Open-source books gain traction among University of Maryland professors - The Diamondback : Campus

"Instead of asking students to go out and buy a textbook, Scott Roberts, the psychology department’s undergraduate studies director, decided to create his own. In 2010, Roberts was a graduate student working for the federal government while teaching introductory psychology at night. He didn’t set aside a summer, a month or a few weeks to prepare his book — he created it on a week-by-week basis, often putting sections together late at night or early in the morning. Roberts, who provides his book free of charge to the university’s PSYC 100: Introduction to Psychology classes, is part of a national growing open educational resources movement. These resources are published under a Creative Commons license, which allows for free use and sometimes editing, much like Wikipedia. Roberts’ psychology textbook draws from free online information, videos and graphics. The process, Roberts said, really forced him to think about what he wanted students to learn. 'There was something liberating about not having to think about the course the way somebody else outlined it but really having the opportunity to step back and make my own outline,' he said. 'It took a lot more time than I thought at the moment.' University officials are looking for ways to encourage staff to take advantage of these resources. For instance, there are plans to give incentives to professors who adopt open textbooks, said Gary White, libraries public services associate dean. White believes such an approach could jump-start open-source projects. He added awareness is another major issue, as many students and faculty do not even know these resources are an option. The movement is gaining steam, largely because of this country’s economic situation and rising education costs. In the past 34 years, according to the American Enterprise Institute, textbook costs have increased 812 percent, far outpacing the rate of inflation over the same period of time. Students bear the brunt, paying more than $650 a year for required course materials, according to the National Association of College Stores. And when students can’t pay, the federal government is left to pick up the slack. 'States have been retreating from funding higher education,' said Richard Hershman, NACS government relations vice president. 'State budgets have been cut, and higher education has been one of the first areas they have been cutting and removing support for. … That means more burden on the students with higher tuition and the federal government with providing Pell grants.' ..."