{"id":1671,"date":"2021-01-06T15:56:12","date_gmt":"2021-01-06T23:56:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/?p=1671"},"modified":"2025-09-26T12:59:27","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T19:59:27","slug":"oer-environmental-politics-and-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/oer-environmental-politics-and-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"OER at Work: Open textbook increases affordability, up-to-date information"},"content":{"rendered":"
Editor’s note:<\/strong> This story was originally published on the Oregon State University Division of Educational Ventures news site<\/a>.<\/div>\n

Oregon State University faculty are driven to improve access to higher education and make college more affordable by reducing the costs of textbooks and required course materials.<\/p>\n

With support from the\u00a0OSU Open Educational Resources Unit<\/a>, faculty members such as Erika Wolters and Brent Steel are adopting, adapting and authoring OERs for their classes. The two professors in Oregon State\u2019s School of Public Policy teamed up to edit an open textbook for political science courses.<\/p>\n

Wolters recently shared her insights about the OER creation process and more.<\/p>\n

Tell us a little about the course you teach that uses the open textbook.<\/h3>\n

\u201cI am using OER in two of my classes, but the OSU open textbook I use is \u2018The Environmental Politics and Policy of Western Public Lands<\/a>\u2019 for my class, Environmental Politics and Policy. This class focuses on environmental politics and policy nationally, but then focuses on issues specific to the Western United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why did you choose to use this resource?<\/h3>\n

\u201cBecause students often have to pay so much for textbooks, using OER provides an opportunity for students to access the text for free while still benefitting from a high-quality and relevant text. Further, the ability to edit the open source text allows my colleague and I to provide updated information instantaneously. With rapidly changing environmental policy issues in the West, this is needed to stay up-to-date.\u201d<\/p>\n

What was your process for editing and implementing the textbook for your course?<\/h3>\n

\u201cWe wrote the book with the intention of adopting it to our class (and for colleagues at other universities who needed an updated Western environmental politics and policy book). The proposal for the book was straightforward, and working with OER was very easy. Everything was clear (deadlines, stipend, etc.), making it very easy to work through this process.\u201d<\/p>\n

What do students think about the open textbook?<\/h3>\n

\u201cThe students appreciate the ease of use. They can easily download chapters (or the entire book), read on a computer or on a phone.\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> 2<\/span> minute read<\/span><\/span>“The ability to edit the open source text allows my colleague and I to provide updated information instantaneously. With rapidly changing environmental policy issues in the West, this is needed to stay up-to-date.” \u2013 OSU School of Public Policy assistant professor Erika Wolters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1673,"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":[1,6,13,702,670],"tags":[602,647],"class_list":["post-1671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-ecampus","category-oer","category-educational-ventures","category-division","tag-oer-at-work","tag-oregon-state-open-educational-resources-unit"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Erika-Wolters-744x478-201210.jpg?fit=744%2C478&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7BNSE-qX","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2730,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/open-education-week-oer\/","url_meta":{"origin":1671,"position":0},"title":"Oregon State faculty\u2019s use of free textbooks generates millions in student savings","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"March 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Editor's note: This story was originally published on the Oregon State University Division of Educational Ventures news site. Tuition costs are beyond the control of Oregon State University faculty members, but there is a proven way they can make student learning more affordable: by replacing expensive textbooks with free and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "All Stories"","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A person working on a laptop with a geographic map on the screen, alongside an open textbook titled \"Getting Organized.\"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/open-access-textbook.jpg?fit=800%2C470&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/open-access-textbook.jpg?fit=800%2C470&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/open-access-textbook.jpg?fit=800%2C470&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/open-access-textbook.jpg?fit=800%2C470&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1687,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/oer-at-work-marine-law\/","url_meta":{"origin":1671,"position":1},"title":"OER at Work: Authoring a marine law open textbook was ‘straightforward and seamless’","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"February 3, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Oregon State researcher and instructor Holly Campbell says the process of authoring an open textbook on marine law \"was very straightforward and seamless,\" and she advises her faculty colleagues to not hesitate in implementing open educational resources in their classes.","rel":"","context":"In "All Stories"","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A humpback whale breaches and soars in the air above the ocean. 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