Open To Support Accessibility: The Use of Open Books by SQU Faculty



Abstract Views
384

Downloads
287

Citations

Share

##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.sidebar##

Submitted Nov 30, 2021
Published Jan 13, 2022
10.24018/ejedu.2022.3.1.234

Abstract viewed = 384 times

Table of Contents

##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.main##

With Sultan Qaboos University (SQU)’s growing strategic priorities to improve teaching and research performance while increasing their competitive edge and reducing costs, Open Educational Resources (OER) appear as a possible option where e-books are often cited to help streamline the SQU’s resources and services. Similarly, the Instructional and Learning Technologies Program in the College of Education has an interest in the use of open books as a method of increasing accessibility to textbook materials for faculty and students. This descriptive study employed a survey to investigate SQU faculty uses and perceptions of open books to identify the advantages of increasing its accessibility. The analysis of the findings indicates that the faculty at SQU have access to open books and encourage positive experiences using them in their classrooms. That implicates a number of pedagogical benefits that can be supported by the use of open books. Therefore, it is important to grow the awareness among the policy makers and faculty about the benefits of encouraging and granting students access to other OER resources that might lead to more student learning.


Keywords: Accessibility, E-books, Higher Education, OER, Oman, Open Books, SQU

References

  1. Allen, I. E. and J. Seaman (2014). Opening the Curriculum: Open Educational Resources in US Higher Education, Babson Survey Research Group. Retrieved from
     Google Scholar
  2. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED572730.pdf.
     Google Scholar
  3. Algers, A. (2020). Open Textbooks: A Balance Between Empowerment and Disruption. Tech Know Learn 25, 569–584 (2020).
     Google Scholar
  4. Allen, G., Guzman-Alvarez, A., Molinaro, M., & Larsen, D. (2015). Assessing the impact and efficacy of the open-access. ChemWiki textbook project. Educause Learning Initiative Brief. January 2015
     Google Scholar
  5. Baker, J., & Hood, J. (2011). Things you should know about Gosling Publishing. Retrieved from
     Google Scholar
  6. http://affordablelearningok.org/uploads/WH/Q4/WHQ4xTVjvdCxIixua3oHVw/Educause-Open-Textbook-7-things.pdf.
     Google Scholar
  7. Barnes, C. (2007). Disability, higher education and the inclusive society. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 28(1), 135-145
     Google Scholar
  8. Belikov, O. and M. McLure (2020). A Qualitative Analysis of Open Textbook Reviews. The International Journal of Open Educational Resources 3(2): 25066.
     Google Scholar
  9. Bliss, T., Hilton, J., Wiley, D., & Thanos, K. (2013). The cost and quality of online open textbooks: Perceptions of community college faculty and students. First Monday, 18(1).
     Google Scholar
  10. California Open Educational Resources Council. (2016). White paper: OER adoption study. Retrieved from
     Google Scholar
  11. http://tinyurl.com/WPOERAdoption040116
     Google Scholar
  12. Clements, K., J. Pawlowski, et al. (2015). Open educational resources repositories literature review–Towards a comprehensive quality approaches framework. Computers In Human Behaviour, 51: 1098-1106.
     Google Scholar
  13. Chapman, V. (2008). Developing inclusive curricula, Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, 3, 62-89.
     Google Scholar
  14. Cummins, J. Brown, K., & Sayers, D. (2007). Literacy, Technology, and Diversity: Teaching for Success in Changing Times. Boston, USA: Pearson.
     Google Scholar
  15. Cynthia Jimes, Shenandoah Weiss, Renae Keep (2013). Addressing the Local in Localization: A Case Study of Open Textbook Adoption by Three South African Teachers. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 7(2), 73-86.
     Google Scholar
