2012 11-02 oer and graduate students (nagps conference)

www.MakeTextbooksAffordable.org | [email protected] | @txtbks | #OpenTextbooks |

Open Educational Resources: Overview

and Impact on Graduate Students

Nicole AllenThe Student PIRGs

[email protected] • @txtbks

NAGPS National Conference 2012November 2, 2012 • Duke University


Textbooks cost HOW

much?


Textbook Cost Increases vs. Inflation

Textbook wholesale prices have been rising four times the rate of inflation for the last three decades.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor Statistics 19

81198619911996200120062011

0%

100%

200%

300%

400%

500%

600%

Text-books

Inflation


Avg. student budget for books & supplies is $1,168* per year

* Publishers and bookstores estimate actual spending is lower, but…


7 in 10 students skip buying one or more textbook due to cost


The average introductory textbook costs $176


really???


Bundled textbooks cost 10-50% more than the book alone

(not even counting lost buyback potential)


E-textbooks cost more on avg. than renting print textbooks


But how can publishers get away with this?


$8.8 Billion Industry


5 Players


“Broken Market”

www.MakeTextbooksAffordable.org | [email protected] | @txtbks | #OAWeekPhilly |

Normal Market


“Broken” Textbook Market


Wish I could

exploit people like

that…


It’s the 21st century! Aren’t e-books solving this problem?

OER & OA: Similarities

• Prices have risen rapidly, resulting in consumers losing access

• Root of the problem is a “broken” market

• Faculty are the lynchpin

• The solution lies in new publishing models


Solving the Textbook Cost

Crisis


Cost-Saving Measures

Used Books

Rentals

E-Books

E-Readers

25%

61%

52%

39%


Students have many ways to save, which is good…


But to solve the problem, we need something better


Open Educational Resources

(OER)


Educational materials offered under a license allowing the public to freely

use, adapt and distribute the content


Definition: “Educational Resources”

• Textbooks• Assessments• Study guides• Online courses• Lecture notes

• Tutorials• Video lectures• Graphics• Slides• And so on…


Definition: “Open License”

• Reuse• Revise

• Remix• Redistribute

Legal permission from the copyright owner to use the resource freely in the following ways (known as the “4 R’s”)


Open Educational Resources

1. Open TextbooksOER textbooks

• 3,400 adoptions

• 1,800 institutions

• 100+ high-quality books

2. OpenCourseWareExisting materials made open

• 250+ universities

• 17,000+ universities

3. OER RepositoriesMix and match

• CNX.org

• MERLOT.org

• OERCommons.org

• Curriki.org

OER & OA: Differences

• Educational content (interchangeable) vs. scholarly research (unique)

• Emphasis on creating new content, rather than open-licensing existing content

• Creating OER isn’t enough to solve the problem; it must be promoted to get used


Open textbooks are the “beachhead” for OER


Example: Open Textbook


Open Textbook Publishing Models


Publishers (for-profit)

Read full book free online

Option to buy extra items

Publishers (non-profit)


Solves the “Broken Market”

State-Sponsored Programs

Faculty Editorial Boards


Individual Authors


Open Textbook Adoption


What You Can Do


What You Can Do

1. Support faculty to find and adopt OER (or other low-cost/free curricular resources)


What You Can Do


2. Get involved in local OER initiatives


What You Can Do


2. Get local OER initiatives3. Continue helping students save

money


What You Can Do


2. Get involved in local OER initiatives3. Continue helping students save

money4. Engage students as advocates


An Overview of the Textbook Market and Strategies to Reduce

CostsNicole Allen

The Student [email protected] • @txtbks

Textbooks and Their StakeholdersNovember 1, 2012 • Northeastern University

2012 11-02 oer and graduate students (nagps conference)

Education

student pirgs nicole studentpirgs

cost free curricular resources

local oer initiatives3

broken marketwww

oer

support faculty

adopt oer

nicole studentpirgs