OER U of A

https://news.uark.edu/articles/54607/history-department-and-libraries-open-educational-resources-save-u-of-a-students-50-000

six historians worked together with the open educational resources librarian of University Libraries on a new course development project with open educational resources and affordable resources.

The project resulted in saving over $50,000 for students who take the required core curriculum two-semester sequence in American history during the 2020-21 academic year. The project helped reduce the average cost of books in those two courses by 25% since last fall, to just over $36.

OER generated revenue

https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2020/02/20/oer-can-save-colleges-money-too

CRS to conquer the textbook business?

http://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims/2020/02/04/tophat-and-textbook-publishers/

Top Hat has challenged tangible goods for a long time now. Its first offering was a digital version of clickers to measure student responses in the classroom. In 2017, the company launched a marketplace for e-textbooks, working with authors and offering openly licensed content from the likes of OpenStax as well.

Last year, the company ceased sales of individual assessment tools to instead offer a bundle of its products. Students pay $48 for one year of Top Hat’s products. Interactive textbooks on Top Hat cost an average of $35.

My note: this will be a game changer in regard of the interactivity of textbooks.