An open textbook is an educational resource that is licensed to allow copying, re-distribution, and derivative works, and contains materials that contribute to a course (i.e. subject/unit) or program of study or co-curricular activities.

A commercial textbook is sold at a cost, has traditional copyright restrictions, and its content cannot be legally altered without permission from the publisher.

An open textbook is a modifiable, downloadable educational text, accessible and reusable by anyone. MyLO manages and delivers course content, tracks progress, supports forum discussions, feedback and assessment, but access is restricted to enrolled students at UTAS.

Open textbooks and MyLO both support multimedia and interactive activities.

Writing an open textbook offers several advantages for your teaching practice, including the ability to:

• Customise core readings/texts to better fit course objectives and the specific needs of your students;
• Increase student engagement through involvement in content creation;
• Update material with the latest information;
• Incorporate innovative teaching strategies e.g., open pedagogy; and
• Promote an inclusive learning environment where all students have equal access to essential information sources.

Check out this interview with academic Dr Jess Richards from Western Sydney University speaking about her experience creating an open textbook for a new course unit on sports marketing.

Play video: Western Open Textbooks - BUSM2048: Sports Marketing with Dr Jess Richards [4:30 mins]

A UTAS author is required to conduct a peer review of their open textbook before it is accepted for publication on our publishing platform.

Helpful places to start with organising your peer review include:

• Peer review in teaching at UTAS
• Our peer review guide

The Library supports academics with sourcing existing quality, peer-reviewed textbooks that have potential for reusing and modifying for our local context. Please contact the OER Team for help.

Determining who owns copyright in material created by UTAS employees is complex and must be addressed on a case-by-case basis.

After publication, the question of open textbook ownership becomes, to some extent, less important as anyone may reuse the content of this openly licensed material.

The terms of your employment agreement with UTAS usually sets out what is agreed in relation to ownership of copyright material made by you. If the employment agreement does not address copyright ownership, the rule is that you are the first owner of copyright in any works created during your employment.

The circumstances of the creation of an open textbook may also play a role in determining whether it was created during your employment. Creating an open textbook outside normal working hours or outside the specific duties of your employment agreement does not necessarily mean the activity is outside your 'duties'.

We recommend contacting Legal Services if you have specific queries.

To make an open textbook count as a research output depends on:

1. How it was created; and
2. Whether it meets our classification requirements.

We recommend contacting a Research Outputs Officer prior to beginning an open textbook project to ensure you meet the requirements for counting the publication as a research output.

There are so many ways to evidence your open textbook publication as an activity counted towards promotion. A useful tool for developing a promotions narrative is UTAS 2024 Potential Activities to Evidence.

Pressbooks allows you to create a dynamic teaching resource on an accessible platform.

You are able to:

• Tailor content to enhance deeper learning and engagement
• Add local context, Indigenous perspectives and a diversity of viewpoints
• Update your book immediately and easily
• Add rich multimedia and interactivity such as Youtube videos, H5P activities, and social annotation using Hypothesis
• Co-create content with your students