Smith, M. (2010) Why Pay for Intro Textbooks? Inside Higher Education, February 7
Rice University, using the Connexions platform, is offering online Introductory Physics textbooks for free, through the non-profit publisher OpenStax College.
The books are peer reviewed, and could save students up to US$90 million a year in the USA, if they are adopted by university and college instructors. In the next five years, OpenStax hopes to have free books for 20 of the most common college courses, across a range of subjects.
Comment
Will this revolutionize the textbook industry? It will depend on a number of factors:
- the ‘absolute’ quality of the textbooks – are they instructionally well designed books with good physics?
- the ‘perceived’ quality of the textbooks – will instructors accept open access publishing?
- whether a sustainable business model can be developed. The cost of hiring the content experts and editing was covered by grants from at least four major US foundations. ‘Accessories’ to the main text books can also be purchased by students. But is this a sustainable business model? Only time will tell.
- if successful, will this limit the range of textbooks for some subjects, and thus reduce choice for instructors and students – or will it have the opposite affect?
In the meantime, this is definitely a good day for physics students.
Dr. Tony Bates is the author of eleven books in the field of online learning and distance education. He has provided consulting services specializing in training in the planning and management of online learning and distance education, working with over 40 organizations in 25 countries. Tony is a Research Associate with Contact North | Contact Nord, Ontario’s Distance Education & Training Network.
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[…] Doing similar calculations though for a simple e-book reader such as the Kindle ($129 in Canada) or the Kobo Touch ($100) does bring the price down to a point where it would make sense to replace textbooks with e-readers – provided that the textbooks are available as e-books and at a reasonable price, which they are not yet. (But see Rice University develops free online textbooks) […]
[…] Doing similar calculations though for a simple e-book reader such as the Kindle ($129 in Canada) or the Kobo Touch ($100) does bring the price down to a point where it would make sense to replace textbooks with e-readers – provided that the textbooks are available as e-books and at a reasonable price, which they are not yet. (But see Rice University develops free online textbooks) […]