RMIT Open May 2019 SIG Event Open Textbook

— RMIT - Open May 2019 SIG Event - Open Textbook Publishing in Australia Anne Lennox | Associate Director, Teaching and Research Information Services, RMIT University Library

Why have you engaged in open publishing; what do you intend as the benefits? “. . OERs provide a natural step towards integrating open resources as part of the day to day business of the organisation. " Belinda Tynan, 2012 UNESCO World OER Congress in Paris http: //wikieducator. org/OERu_share_solutions_for_Education_for_All_at_UNESCO_World_OER_Co ngress 2

"Opening the Textbook: Educational Resources in U. S. Higher Education, 2017" by Julia E. Seaman, Ph. D, Jeff Seaman, Ph. D is licensed under CC BY-SA 4. 0

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Intended benefits - Students This has meant students have easy access to the textbook, rather than having to pay a substantial amount of money. It has also allowed the book to be subdivided and linked in as appropriate in the Canvas shell. Many more students end up using the book this way than for a traditional expensive paper-based book. Using a freely available text like this means that all students are able to access such material easily. 91 48 19 15 6 Associate Professor James Harland School of Science https: //emedia. rmit. edu. au/oer/textbook-hero/ 10

Intended benefits - Staff I particularly like being able to point to specific parts of the book, and re-organise the topic order to suit our students. This also means it is easier to put together a comprehensive set of course materials in Canvas. Associate Professor James Harland School of Science https: //emedia. rmit. edu. au/oer/textbook-hero/ 91 48 19 15 7 10

How do you support authors at your institution? Improved discovery of open textbooks - integrated into Library Search Become a partner in curriculum blended learning and uplift projects our first textbook hero Partner to release our first open textbook 8

What is the most important 'lesson learned' you'd like to share with the community? ● Moving to open requires a cultural shift (moving from consumer of open to creator of open) ● Don’t underestimate the amount of work required to embed open content into existing programs and courses ● Publishing an open textbook, requires a publisher mindset and knowledge of the publishing process. 9

QUESTIONS 91 48 19 15 10 10