{"id":1641,"date":"2020-12-09T10:00:05","date_gmt":"2020-12-09T18:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/?p=1641"},"modified":"2025-09-26T12:57:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T19:57:13","slug":"oer-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/oer-business\/","title":{"rendered":"OER at Work: Open textbook is a path to \u2018continuous improvement\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
Editor’s note: <\/strong>This story was originally published on the Oregon State University <\/span>Division of Educational Ventures news site<\/a>.<\/span><\/div>\n

John Morris\u2019 foray into open educational resources was spurred by a series of questions, and they all led to the same conclusion: Textbooks are too expensive for college students.<\/p>\n

This is a widely held view in academia, and Morris,\u00a0a senior instructor in Oregon State University\u2019s College of Business, decided to implement a no-cost alternative in his integrative strategic experience course. He did so with the support of the OSU Open Educational Resources Unit<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You can read more about Morris\u2019 experience adapting an open textbook in part one of his OER at Work story<\/a>. Below, he shares his thoughts on the strengths and challenges of OERs and gives advice to fellow faculty members.<\/p>\n

What surprised you about working with OERs?<\/h2>\n

\u201cI thought I was on my own if this was going to be important to me. But hearing about the open textbook initiative<\/a> put a lot of resources behind my interest. It\u2019s not just the grant, although that was nice, but also the WordPress platform and trained expertise the group brings to the project.\u201d<\/p>\n

What challenges did you face in bringing an open textbook into your course?<\/h2>\n

\u201cThe book has become an integral part of what I\u2019m teaching. I\u2019ve modified the language of my book and the language I use in my Canvas course to steadily be synchronous. That is, students can see a stronger linkage between what they read in the textbook and what they are asked to do in their assignments. This has put me into a continuous improvement mode. It\u2019s not a set-and-forget resource.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my next edition, I plan to create a tighter linkage between the textbook and the computer simulation. In business, there are lots of \u2018local usages,\u2019 like profit vs. net income or sales vs. revenue; these terms mean the same things, but they can confuse even senior-level students.<\/p>\n

“<\/span>You may start asking yourself the same question I did: Isn\u2019t there a better way? There is \u2014 it\u2019s OER.”<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cBecause I can\u2019t change the language that my simulation vendor uses and I can<\/em> the language that my textbook uses, the challenge will rest on me to make those linkages more explicit.\u201d<\/p>\n

What is the greatest strength of OERs?<\/h2>\n

\u201cI appreciate that Stefanie (Buck, the director of the OSU Open Educational Resources Unit<\/a>) is continuously improving the open textbook initiative. I have worked with two directors for the project and received three grants in total. Each time, there is more to draw from the initiative for what I want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your advice for faculty who want to use OERs in their courses?<\/h2>\n

\u201cPrior to getting motivated to use an OER textbook, I had an experience that was telling. I was planning an open book final exam and conducting an exam review the week before finals week. A student asked if I had an extra copy of the textbook to borrow for the exam. As is probably the case for most instructors, I had several older editions in my office, so I asked the class if anyone else would like to borrow one. To my surprise, about a dozen students raised their hands.<\/p>\n

\"John

John Morris, a senior instructor in Oregon State’s College of Business and proponent of OER.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI asked why so many needed a book. None had actually purchased the textbook. When I dug deeper, several admitted to sharing one, but a few acknowledged that the book was so expensive they just couldn\u2019t afford to buy it. They were muddling their way through their education without the benefit of a textbook.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was an eye-opener for me. But my experience was reinforced over the following several quarters as I asked more sections of the course about the book. I usually got the same kind of answers about the cost, and I would bring my piles of out-of-date books to final exams.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith an OER textbook I don\u2019t have to worry about access and affordability anymore; now it\u2019s more an issue of motivation and time management.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you assume your students all bought or rented the textbook, I\u2019d recommend asking. You may be surprised at their response, and you may start asking yourself the same question I did: Isn\u2019t there a better way?<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is \u2014 it\u2019s OER.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Learn more about the OSU Open Educational Resources Unit and the support resources available to faculty.<\/em><\/p>\n

Explore OER services<\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/span> 3<\/span> minute read<\/span><\/span>Now that he uses an open textbook in his business course, John Morris says students can see a stronger link between what they read in the textbook and what they do in their assignments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1642,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,9,13,3,675],"tags":[107,602,647],"class_list":["post-1641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-faculty","category-oer","category-features","category-accessing-college","tag-college-of-business","tag-oer-at-work","tag-oregon-state-open-educational-resources-unit"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/digital-open-textbook.jpg?fit=744%2C460&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7BNSE-qt","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1588,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/oer-at-work-management\/","url_meta":{"origin":1641,"position":0},"title":"OER at Work: Business instructor enhances course\u2019s real-world experience with open textbook","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"November 4, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"In the first part of our OER at Work story series, business instructor John Morris shares his insights about the decision to incorporate open educational resources in his course, the development process and more. He was inspired, in part, by the shock he received when he began paying for his\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "All Stories"","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"An image of Austin Hall on Oregon State University's Corvallis campus. 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