OE Global 2019

The Hewlett funded UK Open Textbooks project (2017-2018) had two aims. First, to investigate awareness of open textbooks within UK Higher Education (HE). Second, to test two highly successful open textbook models of adoption (OpenStax; Open Textbook Network) to assess their transferability to the UK context. To better understand textbook use patterns and the issues faced by students and educators, UK Open Textbooks conducted an incentivised survey of UK educators in September 2018. This presentation will report on the findings of this survey which focused on awareness of open educational resources (OER), textbook use and rationale, awareness and use of open textbooks and open licensing.

The survey work carried out by UK Open Textbooks, and the experience of testing two methods of raising awareness and adoption through workshops and promotional activity, reveal a fertile ground for open textbook adoption with the potential to support a wide range of associated open educational practices. Our findings indicate that the same challenges are consistently experienced across the whole of the UK and indicate possible strategies for raising awareness and supporting pedagogical innovation and student access through the mainstream adoption of open textbooks.