Open Source Textbook Maker Flat World Gets Funded
Flat World Knowledge started out with a revolutionary idea, which was to start creating and publishing college textbooks that were absolutely free online. Its business model is to offer the option for students and teachers to print textbooks in whole or part at a fraction of the cost of a standard hardbound college textbook. In addition it offers audio book versions, study guides, web quizzes and digital flash cards for a fee. And that business model seems promising enough that it has passed the VC funding test to the tune of 8 million dollars by the venture funding firms Greenhill SAVP, High Peaks Venture Partners and Valhalla Partners.
If you follow how the market is having to adapt to a world of infinitely-available digital goods (and a good place to start is the blog Techdirt) it has proved hugely disruptive to many business types, especially the music and newspaper industries. Flat World Knowledge is, we are sure, only the first of many new companies in this space that are finding a profit model in this new marketplace that does not rely exclusively on scarcity.
We think that availability of high quality, free online college textbooks is fantastic. I can remember paying hundreds of dollars each semester for all the textbooks I needed for my classes. And if I misplaced it or forgot to take it with me to class or to study, it might mean lost time or worse, having to re-purchase the book. If a college or university chooses to use Flat World books, it would mean that the relevant reading material is only a click away online. Problems could be discussed with friends or mentors outside of school without requiring them to share the same book or buy another copy. Finally, many schools that rely on donated school books will be able to access the latest editions without having to spend more money.
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It's so great to see a startup with such a big and bold idea get funded. Text books in schools are getting hopelessly out of date and are insanely expensive.
My other reaction to a big idea like this which supports a social good is "how can I help?" If you have a business that creates that kind of reaction you probably have a sustainable business idea and strategy :)
Great stuff and thanks RWW for covering it.
@karllong
I have made the decision that I am not going to buy any textbooks next year (my final year of law school) because the prices have become so outrageous that I can't justify the expense. Moving toward free online books based on a freemium business model is brilliant.
Imagine how this could change the world. Free textbook for college students, school kids for us AND the rest of us in developing countries, poorest countries and sorry-there-is-no-freedom-of-speech countries. Huge impact much much more than Wikipedia. A flat world of knowledge is coming.
The books are free - it's the ancillary materials that generate revenue.
I remember paying hundreds of dollars for textbooks at business school because professors always requested us to use expensive latest editions, which were hardly different from cheaper, older editions. To money-stripped students, it all seemed like publishers and professors plotted together to squeeze every penny out of us. I truly hope schools and teachers will embrace the idea of using more affordable textbooks like the ones mentioned here.
Posted by: jajathejazzcat.myopenid.com
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March 26, 2009 5:12 PM
I pay 400$ a semester for books. Let's be real, this industry needs a disruption http://tr.im/hNWG
THIS IS AMAZING.. before I read this article, I was thinking "How can my IT company get my channel engineers skilled? How can I provide knowledge to my customers?" Plus we can't have it costing too much money.
I came across PediaPress the other day, and ordered a book.. just waiting for it to come through. But it was 40-50 articles from Wikipedia, across 400 odd pages and it was *ONLY* 23 euros.
Why not provide:
1) All the training notes ONLINE free of charge, in an easy to read, easy to searc HTML format.
2) Provide said Training Notes in customised orderable printed books, if I need a reference guide.
3) Provide Training Courses, at reduced costs if I sit at home and do them online, or on centrally racked equipment.
4) Provide Training Courses, at a slightlu higher cost, where I can sit in a classroom and have the instructor teaching me face to face?
I think I have hit the nail on the head here..
Posted by: jezarnold.myopenid.com
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March 26, 2009 5:17 PM
This podcast with them may be of interest:
http://www.missiontolearn.com/blog/2008/09/open-textbooks-flatworld/
Jeff
It's been over 15 years since I worked at a textbook company, but I still have a lot of friends that work in the industry. There's one key point that I think everyone here is missing:
That's key, because the reason you use traditional classroom materials like Campbell's Biology or Strunk & White's Elements of Style is because the professor chose it, or in textbook parlance, it was 'adopted.' Will a professor choose an open source textbook? VERY, VERY UNLIKELY. At least, for now.
