Instructors’ awareness and use of open educational resources and their recognition of the efficacy of digital texts rose sharply this year, an annual survey finds. Many experts have been predicting for years that digital course materials would take off, replacing print textbooks and curricular supplements as the preferred choice of instructors, students and institutions alike. But despite growing concerns about the high price of print textbooks, major investments by states and foundations in open educational resources (OER), and a big push by commercial publishers for “inclusive access” programs that make digital course materials available to all students more affordably, faculty embrace of digital materials has risen slowly.
Until now, it seems.
