Open-Source Book Project
Definition:
The Free Software Movement began in 1983, and was supplanted by the Open-Source Software (OSS) project in 1998. The idea was to share software code with the general developer community and allow them to re-use and modify the code, almost without restriction. By allowing software to be used and modified without fees or complex legal authorization, high-quality software could be developed faster and at a very low price.
Over the last decade, OSS has been used by not-for profits, major corporations and the government.
Based on the OSS model, other collaborations have been created to develop free, and freely modifiable, intellectual property. One such collaborative community is the Open-Source Book project, or more correctly "Projects." These projects are designed to create book modules on a wide variety of subjects that can then be assembled into a nearly infinite number of textbooks. State-wide open-source book projects are underway in Utah, Texas, Ohio, and California. Colleges, such as the University of Minnesota and Harvard, have their own projects, and various foundations (Open Knowledge Foundation, Creative Commons, Community College Consortium for Open Educational Resources, collegeopentextbooks.org, etc.) operate their own projects.
Closely connected with the Open-Source Book Project is the Open-Courseware movement, most notably at MIT. This effort is designed to make all materials from courses available to any individual, anywhere on earth.
While Open-Courseware materials are not accompanied with professorial support, and individuals are not eligible for college credit, these programs represent the largest concentration of freely consumable educational materials in the world.
As the textbook industry has moved from print to digital, the revenue model has not kept up and has fueled a dramatic increase in the cost of textbooks. The financial model for textbooks not only creates rapidly increasing cost for books, it also requires the release of new editions of textbooks every few years in order to make (low cost) used book obsolete. The various Open-Source Books are a response to the rise in textbook costs, providing an alternative method of developing, distributing and updating e-books that is designed to help stabilize the cost of education.
The Free Software Movement began in 1983, and was supplanted by the Open-Source Software (OSS) project in 1998. The idea was to share software code with the general developer community and allow them to re-use and modify the code, almost without restriction. By allowing software to be used and modified without fees or complex legal authorization, high-quality software could be developed faster and at a very low price.
Over the last decade, OSS has been used by not-for profits, major corporations and the government.
Based on the OSS model, other collaborations have been created to develop free, and freely modifiable, intellectual property. One such collaborative community is the Open-Source Book project, or more correctly "Projects." These projects are designed to create book modules on a wide variety of subjects that can then be assembled into a nearly infinite number of textbooks. State-wide open-source book projects are underway in Utah, Texas, Ohio, and California. Colleges, such as the University of Minnesota and Harvard, have their own projects, and various foundations (Open Knowledge Foundation, Creative Commons, Community College Consortium for Open Educational Resources, collegeopentextbooks.org, etc.) operate their own projects.
Closely connected with the Open-Source Book Project is the Open-Courseware movement, most notably at MIT. This effort is designed to make all materials from courses available to any individual, anywhere on earth.
While Open-Courseware materials are not accompanied with professorial support, and individuals are not eligible for college credit, these programs represent the largest concentration of freely consumable educational materials in the world.
As the textbook industry has moved from print to digital, the revenue model has not kept up and has fueled a dramatic increase in the cost of textbooks. The financial model for textbooks not only creates rapidly increasing cost for books, it also requires the release of new editions of textbooks every few years in order to make (low cost) used book obsolete. The various Open-Source Books are a response to the rise in textbook costs, providing an alternative method of developing, distributing and updating e-books that is designed to help stabilize the cost of education.
