Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google


Top Hat Adds OpenStax Texts

Top Hat, provider of a digital learning platform for higher ed, is teaming up with Rice University's OpenStax College to offer the latter's digital textbooks through its teaching platform.

"Top Hat allows professors to deliver their lecture from anywhere in the room on any tablet device," according to a news release. "Through the partnership, professors can instantly gauge students' understanding of the OpenStax College content. They can view and edit every chapter through Top Hat's Pages module, as well as pose questions in-class, assign homework and grade responses. Students can access this unique content from OpenStax College on the mobile devices they already own, such as smartphones, tablets and laptops."

OpenStax books available through Top Hat feature standard, modular organization aligned to common curricula and the ability to edit and rewrite, introduce original content and customize the books for one or two semester classes. The books, which can be printed as PDFs, are peer-reviewed, written by educators and regularly updated.

OpenStax textbooks currently available through Top Hat include "Anatomy and Physiology, Biology, College Physics, Concepts of Biology (Non-Majors Biology), Introduction to Sociology 2e, Introductory Statistics, Principles of Economics, Principles of Macroeconomics and Principles of Microeconomics," according to information released by the organizations, with "Algebra and Trigonometry, Chemistry, Precalculus, United States History and Psychology" coming soon.

"OpenStax College is committed to improving student access to quality learning materials," said David Harris, editor in chief at OpenStax College, in a prepared statement. "Our digital textbooks are peer-reviewed and backed by top-of-the-line supporting materials. While our books meet standard scope and sequence requirements, they are also customizable if the professors' needs are different. We look forward to seeing how professors and students work with our materials through Top Hat."

OpenStax textbooks through Top Hat cost $29 for a semester, $41 each year or $77 for a lifetime purchase.

About the Author

Joshua Bolkan is contributing editor for Campus Technology, THE Journal and STEAM Universe. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • networked node grid featuring illuminated connectors

    Infrastructure Accounts for More than Half of Worldwide AI Spending

    Gartner forecasts worldwide AI spending will reach $2.67 trillion in 2026, up 49.5% from 2025, with AI infrastructure accounting for nearly $1.5 trillion, or about 56% of the total. For every dollar Gartner expects to be spent on generative AI models, more than $52 will be spent on infrastructure.

  • Abstract data center infrastructure

    Survey: Lack of Specialized Infrastructure Is a Top AI Adoption Challenge

    Enterprise AI projects are running into infrastructure questions as organizations move from planning toward deployment, according to a recent Digital Realty survey.

  • A glowing digital brain with neural connections and light trails

    AI Giants Warn It May Be Time to Slow Down

    For years, leaders in the artificial intelligence industry have warned that increasingly capable AI systems could eventually become dangerous, all the while continuing to race to build them. Now, their sentiments have changed.

  • man viewing holographic display of data and code

    Why Cross-Skilling Is the Smartest Investment a Campus IT Team Can Make

    Higher education IT teams are being asked to keep pace with AI, cloud, and cybersecurity on flat budgets, and hiring a specialist for every new need can no longer keep up. Building adjacent skills across the people already on staff creates more agile, resilient teams that move faster and retain talent without adding headcount. Pluralsight makes the strategy work through skill assessments, tailored learning paths, hands-on labs and sandboxes, and microlearning that fits into the flow of work.