How does one determine the quality of OER/OA?
MYTH: Open source textbooks are textbooks created by individual faculty with little or no institutional support.
In fact, most open source textbooks (by usage) are created by non-profit or commercial publishers.
Traditional, commercial texts are typically assumed to be high quality because they are published (and marketed by) well-known commercial publishers. These publishers put their books through both peer review and professional editorial processes.
One of the reasons that open source textbooks or affordable course materials are either free or low cost is because the publishers of such materials have limited sales staff. This does not mean the course materials are low quality. OER publishers typically use rigorous peer review, as well as professional editors, to vet their texts. Many open texts are reviewed by the OpenTextBook Network, by BCCampus, and/or by Merlot. Word of mouth from colleagues can also be a good way to identify quality OER/OA.
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Image “Quality” courtesy of Grant Hutchinson via flickr.com.