Open Textbooks - the pros and cons

I have studied a range of courses as a student over the years and when considering what modules lend themselves best to the development of an Open Textbook, co-created by staff and students I find myself with two conflicting options and I will discuss these now, identifying some strengths and weaknesses as I see them.

Psychology 101
This is the sometimes slightly derogatory name given an introductory module often studied first by students on a degree programme. In the case of psychology, it often includes much of the content covered in A-level Psychology, which is not typically required to gain entry to a psychology degree. The module would normally cover a wide range of topics, each in quite a shallow manner to give the new student a sense of the range of areas psychology plays a role in and a solid foundation of study later on. These kinds of modules are often assessed with standard assessment approaches like multiple choice questions and essays.
Pros of creating an Open Textbook for Psy101:

• Content is relatively straightforward so students can normally engage very successfully meaning the challenge is in the pedagogy rather than the pedagogy and the content which may be overwhelming
• Content is often related to fundamental studies - many of which can be easily learnt about through a range of resources and may have openly available texts already in the public domain.
• Content is naturally very engaging and so developing ways to deliver this in an interaction and engaging fashion should be quite possible.

Cons of creating an Open Textbook for Psy101:

• These modules are often massive - normally between 100-200 students studying face to face and sometimes many more, making the collaborative process potentially chaotic and meaning it is quite likely some students may never contribute and this may not be noticed.
• Language skills may be a significant barrier here. This is not only because in many cases students in their first year are studying for the first time in a second language but also because the language skills of native students (to whatever language you publish in) are lacking. I regularly find myself commenting to students about the need to have capital letters and full stops and the concept of a paragraph is foreign to many - even at a university where straight As are an entry requirement. Of course the development of the book and the collaborative editing will no doubt improve language skills but the cost in terms of time and the risk to quality is high.
• New students to university do often lack basic digital skills and, in my experience, they do not often realise they lack these.

Openness and Innovation in Elearning
So this is, of course, the module I am currently studying. This module is aimed at post-graduate students studying for an MA in Online and Distance Education. The module has quite a specific focus and the assessments in place at the moment are quite open in the sense that there is some scope for learners to choose a specific context.
Pros of creating an Open Textbook for H817:

• Students learn about licensing as part of the course itself so this would be a very early opportunity to apply what they learn.
• Much of the relevant content is available on licensing that would lend itself to inclusion in an Open Textbook.
• Although not a necessary requirement, most students have a good level of digital skills because they are i) already graduates and ii) often engaged in e-learning professionally
• Content would also lend itself well to commentaries and up to date examples
• Students are from a range of professional academic backgrounds meaning collaborations will likely results in original ideas.

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Cons of creating an Open Textbook for H817

• As with Psy101 the size of the module maybe prohibitive
• Language may also be a barrier, although this is perhaps less so that an undergraduate level. Additionally, and related to language, students are studying from a distance and internationally so any real-time collaboration would be limited
• The diverse background of students, although potential a benefit may also be an impediment.

I think for any course there will be pros and cons and exactly how well it goes will depend on individual cohorts of students so it will always be a challenge. It also sounds as though it would be a lot of work so any attempt at this must be realised year on year.