What are the criteria for the selection of text books?

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Adopting, modifying, or creating an open textbook for your course is a big decision, requiring you to evaluate new resources often on your own. When you begin evaluating open textbooks, use the following criteria: 

 Clarity, Comprehensibility, and Readability o Is the content, including any instructions, exercises, or supplemental material, clear and comprehensible to students? 

o Is the content well-categorized in terms of logic, sequencing, and flow? 

o Is the content consistent with its language and key terms? 

 Content Accuracy and Technical Accuracy 

o Is the content accurate based on both your expert knowledge and through external sources? 

o Are there any factual, grammatical, or typographical errors? 

o Is the interface easy to navigate? Are there broken links or obsolete formats? 

 Adaptability and Modularity 

o Is the resource in a file format which allows for adaptations, modifications, rearrangements, and updates? 

o Is the resource easily divided into modules, or sections, which can then be used or rearranged out of their original order? 

o Is the content licensed in a way which allows for adaptations and modifications? 

 Appropriateness 

o Is the content presented at a reading level appropriate for higher education students? 

o How is the content useful for instructors or students? 

o Is the content itself appropriate for higher education? 

 Accessibility 

o Is the content accessible to students with disabilities through the compatibility of third-party reading applications? 

o If you are using Web resources, does each image have alternate text that can be read? 

o Do videos have accurate closed-captioning? 

o Are students able to access the materials in a quick, non-restrictive manner? 

o See our Accessibility page for more details. 

 Supplementary Resources 

o Does the OER contain any supplementary materials, such as homework resources, study guides, tutorials, or assessments? 

o Have you reviewed these supplementary resources in the same manner as the original OER?