The Promise of Open Access Textbooks
A Model for Success

The Promise of Open Access Textbooks: A Model for Success by Florida Distance Learning Consortium is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Open Access Textbooks Project

About the Open Access Textbooks Project - A FIPSE grant project

Many projects and websites provide access to open textbooks and other open content -- but the open content community is still forming. Numerous issues that impact open textbook implementation (such as creating sustainable review processes and institutional reward structures) have yet to be resolved. The ability to financially sustain a large scale open textbook effort is also in question.

The Open Access Textbooks Grant Project is working with others involved in open content to create a sustainable model for Florida and other states to discover, produce, and disseminate open textbooks. This two-year initiative is funded by a grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE).  The project builds on efforts in Florida and across the U.S. to create a sustainable open textbook model and a collaborative community to further implementation of open textbooks.

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Open Textbooks

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Our Work Team

Robin Donaldson

The project director and principal investigator is Robin Donaldson. As the Instructional Design Specialist for the Florida Distance Learning Consortium, Robin’s main duties are those of Project Director for The Orange Grove, Florida’s Digital Repository, and the Project Director of the Open Access Textbook project. Dr. Donaldson provides management oversight and leadership in the maintenance and continued development and deployment of The Orange Grove. She directs the Open Access Textbook grant project activities and administrative operations. Robin came to us from Tallahassee Community College in January 2010 where she worked with faculty in the design, development, implementation, and review of distance learning courses. She has also assisted in the research and development of Navy guidelines for online instructor competencies, ratios, interactions, and evaluation. Robin holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Library and Information Studies and a B.A. in Art Education from Florida State University. Her research interest is mobile learning and distance learning.

David Nelson

As project manager of a grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FISPE), Dr. Nelson coordinates the research and development effort to construct a guide that other states can follow to facilitate the creation and adoption of open textbooks in colleges and universities. He also disseminates news and information about open textbooks though the Consortium’s series of webinars and through other media.

David came to us from the Florida State University’s Learning Systems Institute where he designed and developed online instruction and conducted research on instructional strategies.

After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Cinematography, David completed a Master of Science degree and Ph.D. in Instructional Systems, all from Florida State University. His research interests involve the progression of mental models for the acquisition, retention, and transfer of complex cognitive skills.