at a lower price - from their website:=0A=0A"And, it costs one-third the pr=
ice of traditional textbooks =E2=80=93 the same =0Atextbooks sourced from t=
he same publishers that you use today."=0A=0AWhy tether a new model to exis=
ting content?=0A=0AGiven that we already have a great delivery system (aka =
the internet) and given that we can all create content for our subject area=
s (teachers do this every day to augment/replace sections of any texts they=
use) and given that tying any content to a specific device (Kindle, iPad a=
pp, etc) creates an unnecessary barrier to universal consumption, why not s=
eek to repurpose existing open content into a set of resources that can be =
used or remixed anywhere, by anyone, on as many devices as possible?=0A=0AI=
f a consortium of independent schools got together and released/developed/r=
epurposed open content into a reusable format, that would be an amazing con=
tribution.=0A=0AIt would also go a long way toward addressing many of the f=
eatures on Steve's list.=0A=0AAnd, more importantly, while the classroom ex=
perience within many independent schools cannot be replicated for all stude=
nts, the curriculum and processes and collected knowledge accumulated withi=
n these schools can be. Sharing that wealth would constitute a social good =
that has the potential to provide access to more educational/learning oppor=
tunities for more students. If people within independent schools believe in=
the power of education to help eradicate or minimize the existing disparit=
ies between classes, why not share some of the intellectual wealth we have =
accumulated.=0A=0AJump-starting an ecosystem of open texts would be an amaz=
ing contribution.=0A=0AAnd, on the practical side, schools could save a tid=
y bundle on the cost of textbooks.=0A=0ACheers,=0A=0ABill=0A=0A=0A=0A=0A---=
-- Original Message -----=0AFrom:Fred Bartels <fredbartels@gmail.com>=0ATo:=
ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU=0ACc:=0ASent:Thursday, November 4, 2010 7:00:16 AM=
=0ASubject:Re: Digital 'Textbooks' - What's Working, What Didn't Work, What=
Do You See on the Horizon?=0A=0ASteve,=0A=0AThanks for your reply. You e-r=
eader requirements list is great. Right on the=0Amoney.=0A=0ADid you see th=
is article in the Chronicle?=0A=0Ahttp://chronicle.com/article/The-End-of-t=
he-Textbook-as-We/125044/=0A=0AInteresting that it may be the colleges that=
force the publishers to move=0Atoward a viable e-text solution.=0A=0AI con=
tacted these folks today (http://www.courseload.com/) as they are=0Amention=
ed in the Chronicle article and seem to be a little ahead in=0Adeveloping a=
solution. Curious to see if they are interested in working with=0AK-12s.=
=0A=0AMaybe a consortium of indy schools could work together with Courseloa=
d to=0Atry and bring to life your feature list.=0A=0AFred=0A=0A=0A
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