  16. Dewi, R., Mujiyanto, J., Rukmini, D. and Saleh, M., (2020). The Relation Between Formulaic Expressions Fluency and Proficiency of Indonesian EFL College Students Using Open book Instructions Via Edmodo. International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation, 24(1), pp.1030-1043.
     Google Scholar
  17. Doering, T., Pereira, L. & Kuechler, L. (2012). The use of e-textbooks in higher education: A case study. E-Leader Berlin.
     Google Scholar
  18. Everard, A., & St Pierre, K. (2014). A case for student adoption of open textbooks. Journal of the Academy of Business Education, 15, 66-76.
     Google Scholar
  19. Farrow, R. (2017). Open education and critical pedagogy. Learning, Media and Technology, 42(2), 130–146.
     Google Scholar
  20. Fischer, L., Hilton, J., Robinson, T.J. et al. (2015). A multi-institutional study of the Impact of Open Textbook Adoption on the Learning Outcomes of Post-secondary Students. J Comput High Educ. 27, 159–172.
     Google Scholar
  21. Hewlett (2013). Open educational resources. http://www.hewlett.org/programs/education-program/open-educational-resources
     Google Scholar
  22. Jobrack, B. (2011). Tyranny Of The Textbook: An Insider Exposes How Educational Materials Undermine Reforms. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
     Google Scholar
  23. Fry, A., 2018. Factors Affecting the Use of Print and Electronic Books: A Use Study and Discussion. College & Research Libraries, 79(1).
     Google Scholar
  24. Florida Virtual Campus. (2012). 2012 Florida student textbook survey. Tallahassee, FL. Retrieved from
     Google Scholar
  25. http://www.openaccesstextbooks.org/pdf/2012_Florida_Student_Textbook_Survey.pdf
     Google Scholar
  26. Fry, A., 2020. Use Patterns For Open Books: The Effects Of A Subject, Age, And Availability On Use Rate. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 46(3), p.102150.
     Google Scholar
  27. Gonzalez, R., Gasco, J. & Llopis, J (2014). Ict in higher education: an experience with e-books. Applied Computer Science, 10 (1), 1-10.
     Google Scholar
  28. Grissett JO, Huffman C. (2019). An Open versus Traditional Psychology Textbook: Student Performance, Perceptions, and Use. Psychology Learning & Teaching, 18(1):21-35.
     Google Scholar
  29. Hilton III, J., Lutz, N. & Wiley, D. (2012). Examining the Reuse of Open Textbooks. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 13 (2), 45–58.
     Google Scholar
  30. Hilton, J. (2016). Open educational resources and college textbook choices: a review of research on efficacy and perceptions. Education Tech Research Dev, 64, 573–590.
     Google Scholar
  31. Hilton III, J. L., Fischer, L., Wiley, D., & William, L. (2016). Maintaining Momentum Toward Graduation: OER and the Course Throughput Rate. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 17(6).
     Google Scholar
  32. Illowsky, B., Hilton III, J., Whiting, J., & Ackerman, J. (2016). Examining Student Perception of an Open Statistics Book. Open Praxis, 8(3), 265-276.
     Google Scholar
  33. Jhangiani, R. S. and S. Jhangiani (2017). Investigating the perceptions, use, and impact of open textbooks: A survey of post-secondary students in British Columbia. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 18(4).
     Google Scholar
  34. Jhangiani, R. S., Dastur, F. N., Le Grand, R., & Penner, K. (2018). As Good or Better than Commercial Textbooks: Students’ Perceptions and Outcomes from Using Open Digital and Open Print Textbooks. The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 9(1).
     Google Scholar
  35. Jhangiani, R. S., Pitt, R., Hendricks, C., Key, J., & Lalonde, C. (2016). Exploring faculty use of open educational resources at British Columbia post-secondary institutions. BCcampus.
     Google Scholar
  36. Johnson, L., Levine, A., Smith, R., & Stone, S. (2010). Horizon report for the new media consortium and the EDUCAUSE learning initiative. Retrieved May 2018.
     Google Scholar
  37. Jung, E., C. Bauer and Allan, H. (2017). Higher education faculty perceptions of open textbook adoption. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 18(4).
     Google Scholar
