14. Adapting OER: Applying Best Practices

Definition of Adapt

The term adaptation is commonly used to describe the process of making changes to an existing work. Though we can also replace “adapt” with revise, modify, alter, customize, or other synonym that describes the act of making a change.

In addition to cost to students, one of the biggest advantages of choosing an open textbook is it gives faculty the legal right to add to, adapt, or delete the content of the textbook to fit their specific course without obtaining permission from the copyright holder. This is possible because the copyright holder has already granted permission by releasing their work using an open license, such as a Creative Commons license. This type of license gives users permission to use and reuse, share, copy, retain and modify the textbook without consulting the author.

A good rule of thumb when creating an adapted textbook is to keep it simple, especially if you are approaching a remix project for the first time. While it may be tempting to make a number of major changes to a textbook before releasing it to your students, think of the textbook as a living resource that you can improve incrementally over time.

Considerations before adapting

Step 1: Check the license

First, check the license to make sure you have the permission to modify the contents. As long as the Creative Commons licence does not have a No Derivative (ND) attribute, you are able to change the contents of the book. See Creative Commons for more information on licenses.

When it comes to working with open textbooks (and open educational resources in general), one of the conceptual hurdles faced by most people is around the notion of adapting or changing someone’s work. What exactly can be adapted within the scope of an open textbook, and won’t the original author get upset if you change their work?

Changing someone’s work can feel uncomfortable. But rest assured, if the author has released their textbook under a Creative Commons license that allows for adaptation (which is any Creative Commons license that does not have a No Derivative (ND) attribute added to it) then they expect that you will change the content, providing you give them the proper attribution (and we’ll get into this). Using information and media from an open textbook or other open educational resource are NOT considered plagiarism.

But what can you change?

Anything and everything in an open textbook can be changed as long as the conditions of the open licence are met. The modifications or changes you make can be fairly minor or major depending on what you need to do to make the book work for you. That is the beauty and power of open textbooks. You are in charge of the resource. You have been given permission to change it ahead of time by the original author. Take advantage of it. They want you to.

Why you should use openly licensed materials

If you are looking for content to add to your textbook, you should look for and use Creative Commons licensed material (learn more in this appendix about Licenses and Tools in the Self-Publishing Guide). While you can use material that has not been released under a Creative Commons license, it does limit how others can use or reuse that material. As well, you must first obtain written permission from the copyright holder to use copyrighted material in the textbook and clearly note in the textbook the specific material that is copyrighted. This is to ensure others using the book in the future know they cannot reuse that material.

Don’t forget the public domain

Once the copyright of a work has expired, has been forfeited, or is inapplicable, it is part of the public domain, meaning that permission is not required to use it or make changes to it. Creative Commons provides public domain tools that enable authors and copyright owners who want to dedicate their works to the worldwide public domain to do so, and facilitates the labeling and discovery of works that are already free of known copyright restrictions.

Step 2: Check the file format

If you want to adapt an open textbook, you will need it in a workable technical format, i.e. an editable file type. These include:

• Pressbooks or WordPress files (.xml or .wxr)
• HTML files (webpages)
• Word document (.docx) or OpenDocument Text (.odt)
• Simple text files (.txt)
• EPUB (see “Export Google Docs files as EPUB publications“)
• LaTeX files (if the original book includes math or science formulas and equations)

Step 3: Editing Tools

Once you have an editable file, you are ready to begin your adaptation. The tools you use to create your adaptation will depend on the source file of the original textbook and how comfortable you feel working with the format and tool.

Adaptation Statement

If modifying an open textbook that is in the public domain, you are not required to attribute the original author. However, if you are modifying an open textbook that is licensed under one of the Creative Commons licenses, then acknowledging the author(s) of the original work is required as well as indicating who owns the copyright, how the original work was licensed, and what the substantive changes were made.

There is one caveat. If the textbook you are adapting has a ShareAlike attribute, then you must release the book with the same license that it was originally released with. The ShareAlike clause means that you must use the exact same license that was used in the original for ANY adaptation.

If using Pressbooks to create an adaptation, the license type chosen for the adapted portions of your open textbook and the license used for the original book, should be noted in a couple of places in the book, along with the changes made. You should also indicate who holds the copyright to specific parts of the book. The adaptation statement should be found:

1. In the preface or introduction in the front matter where it is clearly stated that the book is an adaptation of another open textbook.
2. As part of the copyright page so readers know which book sections are newly created or changed.

If you are creating an adaptation using another system, such as Word, then displaying the adaptation and licensing information on the copyright page of the book is sufficient.

Keep in mind that the reader could be viewing a printed copy with page numbers or an electronic version with no page numbers, so do not use page numbers as references. Instead, use chapters and chapter sections as reference points within the book.

Attribution Details

It is a good idea to keep a detailed record of the changes and additions you made to existing material during the revision process. This information is for the adapting author’s reference and can be used to compose a comprehensive adaptation statement.

BCcampus Open Education offers the following best practices for creating effective and informative adaptation statements.

1. If a significant amount of new information has been added, briefly describe the content and where it can be found, e.g., as a new chapter or part of an existing one. Provide a title to the new work.
2. If significant changes have been made to existing material, describe what has been altered and where it can be found, by chapter or chapter section.
3. Overall updates and changes can be described with a general statement.

Here is an example of an adaptation statement used on an About the Book page in the front matter of an adapted open textbook created in Pressbooks.

The following is an example of the copyright statement. In Pressbooks, this information is added to the Copyright Notice field on the Book Info page. For an adaptation created using another system, such as Word, this information can be added to the preface or other front matter page of the book.

Notice that these items are addressed:

• The license under which the book, as a whole, is released. The license type is hyperlinked to a page on the Creative Commons website that explains this license.
• A short description about the permissions granted by this license.
• Who owns the copyright, when the copyright began, and for which parts of the book.