Reducing barriers to learning

For many college students, the cost of textbooks can be an insurmountable challenge. Thanks to the open textbook movement, which focuses on the creation and use of books that are openly licensed, free, and editable, students are increasingly able to obtain high-quality educational resources at no cost. The University Libraries at Virginia Tech is committed to the open education movement and is engaged in creating and promoting open textbooks and other open educational resources with Virginia Tech faculty authors.

“Course materials have become quite expensive. Many students are already priced out of being able to afford to purchase and retain certain course materials and have to navigate decisions regarding whether or not they will even try to access course material. This directly affects student learning” said Anita Walz, University Libraries’ assistant director for open education and scholarly communication librarian. “Also, open educational resources are customizable, so instructors have permission to add additional worked examples or change the sequence of a text to better fit the course.”

Since 2016, the library and Virginia Tech Publishing have published 10 open textbooks. Two of the most recent are “Introduction to Biosystems Engineering” and “Strategic Management.” 

Strategic Management

A college education is no longer a luxury for the privileged few, rather, it is a necessary instrument for economic opportunity and mobility. The COVID-19 pandemic has worked to increase economic disparity throughout the country, potentially pushing a college education out of reach of many students.

However, members of the Management Department have coordinated with Anita Walz, assistant director of Open Education and Scholarly Communication librarian, to make a management degree more affordable. And they’ve done so, recently releasing Virginia Tech’s adaptation of “Strategic Management” as an open textbook.

An open textbook is one that is openly licensed for adaptation and sharing, and freely available electronically. Also known as Open Educational Resources, open textbooks are often made available at cost in print.

“Strategic Management” is a 343-page textbook designed to introduce key topics and themes of strategic management to undergraduate students in a required senior capstone course, MGT 4394 Strategic Management.

“Textbook prices are already very high and continue to rise,” said Management Department Head Devi Gnyawali. “This adds to the cost of tuition and living expenses for our students. I hope the open textbook will, in a small way, help reduce the financial burden for students and their parents. This is the second open textbook developed by our faculty. I truly appreciate this innovative effort and hard work by Reed Kennedy and the team of professors in the Department of Management.”

How does one adapt an existing textbook into an open textbook?

“One must know and understand the material,” said Reed Kennedy, associate professor of practice in the Management Department, who helped adapt “Strategic Management.”

“I had a team of five professors – Eli Jamison, Joseph Simpson, Pankaj Kumar, Ayenda Kemp, and Kiran Awate – who assisted with the textbook flow and the table of contents, as well as what went into each chapter,” Kennedy said. “Getting that consensus is important, so that each faculty member has input and ownership of the textbook. I wrote a lot of copy, but the more difficult part was finding current examples, pictures, and graphics that were free of copyright restrictions for use in the textbook. The editing and re-editing is quite time consuming and tedious.

“We were fortunate to have Anita Walz and recent Pamplin graduate Katie Manning, as well as a couple of student employees with the library, to help with much of the nitty-gritty work.”

Once the content has been finalized, Walz and her team work on graphic design as well as color schemes. “The goal is to have a coherent reader experience in which graphic elements contribute to comprehension and engagement rather than a distraction,” she said. Student employee Kindred Grey’s contributions to visual elements of the book resulted in a book that is more visually cohesive than what was previously in use.

The use of current examples, pictures, and graphics highlights another advantage of the open textbook – customization. Materials can be shaped to fit a specific course, and content can be altered with local imagery and references to be more relatable to students.

Walz also works to ensure proper credits, that materials are indexed and discoverable, and that “downstream” adaptors and adopters can use the materials without as few issues as possible.

The project was made possible with support from the Pamplin College of Business and the Open Education Initiative at the University Libraries. “The Open Education Initiative offers assistance and grants to faculty,” explained Walz. “Be it technological assistance, platform assistance, and/or editorial services.”

She continued, “We are aligned with the open-source movement, a large and growing movement.” The open-source movement is one that supports the notion of open collaboration, be it open-source software or open-source education materials, more commonly known as Open Educational Resources or OER.

