CIS 471: textbook
abernard102@gmail.com 2012-10-04
Summary:
"Spurred by the rapidly rising cost of textbooks, California Governor Jerry Brown signed two bills designed to provide Creative Commons textbooks and other teaching material to students in large-enrollment lower division courses. Senate Bill 1053 establishes the California Digital Open Source Library and Senate Bill 1052 establishes the California Open Education Resources Council to oversee and acquire material for the library.
As I read it, the nine member Council will be composed of three faculty members from University of California, the California State University and the California Community Colleges and this is what they will do ... Is the bill funded? The act states that all of this is conditional upon funding with State, Federal or Private funds. At first, publishing companies opposed the bills, then removed their opposition. I wonder what they are thinking. Will they be applying for funds to produce these textbooks? How big a business might that end up being? Finally, will these end up re-purposed versions of traditional textbooks, or will the library also acquire born digital teaching and learning materials? It will be interesting to see how the funding goes, who ends up providing the textbooks in 2013 and how much it costs the tax payers."