The Case for
Open Textbooks
Gail Malaspina
LIBR 287-05: The
Open Movement and Libraries
San Jose State
University
School of
Library and Information Science
November 29,
2009
Abstract
The world has seen a transformation in
the ways we can now make available education for our citizens. These changes
have been brought about by todays technology and, more specifically, the
Internet. It has made possible access to many resources and fosters a social
network of sharing, one in which content is freely contributed and distributed
with few restrictions or cost. (Brown &Adler 2008)
One of the most significant movements to
develop from this transformation has been the Open Educational Resources
movement (OER) which has provided free access to a wide range of courses and
other educational materials. (ibid) And within this context two important
initiatives have formed, the Open Courseware initiative (OCW) and the Open
Textbook initiative.
This paper will focus primarily on the
Open Textbook initiative with particular attention given to what may very well
be its most significant cause: the push for open textbooks for college
students.
I will provide a brief overview of the
OER movement to give clarity as to how it encompasses both the OCW and Open
Textbook initiatives. I will also differentiate between the existing categories
within the Open Textbook initiative to point out both their similarities and
differences and to emphasize what makes the college Open Textbook movement
unique.
The true impact of these movements is
yet to be determined but it would be safe to say that education, both in
regards to learning styles and available resources will never be the same.
What
is Openness?
It would be helpful to define this term
as it relates to OER, OCW and Open Textbooks. There are six characteristics
they share:
1-resources are free (i.e. no monetary
cost to the user).
2-resources freely available on the Web-within
the limits of licensing as defined by Creative Commons:
Attribution: requires any subsequent
user, upon publication of the work, to attribute the work to its original
author(s) so as to acknowledge the authors need for recognition.
Inclusion of non-commercial clause: prohibits
any commercial (as opposed to non-profit) subsequent user from financially
benefiting from the work
Share and share alike: if a derivative
work is used in another context, this new work should be shared with everyone
in the same way. (Frydenberg &Matkin, 2007)
3-resources of high quality-the material
available has been peer-reviewed although the OER has yet to establish a set
standard.
4-resources are modifiable-materials can
be customized to fit a particular purpose as long as attribution is given to
original author.
5-resources adoptable worldwide-OERs
goal is to have all of its hardware and software highly interoperable and
compatible with a diversity of user technology.
6-useful to teachers as well as students
OCW specifically offers open educational
resources in the form of open, digital, online courses, complete with lecture
notes and visual aids. They do not, however, offer certification or degrees nor
do they allow access to instructors. The number of courses available worldwide at
various universities numbers in the thousands. (OCW consortium, 2009)
Open Textbooks focus is on making
available digital textbooks online that meet the definition of open and serve
as a real economic alternative to expensive college textbooks released by
commercial publishers.
Categories
of Open Textbook Recipients: K-12
In May of 2009 California Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the Free Digital Textbook Initiative, making
ten open textbooks available online (www.clm.org/FDTI/index,cfm)
for high school students.
Though viewed as a hasty response to the
financial crisis facing the state it is, nevertheless, a step towards the
recognition of open textbooks potential as an alternative to expensive printed
textbooks purchased for schools. With time they may play a significant role in
money saving moves for California schools.
However access, once again, becomes an
obstacle. As it stands now, California school districts do not have enough
hardware to serve every student nor is there such a program in place that would
supply each child with a laptop. But California is a big player in the
established textbook market and some changes in the publishing world may be on
the horizon. (Kinney, 2009)
Categories
of Open Textbook Recipients: Developing Nations
There are three particular issues that
directly affect the use of open textbooks in developing nations:
Academic colonialism: It is interesting
to note that what may be perceived by a citizen of a developed nation as an
altruistic inclination to help the less fortunate, may be perceived by the
developing nation as a form of ethnic superiority. Do we really consider them
our equals or our they viewed as inferior to us and simply in need of our
educational methods, perspectives and philosophy? (Haider, 2006)
An outgrowth of this sentiment has been
a growing pressure in developing nations for the preservation, expression and
teaching of indigenous knowledge. The people do not want to see this knowledge
and their local ways erased in their formal schooling only to be substituted by
high quality western viewpoints and foreign educational materials.
Textbook publishers: A second important
issue that may give open textbook more appeal is related to the publishers of
their books. Since the local school boards cannot buy and maintain new
textbooks, in many instances, the publishers will produce and sell them cheap
substitutes knowing that in a much shorter period of time they will be in need
of replacing them.
On the other hand, developing nations
are less likely to run into problems with powerful publishing houses or
educational bureaucracy. It may actually be easier to make changes in the type
of textbooks they use.
Infrastructure: The third issue is that
of a countrys infrastructure. Problems will naturally arise if high quality
materials, using the latest technologies are made available to developing countries
with technology not sufficiently advance to support the new materials.
(Frydenberg & Matkin, 2007)
Alternatives to this lack of
interoperability or compatibility may be as simple a platform as a cell phone
which has become fairly commonplace even in developing nations.
