OpenStax is a well established educational initiative out of Rice University that hosts a library of free digital textbooks. Their books are known for being peer-reviewed and excellent quality. Each textbook comes with its own instructor and student resources like test banks and lecture slides. OpenStax offers a collection of about 70 books including a bestselling Organic Chemistry textbook that the author decided to openly license rather than continue producing with their regular publisher. Recently Rice’s OpenStax received a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant for $90 million dollars to develop SafeInsights, a hub for inclusive learning and education research.
OpenStax is hosting a webinar tomorrow for faculty who are interested in learning more about OpenStax and potentially using open textbooks in their courses. The webinar will cover:
- The OpenStax mission
- What open educational resources (OER) are (hint: OpenStax is an example of OER!)
- How to access OpenStax textbooks in a variety of formats (including online, PDF, and print)
- How to access your book’s free instructor resources (e.g., LMS integration, test banks, and lab manuals)
- How to find education technology — like online homework, courseware, and AI tools — to use alongside your book
- How OpenStax textbooks are made and the 10 titles they have recently added
Register for the webinar here
If you cannot attend the webinar at Noon EST tomorrow, a recording will be emailed to all registrants.
