{"id":1900,"date":"2021-11-22T09:00:55","date_gmt":"2021-11-22T17:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/?p=1900"},"modified":"2025-09-26T13:47:51","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T20:47:51","slug":"oer-software-engineering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/oer-software-engineering\/","title":{"rendered":"OER at Work: Ditching traditional textbooks for a true \u2018companion\u2019 to learning"},"content":{"rendered":"
Editor’s note: <\/strong>This story was originally published on the Oregon State University Division of Educational Ventures news site<\/a>.<\/span><\/div>\n

Cut down on chapter length. Get rid of drawn-out, technical explanations. Connect the text directly to the coursework.<\/p>\n

Oh, and make it free to every student who needs it.<\/p>\n

Those were a few of the goals Lara Letaw established when she set out to write a textbook on software engineering. The result, \u201cHandbook of Software Engineering Methods<\/a>,\u201d was published this summer in collaboration with Oregon State University\u2019s Open Educational Resources Unit.<\/p>\n

Now the students in her CS 361 Software Engineering class have a freely accessible open textbook that is designed specifically to match her course learning outcomes.<\/p>\n

Letaw answered a few questions recently to share details of the book\u2019s creation process, the support she received from the Open Educational Resources Unit<\/a>, and the people she consulted for feedback along the way \u2014 which included her own students.<\/p>\n

Why did you decide to write an open textbook?<\/h2>\n

\u201cTo cover the same material as this OER, it would have required students to buy multiple textbooks, an expense of more than $100 per student. Working with the OER Unit, we also could not identify a suitable existing OER.\u201d<\/p>\n

What do your students think about the software engineering book?<\/h2>\n

\u201cStudents use the OER differently from many textbooks. Knowing that students often have to slog through textbooks, don\u2019t retain much content and revisit mainly for pre-exam cramming, I targeted shorter chapters with fewer textwalls \u2014 and I encourage students to skim.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince the OER is tightly-coupled with the coursework, students revisit the chapters while doing assignments. The OER is a companion<\/em> to their learning.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI was in a great position of having strong support from my department and Ecampus. The OER Unit accommodated my preference for using LaTeX and GitHub. GitHub is commonly used in the field of software engineering and provides both version control and collaboration features (e.g., for if someone wants to suggest additions).\u201d<\/p>\n

Were there any surprises along the way?<\/h2>\n

\u201cI was surprised I could write a textbook! The process is not dissimilar to writing software.\u201d<\/p>\n

What do you think is the greatest strength of OER?<\/h2>\n

\u201cBesides reducing financial burden on students, OER\u2019s support \u2018living fields\u2019 such as software engineering by reducing overhead and barriers against creating and revising textbooks. They also increase possibilities for incorporating more voices into the knowledge we\u2019re imparting to students.\u201d<\/p>\n

What was your process for authoring the textbook?<\/h2>\n

\u201cStarting from the course learning outcomes, I wrote a chapter for each major area my software engineering students need to know about. I gathered feedback about early and finalized versions of the content from both students and peers from academia and industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cDo it! The OER Unit has a catalog of existing OER and very helpful staff.\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>Cut down on chapter length. Get rid of drawn-out, technical explanations. Connect the text directly to the coursework. Oh, and make it free to every student who needs it. Those were a few of the goals Lara Letaw established when she set out to write a textbook on software engineering.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1911,"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":[1,13,702,679],"tags":[602,398,647],"class_list":["post-1900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-oer","category-educational-ventures","category-leadership-and-innovation","tag-oer-at-work","tag-openfeature-2","tag-oregon-state-open-educational-resources-unit"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/P03002-OER-Larissa-Letaw-800x450-211215.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7BNSE-uE","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2730,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/open-education-week-oer\/","url_meta":{"origin":1900,"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":1727,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/oer-biological-environmental-engineering\/","url_meta":{"origin":1900,"position":1},"title":"OER at Work: Open textbook is ‘a much more interactive resource’","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"April 21, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"John Selker is a distinguished professor in Oregon State\u2019s Department of Biological and Ecological Engineering. He and an international colleague are tapping into the wealth of open educational resources through OSU Libraries. Learn about the process, benefits and challenges of implementing OER in his course.","rel":"","context":"In "All Stories"","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/john-selker-video-grab.jpg?fit=744%2C419&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/john-selker-video-grab.jpg?fit=744%2C419&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/john-selker-video-grab.jpg?fit=744%2C419&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/john-selker-video-grab.jpg?fit=744%2C419&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1671,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/oer-environmental-politics-and-policy\/","url_meta":{"origin":1900,"position":2},"title":"OER at Work: Open textbook increases affordability, up-to-date information","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"January 6, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"\"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","rel":"","context":"In "All Stories"","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Photo of Erika Wolters, assistant professor in Oregon State University's School of Public Policy, who has edited and adopted open educational resources in her courses.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Erika-Wolters-744x478-201210.jpg?fit=744%2C478&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Erika-Wolters-744x478-201210.jpg?fit=744%2C478&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Erika-Wolters-744x478-201210.jpg?fit=744%2C478&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Erika-Wolters-744x478-201210.jpg?fit=744%2C478&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1687,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/oer-at-work-marine-law\/","url_meta":{"origin":1900,"position":3},"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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