Open Michigan vs OpenStax
Open Michigan
open.umich.edu
OpenStax
openstax.orgSide by side
| Figure | Open Michigan | OpenStax |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 0 | 3 |
| Spec score · Open Educational Resource Platforms | 7.4 (#19) | 8.9 (#4) |
| Accessibility | Materials published after January 1, 2017 receive an accessibility review, and Open Michigan strives for WCAG 2.0 AA compliance; it cannot guarantee that referenced content is accessible. | OpenStax works toward WCAG 2.1 Level AA and Section 508 compliance and uses Level Access for automated and manual accessibility reviews. |
| Audience | Open Michigan encourages scholars and students to share their work and describes its service as supporting the university community, Michigan residents, and the broader public. | OpenStax provides free, openly licensed textbooks and affordable technology for introductory courses. |
| Founded | 2007 | 2012 |
| History | The site says the Open Michigan OER initiative began in 2007. | OpenStax began as Connexions in 1999 and became OpenStax in 2012. |
| Support | The site directs visitors to a contact form or [email protected] for accessibility requests and says it will provide an alternate format promptly. | OpenStax says its support team helps instructors and students with questions about textbooks, instructor resources, and Assignable through its support center or email. |
Plans
OpenStax
- OpenStax textbooksFree
- OpenStax Assignable$15, paid once
- OpenStax AssignablePriced on request
In their own words
Open Michigan
Open Michigan is a University of Michigan initiative for sharing research, teaching and creative work beyond campus. It offers services and expertise in open educational resources, open data and open publications, and lets visitors search for material from within and outside the university for teaching and research. Its collection includes course materials, videos, lectures, student work and other educational resources from U-M faculty, students, staff and partner institutions. Nearly all of its educational resources are openly licensed for reuse under Creative Commons. The initiative can help publish syllabi, courses and learning modules, promote educational resources, and make data publicly available. It describes open data as publicly available for use, reuse and distribution, and open access scholarship as available to read online for free. Open Michigan is a partnership of the University Library and Health Information Technology and Services, and began in 2007. It notes that older resources may not work well with screen readers and many videos lack sufficient captions; remediation is underway. Hosted content published after January 1, 2017 receives accessibility reviews, with a goal of WCAG 2.0 AA compliance.
OpenStax
OpenStax is a nonprofit education initiative of Rice University that publishes free, openly licensed textbooks and related materials for introductory courses. Subject matter experts write the textbooks, which are peer-reviewed for accuracy and updated regularly. Books can be read online on the web, Android or iOS, or downloaded as free PDFs; low-cost print editions are also offered. Most titles are accessible without an account, although a small number require sign-in. Students can highlight, take notes and create study guides, with a free student account required for some features. Educators with a free account can access test banks, PowerPoint slides, solutions manuals and customization tools. OpenStax Assignable lets instructors assign readings, assessments and supporting materials through an LMS, with automatic grading and gradebook synchronization. It supports LTI 1.3 and Blackboard, Canvas, D2L Brightspace and Moodle. Textbooks cost nothing. Assignable starts at $15, paid once, billed per student per semester; instructors use it free, and a two-week trial begins on the first day of access. Institutional pricing is by contact.