An open textbook is an online textbook with an open licence (e.g. Creative Commons). Open textbooks are free to use and distribute further. Under certain licencing conditions, open textbooks can be adapted and further incorporated into teaching resources, on the condition the original author or authors is or are acknowledged.
Unlike paper textbooks, open textbooks are available digitally and can contain different forms of content, such as videos, audio and interactive test questions. Open textbooks are an example of an Open Educational Resources (OER).
Do you want to publish an open textbook? Happily, reinventing the wheel is not necessary. The zone Naar digitale (open) leermaterialen has developed a roadmap for creating an open textbook. It contains good practices and instructions for and expertise on publishing open textbooks.
The roadmap indicates for each step whether it is optional or necessary. Necessary steps are important for creating for open textbooks. Optional steps depend on the wishes and choices of the author(s) and the department or faculty.
You can download the roadmap (for authors and lecturers) hier.
Toxicology, which can be found using edusources, is a great example of an open textbook that Radboud University (Ad Ragas) has contributed to.
The open textbook Theoretical modeling for cognitive science and psychology by Donders Institute researchers Mark Blokpoel and Iris van Rooij has been developed with github and is also accessible via edusources.
Radboud University Press is part of Radboud University, a Diamond Open Access publisher of high-quality academic peer-reviewed books and journals, in a wide range of disciplines. The Diamond label means that Radboud University Press publications are digitally accessible to users free of charge, and that authors can submit material for publication free of charge.
Radboud University Press has not published any Open Textbooks as of yet. However, interested authors can get in touch to discuss the possibilities.
