Once you have made the decision to adopt an open textbook, you may wish to adapt, or customize, that textbook to fit your specific needs.

The following list is a modified list that appears in the article Why Remix Open Educational Resources? created by Liam Green-Hughes. It is used under a CC-BY license and describes reasons why you may want to adapt an open textbook;

• Appropriately incorporate Indigenous content and perspectives
• Adapt the content for a more Canadian focus
• Chunk the book into smaller sections to make it easier to learn
• Re-sequence content to better reflect your teaching preferences
• Update the book to add the latest discoveries or theories
• Insert more media or links to other resources
• Adapt the material to make it more accessible for people with different abilities
• Insert cultural specific references to make a concept easier to understand
• Correct any errors or inaccuracies
• Adapt it for a different audience

For example, you may wish to add case studies to a textbook for a Canadian perspective.

How easy or difficult this will be depends on a number of factors, including;

• How much content do you wish to change? Do you want to remove chapters, or rewrite entire chapters of content?
• What technical format is the original textbook in? A Word document is much easier to modify than a PDF document.
• What type of license is the content released under? Does it have a Creative Commons license that allows for modification or adaptation of the content?
• How comfortable are you with using technology and creating content?

Some General Considerations

• Whatever tools you choose to work with, remember that students prefer format flexibility with their textbook. For the U of S open textbook projects, each book should be made available in PDF, ePub and HTML (website) formats. If you use a tool that does not output those formats by default, you will need to find additional conversion tools to convert your final textbook to those formats.
• If you wish to edit or create graphics, images, charts, and/or multimedia content, you will need to use additional, specialized tools to create those beyond the tools listed here. The tools listed here are primarily designed to modify text or (in the case of LaTeX) scientific or mathematical formulas.
• A good rule of thumb is to keep it simple, especially if you are approaching a remix project for the first time. While it may be tempting to make a number of major changes to a textbook before releasing it to your students, think of the textbook as a living resource that you can improve incrementally over time.

Here are 6 steps to consider before adapting an existing textbook.

Step 1: Check the license

First, check the license to make sure you have the permission to modify the contents. As long as the Creative Commons license does not have a No Derivatives clause, you are able to change the contents of the book. See Creative Commons for more information on licenses.

Step 2: The format of the textbook

If you wish to adapt an open textbook, you need to be able to have the textbook in a technical format that you can work with. This usually means the original source files used to create the textbook.

Common source formats for open textbooks that you should look for are:

• HTML files (webpages)
• Word or OpenOffice documents
• Text files
• ePub
• LaTex files (if the original book includes math or science formulas and equations).

What tools you will use to create your version of the textbook will depend greatly on what format you find the original textbook in and what you feel comfortable working with.

Avoid PDF documents.

It is common that open textbooks may only be available as a PDF document. PDF documents are not editable. If you want to adapt an open textbook that is only available in PDF format, you will need to convert the PDF document to one of the formats above.

Before you consider converting a PDF version of the textbook, you should contact the original author and ask for a copy of the textbook source files.

Step 3: Tools for editing an open textbook

Once you have a source format that you can edit, you can then begin to adapt the textbook. What tools you will use to do this will depend greatly on what editable format you are working with, and your comfort level with working with that format.

Pressbooks

One of the tools we recommend is Pressbooks. Pressbooks is a web-based authoring tool based on the popular WordPress authoring platform. Working in Pressbooks is similar to working within a Learning Management Systems (LMS) like Blackboard or a Content Management System (CMS) like WordPress.

You can import a number of different formats into Pressbooks for editing, including Word, ePub and HTML. Pressbooks will output the textbook as a mobile-friendly website, an ePub document (for use in e-readers), and a PDF (for printing).

The Distance Education Unit uses a self hosted installation of Pressbooks at openpress.usask.ca, but you can try out Pressbooks for free using their hosted service.

Other editing tools

The chart below shows you some of the tool options you have for working with the various file formats. Note that this is not an exhaustive list. You may have a tool that works for you that you wish to use to create your open textbook.

Step 4: Choosing a license

Once you have finished creating your own version (i.e. adapting an existing version) of the textbook, you should decide on which Creative Commons license you will use to license your book. This will depend a great deal on how the original textbook was licensed.

For example, if the original textbook was licensed with SA (Share Alike) license, then you must release your book with the same license as the original source material to ensure it is fully compliant with the original CC terms of use.

Step 5: Output

Students like flexibility when it comes to their textbooks. Some may prefer printed versions of the textbook, others will prefer using a website. Still others will like to use an e-reader or e-reading software.

To make your book as accessible as possible, consider making your textbook available in multiple formats so students have the ability to choose the format that works for them. At a minimum, the DEU will make textbooks available as a website (HTML),  ePub document for e-readers, and PDF document which students can print or choose to have printed via a print on demand service.

Step 6: Hosting your book (or how do my students get my textbook?)

Once you have adapted your version of the textbook, you will need a place to put your textbook where your students can access it.

The U of S has 4 options for sharing your open textbook:

• in the public folder of your Blackboard course
• on your faculty web page
• on your department web page
• emailed to students

Note

How you share your open textbook can be, in part, determined by the open licenses applied to it.  Consult with the DEU for assistance or if you have questions.