Open Textbook Research

Discovering the Potential of e-books as Effective Learning Tools by Amanda J. Rockinson-Szapkiw, LPC, Ed.D.  and David E. Holder, School of Education, Liberty University  -- It's interesting that the authors define and ebook as a book read on a program other than a browser.

A College Textbook Cost Study Plan Proposal: An Economic Analysis of Textbook Pricing and Textbook Markets
It documents what most of us already know about the textbook publishing industry and the trends in book prices. There is a minor mention of the creative commons licensing, but little else about incorporating open educational resources to offset the high costs of educational materials.

A practical open strategy in the business world
A blog post by David Porter on other kinds of sustainability models with a great example he observed in Hanoi, Vietnam in June 2010.

A Report on the Feasibility of Textbook Rental Programs and Other Textbook Cost-Saving Alternatives in Illinois Public Higher Education
Excellent report from the Illinois Board of Higher Education; includes great textbook cost data plus an appendix on legislation in various states.

Open Educational Resources (OER) Background and Action Report for Bilateral and Multilateral Agencies Project by Paul G. West and Lorraine Victor May 2011

Badges in Social Media: A Social Psychological Perspective
Representing achievements as badges or trophies is a standard practice in online gaming. In this paper they deconstruct badges and present five social psychological functions for badges in social media contexts: goal setting, instruction, reputation, status/affirmation, and group identification.

Benefits and Challenges of OER for Higher Education Institutions

Bootstrapping a Culture of Sharing to Facilitate Open Educational Resources
Hugh C. Davis, Leslie Carr, Jessie M.N. Hey, Yvonne Howard, David Millard, Debra Morris and Su White IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES
This seems to be a draft because the Volume number and Date are blank Descriptions of the Language Box and EdShare are included. Extensive bibliography.

The Creative Commons and Copyright Protection in the Digital Era: Uses of Creative Commons Licenses

This study explores whether Creative Commons (CC) licenses are a viable solution for copyright protection in the digital era. The findings suggest that the Creative Commons can alleviate some of the problems caused by the copyright conflict.

Green Paper: The State and Challenges of OER in Brazil: from readers to writers?
How Do Open Education Resources Acquire Their Value for Teaching and Learning?
An article on OER and repositories from Tom Carey at University of Waterloo.

Learning Technology: It turns out that students do use OER and it does save time
This study by Steve Stapleton, John Horton, and Andy Beggan from The University of Nottingham shows that students use OER and that they are effective.

OERu: Open Educational Resources University: Towards a logic model and plan for action
The Open Education Resource (OER) university initiative aims to develop a “parallel learning universe” (Taylor 2007) to augment and add value to existing post-secondary education provision by creating flexible pathways for learners using open learning materials hosted on the Internet to earn credible credentials from accredited higher education institutions. This report documents emergent trends and proposes a high-level logic model for designing a scalable and sustainable international ecosystem for the successful implementation of the OER university initiative.

On the (im)Possibility of OER Research
"What is it that makes OER special or different from other digital educational media? The answer must include their '4R' potential for reuse, redistribution, revision, and remixing." In other words, the answer lies in an examination of how the license affects their use.

Open Access: A Matter for Definition
A dozen definitions/policies of open access appear in this report. The paper includes a discussion of the pros and cons of the various policies.

Open Educational Practices: Unleashing the power of OER
A very good study in the open education domain, with a focus on practice.

Open Educational Resources: Conversations in Cyberspace
This report provides an overview of the first steps of this exciting new development: it captures the conversations between leaders of some of the first OER projects, and documents early debates on the issues that continue to challenge the movement.

Open Educational Resources and Intellectual Property Rights
An interesting report from UNESCO

Openness as Catalyst for an Educational Reformation
David Wiley provides a thought-provoking study with a bibliography.

Open-Source Textbooks: Infrastructure for Customized Learning Materials

Report of the Joint Task Force on Textbook and Reader Affordability
The Task force looked at the many factors that influence the cost of textbooks for students, and they recommend a number of initiatives to reduce textbook and reader costs for students.
A recent (June 2010) study by a UCal Berkeley on Textbook and Reader Affordability

The Short-Term Influence of Free Digital Versions of Books on Print Sales
Peer-reviewed article by John Hilton III and David Wiley on the short-term positive impact on print sales of books that are available free online.

Synthesis framework for OER Pilot projects

Traditional vs. Online Textbook Cost Comparison
The results of a student survey on Open Textbooks usage conducted by Brian Evans, Economics professor at Foothill College. Brian presents the factors involved in the study, statistics on the choices made by the students, student opinions, and some thoughts looking forward.

Open Educational Practices Guidelines
A detailed maturity model for organizations traveling the road to open.

ISKME Research papers http://www.iskme.org/category/tags/oer-research