The average textbook cost in Australia is between $50 and $150. For students, who can study up to four units per semester, this is an expense many cannot bear. As a Library, we know the difference that providing free access to textbooks can make. However, providing reliable access can be difficult even in the age of ebooks, with restrictive terms imposed by publishers preventing students from accessing their required texts easily and the associated licensing costs stretching already tight library budgets. Enter Open Educational Resources (OERs).
OERs are teaching, learning or research materials published under an open license that allows them to be accessed, adapted and redistributed with no, or limited, restrictions. The benefits for students are clear: they receive high-quality learning materials for free, with no limits on downloads and no restrictions on printing. Students can use OERs in whatever way best suits their learning needs. There are benefits for academics as well: OERs can be adapted to suit the local context, examples can be changed so that they’re more relevant, the order in which topics are presented can be adjusted to best suit the unit’s calendar and, if academics want to make the necessary time investment in writing a textbook from scratch, it can be used by the broadest possible audience.
The Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL) is running a pilot in 2022 called the ‘OER Collective’, to build awareness and capacity to adopt and publish OERs in Australia and New Zealand. Institutions participating in the OER Collective receive access to an open textbook platform and support from a community of practice, as well as guides, templates, opportunities for training, and an author-grant scheme. As a participant, Curtin University will publish four textbooks, two of which have received author grants. The textbooks cover a range of subject areas, with three developed to support high-enrolment first-year units.
An introductory-level Aboriginal cultural awareness text, produced by a team of academics led by Dr Leanda Mason from the Centre for Aboriginal Studies, will have the potential to be used across all faculties within Curtin. Presenting diverse perspectives, the text will focus on decolonising practices applied across disciplines, raising awareness of the impact of the status quo in Australia on Indigenous peoples, and providing students with a foundation that enables the integration of Aboriginal ways of working in a culturally safe and appropriate way.
Dr Kristoffer McKee from the Faculty of Science and Engineering and Mark Hodge from the Faculty of Humanities will co-author a textbook for use in an Engineering foundation year unit. This cross-faculty collaboration will introduce students to the stages of an engineering project, working on a real-world problem and demonstrating the ways in which engineering can transform lives. An equal focus is given to soft skills, particularly communication and collaboration, which are crucial to success in the field.
Associate Professor Richard Oloruntoba from the Faculty of Business and Law will author an introductory text exploring foundational supply chain management (SCM) concepts and the relationship between SCM and other business practices. Focusing specifically on the Australian and New Zealand context, the text will incorporate local case studies and Indigenous perspectives.
This is undoubtedly a win for students, who will commence their studies without the financial burden associated with their textbooks and with resources that clearly explain the local context. All of the textbooks will be designed to be interactive, with activities incorporated to broaden understanding. As a Library, we hope this is just the beginning of a wave of OERs in use, a step toward equitable access for all.
Written by Claire Murphy, Manager, Learning Success
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