Author: Rob Reynolds

This morning, Microsoft and Barnes and Noble announced that the software giant is investing $300 million in a new B&N subsidiary that will include the Nook and B&N College divisions. Microsoft’s investment gives it a 17.6 percent stake in the newco and ensures that Windows 8 will launch with the Nook digital bookstore in tow.

The question in the education segment is this: what does this new spinoff and the Microsoft investment mean for e-textbooks? In order to frame this question a bit more, let’s consider the current e-textbook market for a moment. (more…)

It’s always fun to remember those moments when a magic trick of some sort is explained to us. This happened to me several decades ago in, of all places, a course on Literary Theory, in which revealed the basic conceit of classic detective fiction. It seems that, for years, I had willingly been paying attention to the author’s elaborate patter and ignoring the obvious simplicity of the genre’s trick.

In classic detective fiction there are only a few basic pieces that any author is allowed to use, and fair play dictates that an author may not introduce any new structural elements. The real difference between the masters and pretenders of the genre can be found in the way they employ, rearrange and manipulate these few essential narrative elements.¹

Over the years, I have been reminded of that lesson while observing different narrative forms played out across a variety of media. I have watched literary, film, and TV projects succeed because they understood the need to put the essential elements of their products together coherently, with the right and unique emphasis on each one. I have also watched many projects disappoint and fail utterly because too much attention was paid to only one element — special effects, characterization, or even story — without the proper treatment of other components. (more…)

I want to begin this post with a few important disclaimers.

I am not an attorney, even thought I do spend my fair share of time reviewing commenting on, and drafting language of contracts. In addition, I am not an expert on copyright, nor is this post really about copyright law or the nuances thereof per se. Finally, even though I am referencing the litigation filed by three major publishers against Boundless Learning (see the official complaint here), I am not concerned nor focused on any specific details related to that lawsuit. If you want further insight into the complaint and the companies involved, I suggest you consult these articles by Audrey Watters and/or Nick DeSantis.

As further context for my comments, my intent is simply to raise philosophical questions related to general education textbook and course content, its origins, and the rights of ownership. I am approaching this topic as an author and researcher, instructor, former publishing executive, and educational technologist who has focused on OERs. While there may be legal aspects to the questions I raise, I will leave those in the legal profession to address them.

With those introductions, let’s turn our attention to the litigation filed by Pearson, Cengage, and Macmillan agains Boundless Learning. The complaint the publishers are bringing is related to copyright infringement, related specifically to Boundless textbooks created for Introduction to Biology, Introduction to Psychology, and Principles of Economics. The courses in which these textbooks can be used are among the top-selling course areas for textbooks in the U.S. While Principles of Economics is not technically a General Education course, it is a foundational or entry-level course that is focused on the core set of information that a student should know about Economics. (more…)

(This is an initial  rough draft of the Introduction to my next book, The Ultimate Hack: Re-coding Textbooks and Other Learning Content. I will be posting drafts of all the chapters on this site, and will post final versions along with the accompanying open textbook project on my personal blog. Both the drafts and final product will be open and free. All feedback and comments are appreciated.)

Introduction

This is a book about making things. More precisely, it is a book about making things better. In this case, the “things” I want to improve are textbooks and other types of learning content.

I want to re-envision these things because they have outlived their purpose and because their design is based on constructs that are no longer relevant to education or the learning process.

Over the course of this book, I will introduce an entirely new type of coding for learning content, one that can help us revolutionize the learning content industry and, at the same time, greatly reduce the cost of learning materials for students. And, because this is a book about doing as much as it is about thinking, I will actually create a complete example of this new kind of “textbook” over the course of our journey together.

Indeed, this is a book about hacking the code of learning content and re-engineering it into a form that will work for the future. It is about imagining learning content differently. About creating it faster and less completely. Constructing it fluidly and with constant room for change and improvement. (more…)

Let’s start off with the obvious. OERs, open textbooks, and other open content have never had more public support or momentum. State governments, universities, and organizations are all upping their openness game in an effort to combat the rising costs of education.

Here are just a few examples of the open learning content momentum:

• California senator will introduce open textbook legislation
• Utah State Office of Education will develop and support open textbooks in key curriculum areas
• Washington State passes legislation to develop a library of high-quality, openly licensed K-12 courseware that
  8 is aligned with tCommon Core standards://apps.leg.wa.gov/
• OpenStax will offer free course materials for five common introductory classes

And this is only the tip of the open learning content iceberg. In addition to the plethora or organized OER and open textbook projects there are also thousands of individual instructors and teachers creating openly licensed learning content.

Yet, even the movement’s biggest proponents know that simply showing up with free content won’t lead to broad usage in the K-12 or Higher Education sectors. David Wiley points out that open content currently has no answer for “the coming wave of diagnostic, adaptive products coming from the publishers.” Others have made similar arguments and talk about the silted nature of open learning content. In my new book, The Future of Learning Content, I list several shortcomings that the OER and open textbook communities need to overcome in order for open learning content to revolutionize the US education landscape: (more…)