"As costs to post-secondary students and institutions continue to rise, the idea of sharing knowledge and educational resources in an open form becomes a more attractive option. Textbook prices, journal subscription rates, and the cost of other education resources are creating budgetary problems for learners and institutions. For both of these groups of stakeholders, the adoption of open textbooks and other open educational resources (OER) would reduce some of these costs. The adoption and integration of open textbook and other types of OER, including greater use of open access journals, could save students and institutions money. This shift may also help to change the way instructors teach and students learn through open educational practices (OEP), defined by Conole and Ehlers (2010) as “the use of open educational resources with the aim to improve quality of educational processes and innovate educational environments” (p. 3-4).
Despite the benefits to the adoption of open textbooks, other OER, and open educational practices, there has not yet been widespread uptake of these materials and methods. (Paradis, 2014) This paper will serve as a review of existing literature, exploring:
- what open education means in current contexts
- what problems the integration of open educational materials may help negate
- what barriers may be impeding the adoption of such materials
- who the stakeholders are and what their roles are in the integration of open materials and practices.
In addition, the author will propose a research study to examine faculty attitudes toward open materials and practices based on the diffusion of innovations framework."
Full paper available here.
