Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google


OpenStax Celebrates 25th Anniversary

  • By Matt Jones
  • 12/10/24

OpenStax is celebrating its 25th anniversary as 2024 comes to a close. The open educational resources (OER) initiative from Rice University has served almost 37 million students in 153 countries and saved students nearly $3 billion in course material costs since its launch in 1999.

OpenStax began as Connexions, an OER repository open to the public at large to find and piece together instructional materials. In 2012, the company transitioned to OpenStax and published its first open-license, peer-reviewed college textbook. And in August of this year, OpenStax began a partnership with Google to provide its resources to Google's Gemini AI tool.

"Celebrating 25 years of OpenStax is a testament to the power of open education and the collective commitment to making learning accessible to all," said Richard Baraniuk, founder and director of OpenStax. "From the seeds of an idea to building a large library of OER and now to creating personalized, interactive learning tools that meet students where they are, we have been continually inspired to make an amazing education accessible to all."

The OpenStax library consists of more than 70 comprehensive digital learning textbooks featuring culturally relevant and standards-aligned resources for both students and teachers. The organization formally expanded into the K–12 sphere in 2021.

"We're grateful to the faculty, schools, students, funders, authors, advocates and partners who have walked this path with us and helped make OpenStax what it is today," said OpenStax Managing Director Daniel Williamson. "We pioneered an industry built around open resources, an industry that has been shown to drive innovation and increase competition, ultimately allowing for improved student access to high-quality learning materials. Our success is a reflection of the work done by the OpenStax team, the open education community and a vast ecosystem of partners and institutions."

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • ai robot connected to various technology icons

    ASU Teams Up with Grammarly to Deploy Agentic AI Assistant

    Arizona State University recently partnered with Grammarly to integrate agentic AI into teaching and learning, becoming the first university to deploy Grammarly's Superhuman Go AI platform.

  • globe surrounded by network connections

    AI Adoption Is Surging, but Infrastructure and Language Gaps Persist

    Artificial intelligence may be spreading faster than previous waves of consumer tech, but a report from Microsoft's AI Economy Institute suggests its benefits are concentrating in a relatively small set of countries, with infrastructure and language emerging as major dividing lines.

  • hand typing on laptop with security and email icons

    Copilot Gets Expanded Role in Office, Outlook, and Security

    Microsoft has doubled down on its Copilot strategy, announcing new agents and capabilities that bring deeper intelligence and automation to everyday workflows in Microsoft 365.

  • Abstract speed motion blur in vibrant colors

    3 Ed Tech Shifts that Will Define 2026

    The digital learning landscape is entering a new phase defined by rapid advances in artificial intelligence, rising expectations for the student experience, and increasing pressure to demonstrate quality and accountability in online education.