03/08/2022 11:58:12 AMTo ease the financial burden on students, a growing number of professors at the University of Houston College of Education have replaced traditional textbooks with free or low-cost online teaching materials. The professors adopted the alternative approach even before COVID-19 shifted the University to remote instruction this semester — a massive transition that has highlighted the need for easily accessible, high quality virtual resources. “I recognized students were financially overburdened and I wanted to help them reduce their costs,” said Clinical Associate Professor Samuel Brower, who moved to open-source materials in his teacher education courses about two years ago.