As every college student knows, textbooks are expensive! The game is rigged: publishers are constantly releasing new editions of textbooks with only slight changes to the material, but if you don’t buy the overpriced textbook, you’re going to have a hard time passing the class.
Wouldn’t it be great if textbooks were free and high-quality? That’s the premise behind the open textbook movement. The Open Textbook Network, a large collection of colleges and universities including Ohio State and Penn State, is at the forefront in promoting the creation and use of open textbooks. You can browse available textbooks in their Open Textbook Library. Can’t find a textbook that matches up with your class? If you’re a student, ask your professor to consider writing an open textbook for the class. If you’re a professor, consider writing an open textbook for your subject area. Lots of students will thank you.