2026 Colorado OER Conference

Many educators have searched for course materials only to find they don’t exist. The next question is often, could I write the textbook? The answer is yes and this session will show you how. This presentation shares practical strategies for starting and managing a large-scale OER textbook. Participants will explore common barriers, tips for planning and organizing content, and strategies to sustain momentum. Attendees will also consider potential collaborators and stakeholders who can support the process. Recognizing that no two textbooks are the same, the presenters will encourage participants to share their own insights and ideas to enrich the discussion. At the end of the presentation, everyone will leave with a personalized blueprint to guide their next OER textbook project.

I will present my experience writing OER textbooks on Spanish and Latin American culture, Civilización hispanoamericana and Civilización española (work in progress), currently used in the civilization courses that I have taught almost every semester since 2001. The presentation will include some of the ways that the SUNY System has suppported the development and adoption of OER materials. The presentation will emphasize that the web-based format of an OER book allows frequent revisions, meaning that it facilitates continuous improvement of the instructor's pedagogy as well as fine-tuning the content and level of the book to meet the needs of our changing populations of students. Part of the pedagogical improvement derived from creating these OER materials has included integrating more interactive elements, which encourages the students to explore the material further and go beyond just memorizing facts. The presentation will describe how I came to write these OER textbooks and how I have been revising them; I will demonstrate the features of my textbook and will also lead attendees through a series of thought experiments and interactions to see how they can integrate this approach to OER in their own educational practice.

In this session we present our ongoing, grant supported OER work for introductory level statistics courses. With the goal of increasing student engagement, and through the use of PreTeXt and the Runestone platform, we are creating fully interactive textbooks with built-in homework systems that will be linked to our LMS. Interactive components include embedded applets, videos, and concept check questions with instant feedback. All data analysis can be completed inside the textbook through code blocks and the embedded applets. We will showcase the textbook’s functionality through a hands-on activity that utilizes data collected in Colorado.

By incorporating culturally relevant examples and teaching methods, we expect our new course materials to enhance student satisfaction and perceived relevance of the subject matter. We will share our materials and our process for seeking and incorporating student feedback and collaboration (from our intro level students and our statistics majors). As part of our presentation, we will share the results of a survey on how our students use their current [non-OER] course materials. The survey includes questions on student use of generative AI for learning statistics. We welcome discussion on this topic and encourage others to share what they are experiencing.