessibility and reduce costs for students. With the flexibility to customize content and seamlessly incorporate materials into platforms like Canvas, OER offers an adaptable solution for meeting course objectives. After you've found an OER text that aligns with your course content and objectives, you can decide how you want to provide it to your students. You have three options, which we dive into in the tabs below.

Linking OER text: Send students outside Canvas to interact with the OER text.
Incorporating the OER text within Canvas pages: You bring in text to Canvas pages, making the process more streamlined for students while also allowing you some ability to remix materials.
Embedding OER text into Canvas: No idea yet...

Providing a Link to OER Text

A simple option is to provide a link to the OER text for students. An advantage of this is that if your link will be to the most up-to-date version of the textbook and include any incorporated interactive elements. A potential negative is the inability to personalize the content for you and your students. Additionally, it can be very easy for a student to skip past a link and important course content.

Regardless of class modality, there are a few best practices to giving students a link to a text to ensure they know how they should be engaging with it. We use Introduction to French Level I Links to an external site. created by City College French Professor Philippe Patto in the examples below. We hope this example will show you the power of using an externally hosted OER with interactive elements.

Incorporating Links to OER in Canvas
Do	Don't
Provide Instructions for Interacting with Text: Provide the link on a content page with context on how to use the textbook effectively. Example: Read through the section on negative adverbs in Introduction to French Level I: Formes négatives Links to an external site.. As you read, ensure you can identify and correctly use different types of French negation structures (e.g., ne...jamais, ne...rien, ne...personne) in sentences to express concepts like “never,” “nothing,” or “only.” Test yourself using the embedded question at the end of the section.	Don't just drop the link into a module without explanation or guidance. Example: A link without context within a Canvas module.
Provide Links as Needed: Embed key chapters or sections directly into course modules for easy access. Two best practices: provide the content when students need it (e.g., within assignment instructions) and link to specific sections to reduce clicks and improve engagement.	Don't link to the entire textbook without identifying specific relevant sections.
Use Accessible Links: Use a consistent naming convention that follows accessibility guidelines, such as "OER Textbook: Chapter 2 – Functions."	Don't use vague or unclear link text like "Click here" or URLs like "https://pressbooks.pub/introductiontofrench1/part/formes-negatives"
Double Check Links: Check that the link is accessible and working at the start of each semester. The one downside of linking out to an OER text is that links may change as authors update materials. Use the Course Link Validator Links to an external site. to check links each semester.	Don't assume that external links will remain functional over time.

Incorporating OER Text Into Canvas

For CC licenses without the ND designation (no derivatives) you can reuse the content for educational purposes and remix it with other sources and your own voice. This means you can copy/paste and bring the text into your Canvas shell and make edits there, making the course a one-stop shop for students! A downside is that you may miss out on updates to the text made by the original author.

For a great example of this done well, check out a course page from Introduction to Agriculture created by City Professors Abigail Ferrieri and Erin McConnell: ARGI 100 Example

Incorporating OER Text Into Canvas
Do	Don't
Provide Proper Attribution: Include the original author’s name, the source, and the license type (e.g., “Adapted from [OER Textbook Title] by [Author], licensed under CC BY”).	Don’t forget to credit the original source and license. Attribution is required to comply with copyright and licensing rules.
Integrate Text Seamlessly: Embed OER content directly into Canvas pages instead of linking externally to reduce clicks and keep students engaged.	Don’t place large blocks of text on one Canvas page. Break content into smaller pages or modules for easier navigation.
Adapt Content as Needed: Modify the OER text to fit your course objectives, such as reordering sections or adding course-specific examples—if the license allows.	Don’t use content with the CC BY-ND or CC BY-NC-ND licenses. These prohibit modifications or derivatives.
Maintain Accessibility: Ensure any copied text follows accessibility standards, such as using proper headings and alt text for images, to support all learners. Each campus has an online accessibility mentor Links to an external site.who can help ensure your content is accessible!	Don’t ignore accessibility requirements. Poorly formatted content may create barriers for students with disabilities.

Embedding OER Texts Directly

For some OER resources, you can embed the content directly in Canvas using iframes or LTI integrations, making the content seamlessly accessible without links or copying/pasting text. This approach keeps students within the course environment, improving accessibility and engagement. Again, you'll lose the remixing ability, but you will keep interactive elements and updates by the original author.

Below, you'll see an iframe for Philippe Patto's text we used earlier. You can embed web-hosted OER (like Pressbooks or OpenStax) using an <iframe> to display the content directly on a Canvas page. This keeps students in one place and minimizes navigation issues. Here's the code used below: <iframe src="https://pressbooks.pub/introductiontofrench1/part/formes-negatives" width="100%" height="600" style="border: none;"></iframe>

We have LTI integration for OpenStax. This allows you to 'create assignments' which link directly to the OpenStax book. We've been underwhelmed, but it could be worth checking out if you are using an OpenStax text and have students do readings from it. Here are some words of caution for those planning on this final method.

Don’t Embed Content Without Permission:
Ensure that the content you're embedding allows sharing through iframes or LTIs under the terms of the license.
Don’t Use Inaccessible Embeds:
Avoid using iframes that are not mobile-friendly or lack appropriate accessibility features (e.g., missing titles or ARIA labels).
Don’t Overuse iframes:
Too many embedded elements can slow down the page and make the course harder to navigate.

Click 'Next' to explore OER Repositories.

OER Frank Links to an external site., CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons