EduOpps was created out of a recognition that the costs of textbooks and other materials are very high for students and that faculty sometimes have little choice but to use these textbooks/materials because there aren’t many alternatives. Most students are unaware that publishers try very hard to get faculty to use high-priced textbooks and sometimes there are no good free or low-cost alternatives. This means that this cost is passed on to students. Many faculty, particularly adjuncts, are not paid for preparation time which they need to ready lectures, notes, slideshows, class activities, test/quizzes, etc. and so corporate publishers often offer these things to instructors to get them to use their textbooks. Many faculty are trying very hard to produce the best quality course for their students and so they opt to use the publisher materials or to supplement their own with material from the publisher which they get for free.

EduOpps aims to change all of this for both students and faculty. This is a platform that allows faculty to develop their own materials for classes and then offer them for purchase to other faculty and their students. It is similar to publishing their own textbook or course packet except it is all done online which means the costs are very small! This site aims to encourage faculty to take materials they have already developed and put them out there so other faculty can decide to use them for their classes. Students pay a small fee for access to a work site or for the work materials to be imported into their learning management system like Blackboard, Moodle, or Canvas. This works just the same as when students pay for access to a course work site from a publisher (like you might get if you purchase a textbook that has an access code and a website for you to complete work on). The difference is that instructors set the price and the site itself is non-profit so any proceeds that are received by the site go to support other instructors who need time to develop great content for their classes and still be paid for that time. This is what allows them to offer it at a reasonable cost to students.

EduOpps needs your support! Tell your friends and your other instructors about us and encourage them to think about placing their own content on the site. We want to hear from students about how they like the idea and the site as well. Tell us what you think about our idea, it is a radical one that aims to change the way faculty think about their course content and the amount of power traditional publishers have over faculty and students.