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Open Textbook Review,
Adaptation and
Research
Dr. Jessie A. Key
Department of Chemistry
Vancouver Island University
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So You Want to go Open?
Review an
Existing Open
Text
Use “As Is”
Adapt/Modify
Create a New Textbook
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Review – Summer 2013
http://open.bccampus.ca/find-open-textbooks/?uuid=f01f98b4-925d-4e94-bc82c1d707e6280e&contributor=&keyword=&subject=Chemistry. A cup of Italian coffee by visitor7\CC=BY-SA-3.0
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Review Criteria Used
• Comprehensiveness – The text covers all areas and ideas of
the subject appropriately.
• Content Accuracy – Is content accurate, error-free and
unbiased?
• Relevance/Longevity – Content is up-to-date, but not in a
way that will quickly make the text obsolete.
• Clarity – The text is written in lucid, accessible prose.
• Consistency – The text is internally consistent in terms of
terminology and framework.
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Review Criteria Used
• Modularity – The text is easily and readily divisible into smaller
reading sections.
• Organization/Structure/Flow – Presented in a logical, clear
fashion.
• Interface – The text is free of significant interface issues.
• Grammatical Errors – The text contains no grammatical errors.
• Cultural Relevance – The text is not culturally insensitive or
offensive.
• Any other comments?
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Adapting – Summer 2014
http://open.bccampus.ca/find-open-textbooks/?uuid=2b7740b5-88cb-4e78-8f939f582afa605a&contributor=&keyword=&subject=Chemistry
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Reviewer Comments:
• “On the whole, this textbook reads at the high school
level at best.”
• “The textbook does not have a glossary, index or table
of contents.”
• “To make the content suitable for a first year chemistry
course for B.Sc. students, it must include a chapter on
kinetics and thermodynamics (not just
thermochemistry) and must elaborate on chemical
bonding and chemical equilibrium”
http://open.bccampus.ca/find-open-textbooks/?uuid=2b7740b5-88cb-4e78-8f939f582afa605a&contributor=&keyword=&subject=Chemistry
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The Adaptation – 1st Canadian Edition
• Timeframe: May – August 2014
• Goal: Bring the text to a level where it could be used at
a B.C. post-secondary environment
• Actions Required:
Complete Chapters to Write:
- Glossary, TOC and Appendix
- Thermodynamics
- Kinetics
Partial Chapters to Write:
- 3 sections in Gas Chapter
- 2-3 sections in Chemical
Bonding Chapter
- Redraw figures in Organic
Chapter
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The Adaptation – 1st Canadian Edition
The Process:
• For each chapter 3-4 existing textbooks were examined
• Drafts were written in Microsoft word
• Text was copied and pasted into PressBooks platform
https://wordpress.org/plugins/pressbooks-textbook/
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PressBooks Platform
https://wordpress.org/plugins/pressbooks-textbook/screenshots/
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Equations and LaTex
• Pressbooks would not accept equations directly from
Word
• A programming language known as LaTex (short for
Lamport Tex) had to be used
LaTex Code:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaTeX
Adapted from LaTex output by Bakkedal\CC-BY-SA-2.5
Output:
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Images and Diagrams
• Tried to avoid re-inventing the wheel
• First looked for creative commons licensed images to
use/repurpose:
• http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
• http://chemwiki.ucdavis.edu/
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Video Tutorials
• 6 video tutorials were placed into the textbook
– Embedded in online versions
– Barcode used in text versions
http://opentextbc.ca/introductorychemistry/chapter/6-7-molecular-effusion-anddiffusion/
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Final Steps
• Professional editors reviewed the final product and
suggested changes
http://opentextbc.ca/introductorychemistry/
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Faculty Fellows
• Three instructors from B.C. post-secondary institutions
Dr. Christina Hendricks
Senior Instructor, Philosophy,
UBC
Dr. Jessie Key
Professor, Chemistry,
VIU
Dr. Rajiv Jhangiani
Instructor, Psychology,
KPU
http://bccampus.ca/2014/10/09/improving-adoption-of-open-textbooks-through-facultyadvocates/
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Faculty Fellows
• Engage in research that determines the efficacy of open
textbook use in B.C. institutions.
• Provide mentorship to faculty new to open textbooks
through presentations and consultation.
• Conduct outreach activities and provide feedback to
the BCcampus Open Textbook team to ensure continual
improvement of the textbook collection.
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Research
• Faculty Survey:
http://survey.bccampus.ca/index.php/775343/lang-en
• Student Survey: in development