“Strategic Management” started with existing content released under a Creative Commons license, which allows the material to be freely customized and shared. “Creative Commons licenses are a layer on top of copyright,” Walz said. “Most faculty I work with aim to improve teaching and learning experiences through creation or adaptation of interactive and/or reading resources but need assistance in navigating copyright and open licenses, publication standards, and numerous other details to reach their desired outcome.

“I tell faculty members, ‘When something has an open license you are welcome to customize and share. If your course material doesn’t fit or is too expensive, you can do something about this.’”

“Strategic Management” was not the first open-source textbook that the Management Department developed. In 2016, Management Professor of Practice Steve Skripak worked with Walz to release “Fundamentals of Business” as an open textbook. That project began when Skripak contacted Walz after becoming frustrated by the high cost of the newest edition of the textbook.

Since 2016, it is estimated that Virginia Tech students have saved over $500,000 using the open textbook format of “Fundamentals of Business.” Based on current enrollments and a conservative replacement price of $100/per student per book, “Fundamentals of Business” and “Strategic Management” together have saved Virginia Tech students nearly $150,000 each semester in textbook costs.

The third edition of the open textbook “Fundamentals of Business” is expected to be released in January 2021.

When Walz and Skripak first embarked on converting an existing openly licensed book into the open textbook “Fundamentals of Business,” the process took just over one year. The process for “Strategic Management” took less than seven months.

“We’ve made significant improvements to our infrastructure and process,” she said. “There is much more organizational support as well.”

While there is more support available, with Virginia Tech adopting guidelines for the creation and use of open textbooks and open educational resources, there are still some roadblocks regarding their widespread usage.

“There is currently a lack of consensus across academia concerning how to best value these contributions from faculty,” explained Walz. “I get questions from faculty such as, ‘is anyone else doing this?’ and ‘how will this impact my career?’”

She continued, “We also do not have a way to signal to students that there are no course material costs associated with specific courses.”

Despite these potential impediments, the benefits of using open textbooks and open education resources far outweigh the negatives, according to Walz. "Such real-world, collaborative work is also a rewarding learning experience for all involved - faculty, students, recent graduates - and for faculty and students using and giving feedback on the course materials," Walz said "There are wonderful opportunities for learning and career development, and the output matters a lot to students at Virginia Tech and beyond."

In her eyes, it is the embodiment of the Virginia Tech motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve).

“As a land-grant institution, we share,” she explained. “We share with the public, with friends, family, and colleagues.

“It’s what we do.”

Written by Jeremy Norman 

Introduction to Biosytems Engineering

In February 2021, The University Libraries’ Virginia Tech Publishing and the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) will publish “Introduction to Biosystems Engineering,” an open textbook for university-level introductory courses in biosystems engineering.

Written by an international team of authors, this is the first open textbook published as part of the University Libraries’ membership in the Open Education Network Publishing Cooperative. It also marks the first time that Virginia Tech Publishing has partnered with an international professional association to publish an open textbook. 

For many college students, the cost of textbooks can be an insurmountable challenge. Thanks to the open textbook movement, which focuses on the creation and use of books that are openly licensed, free, and editable, students are increasingly  able to obtain high-quality educational resources at no cost. The University Libraries at Virginia Tech is committed to the open education movement and is engaged in creating and promoting open textbooks and other open educational resources with Virginia Tech faculty authors. Since 2016, the library and Virginia Tech Publishing have published 10 open textbooks. 

“Course materials have become quite expensive. Many students are already priced out of being able to afford to purchase and retain certain course materials and have to navigate decisions regarding whether or not they will even try to access course material. This directly affects student learning” said Anita Walz, University Libraries’ assistant director for open education and scholarly communication librarian. “Also, open educational resources are customizable, so instructors have permission to add additional worked examples or change the sequence of a text to better fit the course.” 

“Introduction to Biosystems Engineering” is released under a Creative Commons Attribution license (CC BY) and is available both in print and online. The online version is freely downloadable either as a complete work or as stand-alone chapters. In addition, a parallel resource in development, The Biosystems Engineering Digital Library (BEDL), will provide more teaching and learning resources instructors can use in the classroom.

