The Open Academics textbook catalog [https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/], created in the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) at the University of Minnesota, is a searchable online catalog of “open textbooks”. Open textbooks are published under a license that enables students to get free or low-cost versions of their textbooks online, electronically, or in print. The Open Academics catalog is the first of its hosted at a major research institution. It is available to faculty worldwide.
[Source : UM News Releases, Apr 23, 2012 ]
The Saylor Foundation, a non-profit organization, has focused on exploring the promise of the Internet to drive the cost of education to zero and expand access to quality open educational resources (OER). They have built over 270 free, self-paced, online courses, with many more on the way.
[Source : Saylor.org http://www.saylor.org/saylor-foundation-status/]
The Open Education Group has been supporting open textbook projects since 2010. Here are the freely downloadable science texts (available as PDF files) :
■ Earth Science
[Source : Open Education Group http://openedgroup.org/textbooks ]
OpenStax is a nonprofit organization committed to improving student access to quality learning materials. Free textbooks are developed and peer-reviewed by educators to ensure they are readable and accurate. This organization offers free textbooks on these topics :
– Anaomy and physiology;
– Economics, as well as micro- and macro-economics;
– Statistics; and
– U.S. history
URL : http://openstaxcollege.org/books
If you’re committed to shifting your curriculum to e-textbooks, consider trying free first. Here are the best sites for free digital books.
The Price is Right: 11 Excellent Sites for Free Digital Textbooks — Campus Technology
By Dian Schaffhauser
Aug 14, 2013
Read more at http://t.co/ZIZIcZNyDA