Re: [school-discuss] project idea: open source text books

["Mr. Klock" <math@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I agree, Jeremy, and in fact am very enthusiastic about this idea.  I've been looking for open-content math texts for a while, and I haven't found anything I love on any of the existing text archives.  

I'd be happy to be involved in authoring math and science texts, and I could probably help wrangle up some other co-authors, but I'm not in a position right now to coordinate the effort.  

 James Klock
 Chicago, IL


On Jan 27, 2012, at 8:19 AM, Jeremy C. Reed wrote:

> I propose the group advocates and works toward open source text books.
> 
> These would be open content projects that result in free digital and 
> (optionally) very low-cost print textbooks and course work. This would 
> be a public endeavor using open collaborative methods. The text and its 
> related artwork and formatting and tools to create and re-generate will 
> be freely and publically accessible and redistributable.
> 
> Some side goals could be to save money for schools and better allocate 
> tax payers money, such as increasing school teacher's salaries, and 
> maybe better learning experience due to further media capabilities. 
> (Another minor goal is so kids, like mine, don't have to carry around 
> 20+ pounds of textbooks :)
> 
> Maybe some ideas at:
> 
> http://www.opencontent.org/
> 
> http://archives.seul.org/schoolforge/discuss/May-2002/msg00194.html
> (Hey David where is your document now?)
> 
> http://www.jasonheppler.org/open-source-scholarship-and-why-history-should-be-open-source.html
> 
> http://teachinghistory.org/teaching-materials/ask-a-master-teacher/22276
> 
> http://levine.sscnet.ucla.edu/general/intellectual/open.htm
> 
> I know we talked a little about it before around May 2002, but sadly 
> nothing came out of it from me. But it is time to do this again because 
> I recently listed to an interview about Steve Jobs and their textbook 
> plans.  Here are some related links:
> 
> http://idealab.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/01/apples-textbook-partner-mcgraw-hill-reveals-ibooks-2-plans.php
> 
> 350,000 downloads in 3 days
> http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2140927/apple-s-textbook-initiative-350-downloads-days
> 
> http://www.apple.com/education/ibooks-textbooks/
> 
> They may be "reinventing the textbook" but I don't think they are open 
> source and may be, in fact, tied down to a proprietary platform.
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