I’ve rarely spent more money in one day than I did when it came time to buy my books for school each semester. An $800 transaction, twice a year wasn’t unusual. Many of my friends spent even more. So I read this Campus Technology article on textbooks and Web 2.0 with great interest: a few textbook companies with radically different business models than traditional publishers are trying to make books more affordable and communal.
Publishers digitizing textbooks is nothing new- the problem with this model is that the publishers still charge high fees for copies. These new publishers are commissioning textbooks authors directly, to write material that will be distributed at little to no cost. One of the companies I think has the most potential is FlatWorldKnowledge. Professors can peruse the site for the textbook they want and then “adopt” it. At its simplest form, adoption will open up the free book to the professor’s students. From there, the student can decide to just read the book online, or they can order a print version for about $25 or even get the book in audio form to load onto their iPods. On the professor’s end, the professor has the option of altering the textbook before releasing it to students. The site also provides a space for students to interact with each other- they can post questions asking for help, share notes and interact with their classmates.
One of the comments on the article linked to smARThistory- an interactive online textbook. This takes the concept of the online textbook on step further than just text. The website segments all of the major art movements into an accordion-like graphic- just click on the period you’re interested in and major works from that time pop up. Most pieces have accompanying text and video where you hear art historians discussing the work’s significance. Although the content of the website has not been completely built out yet (the site only shows 210 works), it kept me engaged and clicking though a lot of the material. This type of format has a lot of potential- I definitely could have used the help of video in quite a few of my classes.
Open source material like these books takes advantage of the collaborative spirit that Web 2.0 has helped to foster. We have yet to see if this type of “book” can truly replace traditional textbooks, but the extras, like message boards and dynamic material will help create a sense of community within the classroom and encourage students to use each other as resources. Students have always faced a lot of economic pressure, and it’s only increased as of late. They’ll want to go to a school that understands this and works with them to alleviate it. The textbook publishing industry isn’t going to change anytime soon, but colleges and universities should start looking into the next generation of textbooks that will work with the way students think to make learning more affordable.
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