And if you think textbook publishers are total fossils, think again. Textbook publishers have been moving towards electronic course materials, including books, but they're not getting any traction because the current lot of profs don't want them. Just 2 weekends ago I saw a demo of textbook publisher's student peer review tool — a student writes a paper, then invites other students to review it, all reviews are maintained in the system, there's version control, the professor can make comments, etc. — and it's an AWESOME application. But guess what? Professors don't want to use it. Even though every student in their class is taking notes on a laptop, the profs are clinging to the old way.
From the beginning of time people (including yours truly) have bitched about the cost of textbooks. After all, who wants to pay for a book written and reviewed by subject matter experts and that's professionally designed, printed, and bound? [sarcasm]
Can the Wikipedia model for textbooks work? In time, maybe.
Wonderful! I just went to the Flat World Books website, and started reading one of the business textbooks. For free. Not a far stretch to set up a free online university! Yet another great innovative way to get information to the world.
@John - those are good points - most professors are indeed slow to adopt new texts. But FWK doesn't force them to adopt _online texts_ - students simply get to make the choice whether they want buy the text book, print the book themselves, or if they are fine with the online version (and with a tool like ReframeIt, annotating that free version (even collectively) would be pretty easy, too).
And while 'open-source' might sounds scary to academics afraid of Wikipedia - these text books are published under a creative commons license - they are not wikipedia-like products but written by respected members of the academic community, which should lower the barrier of entry for FWK considerably.
Just as a sidenote - let's not forget that one of the reasons that textbook publishers are pushing for (DRMed) electronic texts is because the second-hand textbook market is huge and has always cut into their margins (hence the 'updated' versions that only have a change or two every year). Textbook publishers are fossiles because all they are trying to do is to preserve their business model on the Net - and we know how well that worked for the music industry.
But I concede that a lot of textbook's simply are expensive to produce - especially in full-color. Some of the prices are simply outrages, however, and professors usually don't care -- those of us who teach, after all, get the books for free.
hai greetings useful article. You can refer the study guides and flash cards for your test preparation.
http://www.studyguidesandflashcards.com
Best Wishes
I like this idea, it's great for us students (we're all students in life, btw).
And who really cares if the professor adopts it? It's just one more great resource for us students to read. If our current textbook aint explaining stuff correctly, we can just refer to the open source one. Sure, i guess you can save money, but knowledge doesn't really have a price for me.
@Jon S --
Textbook manufacturers are fossils, albeit fossils with great marketing departments and lobbyists (at least the bigger ones, who sell at the state level).
RE: "Just 2 weekends ago I saw a demo of textbook publisher's student peer review tool — a student writes a paper, then invites other students to review it, all reviews are maintained in the system, there's version control, the professor can make comments, etc. — and it's an AWESOME application."
And this is likely within a closed system, that will only talk to the SIS supported by that textbook company. And it likely requires yearly licensing fees and/or a complicated server setup. In short, it works like the publishing company wants it to work to support the business model of that publishing company. It doesn't work like the internet works, where people actually have a *choice* about the tools they use for peer review, or the sites they incorporate into their learning.
It's also worth noting that many open source/freely available systems include version control, and storing reviews within the system, and have for years.
RE: "After all, who wants to pay for a book written and reviewed by subject matter experts and that's professionally designed, printed, and bound? [sarcasm]"
This is yet another piece of FUD. Subject matter experts can publish online just as easily as offline, and the review is actually easier online. You are right about the printing and binding costs, though -- that is expensive, and the people who want that should be able to pay extra for it.
The textbook market has to go the way of digital. The old model is outdated and is ready for some real disruption. There's another company, which I think was really the first one to provide free textbooks to students - Textbook Media - www.textbookmedia.com. They are a "freemium" model (as Devin Johnston listed above) or a small fee for a version without advertising. One way or the other, completely free for the book and pay for the study materials, small fees for digital copies, or ad supported, this will happen.
Great news I have great respect for anything and everything open source great news most definitely
The problem with going completely digital has to do with versatility. Do you really want to lug a computer everywhere you go? Not everyone has a laptop and you are limited by powersource. No power, no access, no education, no innovation, etc.....
I'm in the process of considering starting a business that would drastically reduce the cost of books for students.
I like the idea too. I'm using another site quite frequently as well - www.bookboon.com - which also provides free textbooks. Their advantage they are short and provide a good overview over the area while also being written by professors exclusively for the online publisher Bookboon. This way I know what I'm reading is of quality plus I'm not downloading anything illegal while saving a lot of money!!!