This week, March 5-9, is Open Education Week, and we’re celebrating open educational resources. Open educational resources (OERs) are freely accessible, openly licensed text, media, and other digital assets that are useful for teaching and learning. Open textbooks are one type of OER.

Open Textbooks

Just two years ago, we knew that one course had adopted an open textbook. An instructor of select sections of another course had adopted an open textbook, too. Students were saving an estimated $155,000 in the academic year.

Since joining the Open Textbook Network in 2016, seven courses (and eight instructors teaching individual sections of other courses) have open textbook adoptions. Because some of these new adoptions are in high-enrollment courses, we’ve almost quintupled the number of students impacted by open textbooks. Students are saving an estimated $740,000 this year!

Million Dollar Goal

The Office of the Provost and the Student Government Association have a goal to save students $1 Million with open textbooks over the 2017-18 academic year. The UT Libraries and the SGA have been keeping a tally of savings to students. This list includes all known open textbook adoptions. Now, we need your help — let us know if you are teaching with an open textbook: s.lib.utk.edu/opened.

SGA Open Education Award

Last year, the Student Government Association worked with the UT Libraries to launch an award recognizing instructors who use open educational resources, including free and openly licensed textbooks. Students, nominate your instructor for the SGA Open Education Award now.

Faculty Choices

You can listen to a Geography 101 instructor talk about his experience adopting and teaching with an open textbook at a recent OIT Community of Practice meeting. Learn more about the differences between open textbooks and books that are available in the Inclusive Access program.