  38. Loeb, S., Dynarski, S., McFarland, D., Morris, P., Reardon, S., & Reber, S. (2017). Descriptive Analysis in Education: A Guide for Researchers (NCEE 2017-4023). US Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance: 1-40.
     Google Scholar
  39. Lovell-Simons, A. & Kerr, S. (2011). E-books – a key to greater accessibility. In G. Williams, P. Statham, N. Brown & B. Cleland (Eds.), Changing Demands, Changing Directions. Proceedings Ascilite Hobart 2011, 826-828.
     Google Scholar
  40. McNaught, A. and Alexander, H. 2014. Ebooks and accessibility. In: Woodward, H. (ed.) Ebooks in Education: Realising the Vision.pp. 35–49. London: Ubiquity Press. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5334/bal.e
     Google Scholar
  41. Morales, R. and Baker, A (2018). Secondary Students’ Perceptions of Open Science Textbooks. Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 1(4), pp. 1–9.
     Google Scholar
  42. Mulholland, E. & Bates, J. (2014). Use and Perceptions of e-books by academic staff in further education. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 40, 494-499.
     Google Scholar
  43. Nelson, M. R. (2008). E-books in higher education: nearing the end of the era of hype? Educause Review, 43(2), 40.
     Google Scholar
  44. Delimonta, N., Turtleb, E., Bennettc, A., Adhikarid, K. and Lindshield, B. (2016). University students and faculty have positive perceptions of open/alternative resources and their utilization in a textbook replacement initiative. Research in Learning Technology, 24.
     Google Scholar
  45. Ozdemir, O. & Hendricks, C. (2017). Instructor and student experiences with open textbooks, from the California open online library for education (Cool4Ed). J Comput High Educ, 29, 98–113.
     Google Scholar
  46. Pitt, R. (2015). Mainstreaming open textbooks: Educator perspectives on the impact of openstax college open textbooks. International Review of Research on Open and Distributed Learning, 16(4). Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/mainstreaming-open-textbooks-educator/docview/1754593273/se-2?accountid=27575
     Google Scholar
  47. Ponte, F., Lennox, A., & Hurley, J. (2021). The Evolution of the Open Textbook Initiative. Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association, 1-19.
     Google Scholar
  48. Prasad, D. & Usagawa, T. (2014). Towards Development of OER Derived Custom-Built Open Textbooks: A Baseline Survey of University Teachers at the University of the South Pacific. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 15 (4), 226–247.
     Google Scholar
  49. Robinson, T., Fischer, L., Wiley, D., Hilton, J. (2014). The Impact of Open Textbooks on Secondary Science Learning Outcomes. Educational Researcher, 43(7), 341-351.
     Google Scholar
  50. Robinson, Thomas J., (2015). The Effects of Open Educational Resource Adoption on Measures of PostSecondary Student Success. Theses and Dissertations. 5815. Retrieved from
     Google Scholar
  51. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/5815
     Google Scholar
  52. Rowlands, I., Nicholas, D., Jamali, H. R., & Huntington, P. (2007). What do faculty and students really think about e-books?. Aslib Proceedings, 59 (6), 489 – 511.
     Google Scholar
  53. Shrode, F., 2013. Environmental Information Sources: Websites and Books. Electronic Green Journal, 1(34).
     Google Scholar
  54. Slater, R. (2010). Why aren’t e-books gaining more ground in academic libraries? E-book use and perceptions: A review of published literature and research. Journal of Web Librarianship, 4, 305–331.
     Google Scholar
  55. Ulman, J.G. (2005). Making Technology Work for Learners with Special Needs. Boston, USA: Pearson.
     Google Scholar
  56. Van Gerven Oei, V. W. J. (2019). Transitioning Punctum Books to Open Source Infrastructure. Punctum Books. Retrieved from
     Google Scholar
  57. https://doi.org/10.21428/ae6a44a6.ada1a146
     Google Scholar
  58. Wiley, D., Hilton III, J. L., Ellington, S., & Hall, T. (2012). A preliminary examination of the cost savings and learning impacts of using open textbooks in middle and high school science classes. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 13(3), 262-276.
     Google Scholar