This paper traces the recent development of open educational resources. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology began development of open courseware (OCW) in 2002 as a means ‘to advance knowledge and educate students’. The movement to develop OER has since gained momentum as educators have come to realize the potential of OER in enhancing delivery of education. Virtual universities offering online courses using OER have mushroomed recently, granting certifications after assessment, at a low fee. From among the various forms of OER, teachers and education planners have found that open textbooks are a particularly useful form of content delivery, and may serve as a solution to the problem of high textbook prices. This has led to the growth of many open textbooks projects.
Against this background, this paper examines the issues and problems related to textbooks in Hong Kong. It outlines an open textbook initiative which is meant not only to solve Hong Kong’s immediate problem of high textbook prices, but also ultimately to achieve effective teaching and learning in the digital era. The various components of the open textbook project, which are designed to address the needs of Hong Kong schools and universities, will be introduced.

Keywords

Open Educational Resources · open license · open textbooks