Open Textbooks Gaining Ground: Flat World in 400 Colleges
Do you remember college and all those textbooks you couldn't sell back to the bookstore? I do. I own one of the most expensive doorstop collections in existence. For this very reason, Flat World Knowledge is announcing record numbers on their open text book program. As of this coming September, more than 40,000 college students at more than 400 colleges will access the publisher's e-learning services and textbooks. Business and economics professors from across the country are flocking to the site to meet their students' needs. Given that the program started in Spring 2009, with only 1000 textbooks sold to 30 colleges, the growth for Fall 2009 is phenomenal.
Says Flat World Knowledge co-founder Eric Frank, "We'll save college students and their families nearly $3 million in textbook expenses this semester and in the next 12 to 15 months we'll be expanding subject matter to incorporate genetics, psychology, sociology and math."
The demand for digital textbooks has grown tremendously, and Flat World has capitalized on this demand by offering students free online web browsing as well as $20 PDF versions, $30 black and white printed versions, $40 audio versions and $60 color print versions. The company also gains revenue through the sale of audio study guides, quizzes and flash cards.
When asked about the relationship between open textbooks and open courseware, Frank explained, "We embrace accessibility to education, but the one thing missing in many of these courses is the textbook itself. We're trying to bridge that gap with something inexpensive for students and modifiable for faculty."
Flat World Knowledge's textbooks are available for online viewing under a Creative Commons license, and educators have the freedom to edit and change them to suit their classroom needs. The company also offers premium PDF versions and is working on additional formats for the Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader stores. However, these proprietary versions are certainly not the focus.
Says Frank, "Traditional textbooks have clearly failed students and instructors. Similarly, digital textbook trials that force a single format, device, or price point will also fail. No single e-reading format or device will ever satisfy all students. Our commercial open-source textbook approach puts control and the power of choice in the hands of students and instructors."
Rather than focusing on university partnerships, the company is committed to seeking out the best possible authors. Says Frank, "We're interested in focusing on the authors as part of our brand. For instance, Preston McAfee wrote one of our micro-economics books. If you work with the best authors, schools respond."
To see if your school is using Flat World Knowledge books, visit the company website.
For more college and university resources, check out Jolie O'Dell's ReadWriteWeb Back-to-School apps, or if you're researching upcoming courses, check out Courseopedia.
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Oh, very interesting.
sounds like an opportunity
Founded in 2007 by textbook publishing industry veterans Jeff Shelstad and Eric Frank, privately held Flat World Knowledge is a leading publisher of open textbooks for higher education. Flat World’s textbooks are written by the world’s leading subject matter experts. The books are peer reviewed, professionally edited, and made available for free online to educators and students. Educators have the freedom to use the books as-is, or to mix, mash or edit them to suit their unique classroom requirements. Students can access the books for free, or purchase alternatives from print-on-demand versions of the books, to audio versions, to downloadable versions and more at a fraction of the cost of traditional textbooks. Flat World Knowledge backs its textbooks with an online social learning platform that allows students to learn from each other as well as from the book. So you will be able to save a lot of secured loans.
very nice and incredible post about Flat World in 400 Colleges.
i visited many blogs but couldn't find
such valuable info. i will definetly add
this to my blogroll.
I like the concept it really changes the rules of textbooks edition. It's also smart to focus on authors rather than editors, however I wonder what are their incentives to attract the authors.
I've spent a former life in big publishing, so it's fantastic to see a company embrace technology and social networks in a way that the large conglomerates never will. I was curious to see how Flat World's business model would play out and I'm encouraged by their success. This industry needed a much overdue shakeup.
Scott
twitter.com/thescottbishop
www.realtimemarketer.com
The "website" link in "visit the company website" leads to a page not found, but I assume it should go to http://www.flatworldknowledge.com. However, I'm not seeing how you find out if your school is using Flat World Knowledge.
You can still save money and buy or rent your textbooks just use a price comparison site to help you like www.cheapesttextbooks.com.
very thanks for article!
I like it that you can browse the textbooks for free - and also provide audio versions too. This is a neat idea!
Very intuitive system. However, it may yet be a little confusing. I will keep visiting this blog very often. After this I will read all your posts thankful.