What are some of the possible downsides to adopting an open textbook?
Open Textbooks may provide users with increased flexibility, allowing them to personalize textbooks to match the content of the course they want to teach, but that may mean added work in preparing the class. With traditional textbooks, professors can just teach out of the books without having to adapt or create much of the material on their own. They may have to adapt their lectures to the text, but that may involve less effort than finding or creating more flexible open resources. Users may also have to go to greater lengths to assure the quality of an open textbook. Traditional texbooks are peer-reviewed and come with the publisher’s assurance of quality content. Professors cannot be as sure of the quality of an open textbook. Depending on the resources available for a given class, professors may have to read through the material more closely than they would for a traditional textbook. It is important to remember that not all open textbook resources are the same. Some platforms provi
