Posts tagged higher ed
“Surely, it’s time to fight back again greedy publishers and arrogant professors indifferent to the economic plight of their students.
Or … maybe it’s not that simple.”
Many students are familiar with the frustrating ritual at the end of any college term — selling back those costly textbooks, only to be handed back a fraction of the cash you originally paid. The “Textbook Rebellion” campaign is all about lowering that initial high price.
Over the next six weeks, the Textbook Rebellion aims to collect 10,000 petition signatures calling on decision-makers to prioritize open textbooks, a type of OER that is rapidly gaining traction at colleges nationwide. Open textbooks reduce costs 80 percent on average over traditional, expensive textbooks.
“[Open-licensed, open-access publishing is] truly the shift from information and knowledge being a scarce good wrapped up between a cover of books, or in some other physical manifestation, to being an abundant good. Everybody can access this knowledge at the same time, and it doesn’t take away from anyone else.”
And these textbooks don’t have to cost anything. Not a dime. And they can be made relevant through MIYO second language annotation or substitution of culturally or regionally relevant examples. On the educator’s terms. For free. Brilliant. Now that’s a way to help people learn.
Join the revolution today. Sign the petition demanding free and open textbook solutions now. We’ll all be better off. Thx.
http://www.textbookrebellion.org/petition
(Source: wdhstore.com)
Hey all you rebels out there,
This was another big week in the movement! Sadly, it comes to an end on low note. At the moment, our site is crippled along with hundreds of others that depend on Amazon Web Services Ah..technology. Hope to be back up soon. In the meantime…The Rapid City Journal reports that at least one North Dakota high school will be ditching textbooks for tablets next year.
Doug Graham at The Daily Eastern News wrote a great editorial on unnecessary textbook requirements.
The Sydney Morning Herald ran a powerful piece on how the costs of textbooks and other educational materials are making students poor.
From Bangladesh, we learn that the government is creating a Web site to host digital copies of textbooks.
And if you haven’t done so yet, please check us out on Facebook and Twitter where are numbers are blowing up.
State of the Textbook Industry: Facts & Figures
Know the facts, people! Embrace emerging alternatives to the overpriced textbook.
Sources: CafeScribe, Conservatree.org, Green America, National Center for Education Statistics, Student Monitor, Student PIRGs, The Epoch Times, US Department of Education, US Government Accountability Office. Posted June 2010 by Center of Mathematics.
Thanks @centerofmath for this great info!
4/15/11: Another big week in the Rebellion!
Hey Textbook Rebels!
Big week—let’s review it, shall we?
The Oregon State Legislature’s session came to an end last week without legislators approving a task force to study ways to lower textbook prices. The failure to make progress on the bill was yet another sign that students need to take this movement into their own hands, showing legislators and administrators that high textbook prices are a vital issue and that we need solutions now!
Digital textbook publisher Kno received a $30 dollar investment from Intel, but bloggers from around the web speculated on the repercussions, with many asserting that this meant the end of Kno’s attempts to build an iPad competitor and a likely focus on apps for smartphones.
eCampusNews posted a fascinating analysis on how the decision in the Google Books settlement case could affect the textbook market as well as the digitization of books as a whole.
And Mississippi State University’s student newspaper, The Reflector, wrote an insightful piece on all of the ways students there are looking to duck high textbook prices.
OH—and we’re heading to OHIO very soon. Viva la Rebellion!Until next week—The Rebel Team
