Open Copyright Textbook – Press Release

I received this press release today from Rice University. I usually don't republish this stuff as I am receiving more and more of it all the time; but I thought this story of the process of searching for and approving open copyright textbooks is significant.

I'm interested in information; how it grows, flows and develops. I believe that teachers being able to collect, collate, produce and share their own resources is an important step in a positive direction.  

I don't think it is at all clear where developments like this will take us. Will it lead to the customization of resources, schools and even classrooms being able to choose the pieces they need to fit their own contexts? Will it lead to a fragmentation of knowledge and the death of the textbook industry as we know it? There are no answers in these first steps, but it is worth taking the time to think about.

Here is the press release in full length.

High school teacher's algebra book aces California
test

Book from Rice
University's Connexions used in historic K-12 initiative

HOUSTON – (Aug. 11, 2009) – As California
prepares to become the first state in the nation to offer free, open-source
digital textbooks for high school students this fall, state officials today
gave an A-plus to a North Carolina high school teacher's algebra II textbook,
one of the first open-source texts submitted for the program.

Advanced Algebra II http://cnx.org/content/m19435/latest
by Raleigh, N.C., math teacher Kenny Felder was submitted to California
officials by Connexions, an open-education initiative at Rice University in
Houston that publishes the open-copyright book.

"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's initiative, together with
President Obama’s proposal to invest $500 million in open-education over
the next decade, are two of the most significant steps forward in
open-education to date," said Joel Thierstein, Connexions executive
director. "Open education is the biggest advance in education since Horace
Mann’s push for mandatory free public education in the U.S.

California Secretary of Education Glen Thomas today unveiled
his department's review of the first 16 digital texts submitted by publishers
in response to Schwarzenegger's May 6 call for free open-source digital
textbooks for high school students. Textbook choices are made at the local
level in California, and Thomas' reviews are designed to help local officials
choose digital books that best meet their needs. The reviews assessed how well
each book complied with California's state textbook standards, and Connexions'
algebra text scored a 96, meeting 26 of the 27 standards tested.

Felder, who teaches algebra and calculus at Raleigh Charter
High School, said he was delighted to learn that his book scored so well on
California's test. He said the book was created from the lessons he created and
refined during 10 years of algebra II classes.

"My book presents math as an exploration of ideas –
not a collection of facts and techniques," Felder said. "Students
often tell me they are realizing, for the first time, that math makes sense.
And that's what I hope they remember from my class; there are reasons for
everything in math, and you should ask 'Why?' and keep asking, particularly if
someone says, 'That's just the way it is.'"

Thierstein said Felder's story isn't unlike those of many
authors who've submitted materials to Connexions.

"One of the beauties of open-education in general, and
Connexions in particular, is that anyone who wants to take the time to create
content can do it, and anyone who wants to update content and keep it current
or improve it can do that too," Thierstein said. "A book is never
static in Connexions because everything is published under a Creative Commons
Attribution Only copyright license. Any teacher can modify the book to make it
culturally relevant for their students."

The reviews of Felder's book and the other submissions for
California's K-12 open-source textbook initiative were presented at a symposium
in Orange County this morning that was organized by the California Educational
Technology Professionals Association. The event attracted hundreds of officials
who are tasked with choosing curriculum in a year with extremely tight budgets.
Thierstein, an invited panelist, answered questions and explained how
open-source texts like Felder's book could both improve classroom instruction
and save money.

"Everyone is looking to cut costs over the next couple
of years, but the real beauty of open-educational resources like Kenny Felder's
book is that they provide the foundation for a step-change in the quality of
education in the United States," Thierstein said.

With more than a million visitors a month and one of the
world's largest repositories of open-education resources, Connexions is a
leading global provider of open-copyright licensed, free educational materials.
Connexions is available free for anyone to contribute to or learn from at www.cnx.org.

The Free Digital Textbook Initiative review results are
available at http://www.clrn.org/FDTI/index.cfm.