I have a meeting coming up to talk about Open Textbooks. I have been working on OERs, and WikiEducator projects which I wouldn't characterize as textbooks, so I could really use some help. It isn't right on topic, but this seemed like an appropriate place to ask.
What do you see as overlap / complementary functionality between WikiEducator and Open Textbooks? I haven't spent much time thinking about textbooks per se lately. They are just really big OERs or collections of OERs. However, there is some authority baggage that comes with a "textbook".
It will be a while before the education community moves beyond textbooks, so it is appropriate to step back and think about transitioning processes that include the notion of open textbook - whatever that is (or isn't).
Specifically, addressing these objectives...
http://www.collegeopentextbooks.org/Our task is to look at different ways to make free, open textbooks a sustainable resource for faculty and students.
At the same time, we are working to create a vetting procedure to review textbooks and recommend texts that meet our quality standards.
We know it has to be
* free, or very nearly free,
* easy to use, get and pass around,
* editable so instructors can customize content,
* cross-platform compatible,
* printable,
* and accessible so it works with adaptive technology.
And that's just the short list.
I'm particularly interested in
- sustainable - this could mean a lot of things - regular controlled revisions, ownership for the base content, ?? what does it usually mean to others when it comes up
- vetting - do you see this being handled with WE-provided functionality
- printable - do you think the WE collections and PDF functions would meet most people's requirements and expectations for a printable textbook
I think WE cross-platform is ok, but is there anything specific happening for mobile device or OLPC display?
What do you know about WE and adaptive technology? I think it is all ok-enough for California Community College access requirements. I'll hear more shortly as I have a blind student in my class this semester. She uses several different technologies, but she is reluctant to talk about this much. I understand, but I would really like to know much, much more.
Thanks,
..Valerie