Why Adapt an Open Textbook
5 Start Small
An adaptation can turn ugly, like a house renovation project gone mad taking twice the time and three times the energy than you thought.
To prevent from falling into this trap, consider starting small. For your first crack at an adaptation, decide to make a few minor changes such as:
- Removing the chapters you don’t need OR
- Adding an example or two from your current curriculum OR
- Including some exercises you’ve found useful in the classroom.
Start small. But think big.
While you are taking these baby steps, think of the huge pedagogical potential hidden away in an open textbook. Plan and dream and scheme about what could be done with this book; a book in which the author has give you permission to use, share, and change content to your heart’s content and the only payment is to give her or him credit.
What a gift!
So, start small and don’t let this gift become a demanding, uncontrollable beast that consumes you. Start small, give it a few treats, and get to know each other. Then, when you’re bursting at the seams with ideas and enthusiasm, write down all of the wonderful things you want to change, when both you and the textbook are ready, on your “Adaptation Bucket List”.