John Spencer has a new post arguing that schools should embrace open source to prevent lock-in. From the post:
Quite simply examination vendors should be barred from being text book suppliers. Not only do they have an unfair advantage over their commercial rivals they completely undermine the use of free materials as the predominant source of school-knowledge.
Posted in Open Education
Tagged higher education, K-12, open content, Open Education, open source, open textbook, open textbooks, openness
Kara Platoni has written about open textbooks in California. From the article:
Digital textbooks are starting to be accessible on cell phones, too. “Even the students who are at lower income levels have these tools,” says Dave Fontaine, an online instructor for the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Education.
Thanks to Stephen Downes for the link.
Posted in Open Education
Tagged K-12, open content, Open Education, open textbook, open textbooks, openness
The radio station KOHO has posted an interview with Cable Green on open textbooks.
Posted in Open Education
Tagged e-learning, higher education, oer, online learning, open content, Open Education, open textbook, open textbooks, openness
John Fontaine has a new post expressing concern about bias in open textbooks. From the post:
I’m afraid, very afraid for the future of OERs and I have no idea what to do about a problem I see looming.
Thanks to Stephen Downes for the link.
Posted in Open Education
Tagged ocw, oer, open content, Open Education, open textbook, open textbooks, openness
Katherine Long has a new article on the state of Washington’s open textbook initiative. From the article:
The open-source textbook drive is part of a larger state effort, called the Open Course Library, to assemble all curriculum materials — including the course syllabus, videos, lecture notes and exams — for the 81 most popular courses
Posted in Open Education
Tagged e-learning, ocw, oer, online learning, open content, Open Education, open textbook, open textbooks, openness
Timothy Vollmer has posted an interview with Eric Frank, founder of open textbook company Flat World Knowledge. From the post:
For the most part, when the average faculty member hears “open textbook,” it means nothing to them. In some cases, it has a positive connotation, and in other cases, it’s negative. When it’s negative, the primarily concern is one of basic quality and sustainability.
Posted in Open Education
Tagged e-learning, higher education, ocw, oer, online learning, open content, Open Education, open textbook, open textbooks, openness
Cable Green is announcing a webinar regarding Ohio’s textbook initiative, which includes openness.
Posted in Open Education
Tagged ocw, oer, online learning, Open Education, open textbook, open textbooks, webinar
Campus Technology has posted a panel discussion with Josh Baron (Sakai Foundation), Brad Felix (Flat World Knowledge) and Michael Feldstein (blogger). From the discussion:
I’m intrigued by what you describe in terms of a commercial ecosystem growing up specifically around open educational resources.
Posted in Open Education
Tagged higher education, ocw, oer, open content, Open Education, open source, open textbook, open textbooks
Francis Rowe has a new post answering common questions about open textbooks. From the post:
Instructors who are considering open textbook adoption might want to seek advice from instructors who have used open textbooks prior to getting started.
Posted in Open Education
Tagged e-learning, ocw, oer, online learning, open content, Open Education, open textbook, open textbooks
EduKindle has a new post on why CK12 open textbooks are valuable. From the post:
Some of the revolution happened, I think, because someone saw a business model that would work to meet their needs, and some of it happened because the kids had taken to scanning their texts and sharing them online via data torrents.
Posted in Open Education
Tagged e-learning, oer, open content, Open Education, open textbook, open textbooks, openness
