The latest round of projects funded by the Ontario government has been announced and we are excited to have six new projects approved in total. This latest call included a funding stream not available in previous years – a call for the development of open eTextbooks (eTexts) – and the University of Toronto has two projects that will focus on this new resource format.
An open eText is a textbook that is licensed under an open copyright license, and made available online to be accessed for free by students (as well as other instructors and the public). These books can be viewed online or downloaded for no cost and they can also be printed on demand for a much lower cost than a typical physical textbook. As the price of textbooks continues to rise, an increasing number of educators are looking at open textbooks to cut costs for students. We are very excited to begin offering our own eTexts to meet goals of openness and provide savings.
The two funded eText projects are:
| Instructor | Division | eText/Project Title |
| Hakob Barseghyan | FAS | Intro History and Philosophy of Science |
| Ryan Hurl | FAS | Understanding American Politics |
Both projects are due to be published by March 2018. Stay tuned for more information about the University of Toronto’s plans for hosting and sharing open eTexts.For more information about open textbooks see 7 Things You Should Know About Open Textbook Publishing.
We are also happy to announce the funding of four new Modules projects, another format for Open Educational Resources. These include:
| Instructor | Division | Project Title |
| Brenda McCabe and
Arash Shahi |
FASE | Introduction to Heavy Civil Engineering Operations and Equipment Management |
| Nick Eyles | UTSC | Planet Earth Online |
| Bethany White | FAS | Scientific Data Analysis with R |
| Marianne Touchie and Kim Pressnail | FASE | Building Science Fundamentals Open Course Modules |
UofT’s success in securing funding for 6 new projects – including open eTexts – will allow us to continue to play a leading role in shaping the open education landscape in Ontario.