The interface for hardware can be made
more simple and user friendly to meet the needs of a wider, more varied
population.
Categories
of Open Textbook Recipients: College Students
Obstacles exist in both categories of
open textbooks previously mentioned but it is at the college level that the
open textbook debate takes on a greater meaning.
Although textbook prices are only a part
of the increasing expense to attend college they have become a significant
factor for low and middle class students to the point that this extra college
expense determines for some whether they will even attend college, particularly
at this present moment when tuition is increasing and financial aid is
decreasing.
The Advisory Committee for Student
Financial Assistance which advises the U.S. Department of Education and both
Congressional education committees on college affordability issues recently
concluded that students spend between $700 and $1000 a year on textbooks. A
previous study by the Government Accountability Office found that textbooks and
supplies comprise 26% of tuition for an average four-year public university
student and 72% of tuition for a community college student.(Allen, 2008)
What is unique about the college
textbook market is the total control the publishers have and the total lack of
control the students have.
Anticompetitive advantage of the
publishers:
-three publishing companies have
consolidated and now control the majority of the market.
-the publishers lack traditional
marketing mechanisms that would help regulate prices and result in a more fair
price for the students.
-textbook sales are not based on what
the students are willing and able to pay but rather on what books have been
chosen by faculty and are considered required.
Needless to say, there is more that can
be said regarding the gimmicks publishers use in order to make a profit and the
alternatives students are now pursuing to get around these high prices. However,
the one most pertinent to our open textbook discussion would be the publishers
new digital format books.
Presented as an alternative to the
printed text they are, in reality, no cheaper and allow only limited access to
the books online while virtually eliminating two less expensive alternatives,
the used or rented book. Nicole Allen of the Student Public Interest Research
Group has written an article (August 2008) for the website, http://www.maketextbooksaffordable.org
in which she compares the use of the publishers digital texts to that of open
textbooks. She establishes three criteria for a digital textbook to meet:
-the digital textbook must be more
affordable than traditional books.
-the digital textbooks must be
straightforward and inexpensive to print (printing makes digital textbooks
practical for students with different reading and learning styles.)
-digital textbooks must be accessible
(i.e. use indefinitely, not for a limited period of time)
The results: The e-textbooks, created by
the publishers flunked all three criteria; open textbooks passed on all three:
-the open textbooks distributed free
digitally under an open (CC) license can be printed in a variety of formats.
-the open textbooks are affordable; the
initial text is free and low cost formats are an option.
-the open textbooks can be printed
cheaply, anytime, anywhere
-the open textbooks are accessible
(students can access open textbooks anytime, from any computer without the book
expiring). (ibid)
There is role for the faculty and the
educational institutions to play in all of this. Before choosing their books
for each semester faculty members should consider open textbooks whenever it
fits the appropriate need.
The educational institution can back the
faculty by providing incentives to faculty authors and to assure a compatible
infrastructure that will support open textbooks. (ibid)
In regards to the publishing companies,
perhaps its time for them to correct their course. Jason Turgeon of
textbookrevolution.org writes: Traditional textbook publishers are insane.
Theyre looking at the size of the U.S. market for textbooks, which is no
longer growing, trying to figure out how to keep their revenue growing and
satisfy shareholders. And their solution isnt to find new markets, to reach
out to developing nations, or to cut development and distribution costs by
using the new technologies that are available to all of us. Instead, their
solution has been to raise prices every year and to try to kill off the used
book market with gimmicks and pointless new editions. But their prices are
getting so high that theyre actually shooting themselves in the foot-no one
outside the developed world can afford their product at all, and fewer and fewer
of those who can pay are willing to. I can feel the change in the air.
Students, teachers and parents are all fed up. Sites like mind are just the
beginning. Sooner or later, something is going to click into place and the
market is going to correct itself. (2005)
Conclusion
There need not be any losers in this
open movement. All can benefit. Scholarly authors can be acknowledged; the
cultures of developing nations can be respected and seen as equal; the
publishers can find their new place in the changing publishing world and still
maintain their profit. And all those who wish to learn should be entitled to
that opportunity-not as a kindness but as their human right. Open textbooks,
and the OER movement in general, can help serve this purpose.
References
Allen, N. (2008). Course correction: How
digital textbooks are off track and how to set them
straight. Retrieved November 2009
from http://www.maketextbooksaffordable.org/newsroom.asp?id2=44596
Brown, J.S. and Adler, R.P. (2008).
Minds on fire:Open education, the long tail, and learning
2.0. Educause
Review. Retrieved November 2009 from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERM0811.pdf
Crowell, B. (2005). All systems go: The
newly emerging infrastructure to support free books.
Retrieved
November 2009 from http://www.lightandmatter.com/article/infrastructure.html
Frydenberg, J. and Matkin, G.W. (2007,
October). Open textbooks: Why, what? how? when?
Retrieved November
2009 from uensd.org/NUTN2008//materials/OpenCourseware_paper.pdf
Haider, J. (2006). Conceptions of Information Poverty in U.S: An analysis
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Retrieved
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