ASABE Director of Publications Joseph C. Walker said “Introduction to Biosystems Engineering” “will help define the profession and support the organization’s goal of raising the global prominence of the agricultural and biological engineering profession.” 

He said it was important for his organization to make this book freely available through open publishing.

“Making the text freely available will provide savings to the students and ensure wider usage, including in non-U.S. countries. With a broad user-base, open access, and ongoing development, the text will stay relevant to the profession and be widely used,” said Walker. “We look forward to the textbook possibly spurring other related projects and advancing the field of study.” 

ASABE President (2019-20) Sue Nokes emphasized that this text “is not a traditional, static object, but a living digital resource to be expanded by educators, researchers, and practitioners with additional topics and developments in this vibrant subject. We look forward to new chapters from biosystems engineers around the world to increase the breadth and depth of coverage.”

ASABE past-president Mary Leigh Wolfe, Virginia Tech professor and former head of the biological systems engineering department, was one of the project’s initiators. She served as one of the four editors of the text along with Nick Holden and Enda Cummins, professors of biosystems and food engineering at University College Dublin, Ireland, and Jactone Ogejo, Virginia Tech associate professor of biological systems engineering. The four editors share a vision of open access and internalization of their discipline. ASABE and Virginia Tech Publishing have brought that vision to fruition. Wolfe said this book is important because of its global perspective.

“Having authors from around the world helps reinforce the relevance and global impact of our discipline,” said Wolfe. “It is important for students to recognize both the differences and similarities of the focus areas of our discipline around the world.”

Holden said he and his fellow textbook editors worked with chapter authors to ensure a global focus throughout the book. 

“Experts always like to share their knowledge so there is a temptation to write about too much, in their specific context, and at too advanced a level,” said Holden. “Our biggest challenge was to reign in this exuberance to make each chapter accessible to a beginner. It has worked really well and will continue to as the content evolves with time. We are already working on new chapters.”

The textbook is divided into six sections aligned with technical communities within biosystems engineering: energy systems; information technology, sensors, and control systems; machinery systems; natural resources and environmental systems; plant, animal, and facility systems; and processing systems. Within the sections, chapters focus on topics that can be covered in one week of class and include learning outcomes, key concepts, applications of concepts, and worked examples.

“I’m particularly proud of the planned structure of each chapter. I hope others can take from this model,” said Holden. “I also hope that the book introduces more biosystems engineers to the idea of open textbooks, as I do not think the idea is prevalent in the community.”

Cummins and Ogejo also emphasized the importance of making the textbook freely available. 

“Education should have no bounds, including costs,” said Cummins. “An open textbook will ensure dissemination and equal opportunities for all interested parties to learn from this resource.”

“Access is key,” said Ogejo. “The availability and access to the internet globally to do business (commerce, trade, etc.) is on the rise. Leveraging these experiences to provide access to education materials for college students will provide a lot of benefit, especially to the economically disadvantaged communities.”

Wolfe is also passionate about providing current publications to all people. 

“Cost prevents many people from having access to current publications. Instead they often receive outdated materials,” said Wolfe. “I hope that biosystems engineering programs and students around the world will download individual chapters and the book and find that it is helpful to them. I hope others in education will see that free resources are used widely and they help with providing equitable education for students in all parts of the world and within all programs.”

This is only the beginning. The editors see “Introduction to Biosystems Engineering” as a dynamic textbook that will grow and evolve over the next five years while simultaneously extending its global impact.

“In five years’ time, I would like to see two things happening. Firstly, I would like to see another two volumes, 50 additional chapters, published and freely available online. This will make the resource hugely valuable for educators around the world,” said Holden. “Secondly, I would like to see topic-specific textbooks being written using the same structured approach. I think it will work very well for both edited compilations and authored textbooks, as it helps organize thinking and makes learning much easier.” 

“I hope to be able to say that the chapters are being used in programs around the world, as evidenced by download statistics and testimonials by users,” said Wolfe, “and that new chapters have been added continuously since the beginning.”

Written by Ann Brown