Temporary Hiatus

Hi everyone,

Due to some staffing changes and heavier than usual travel this month, I need to put The CITE on hiatus for 1-2 weeks.  There are many interesting things going on and I have some topics queued up. Hopefully posting will resume again early in April.

Thanks,
M

OER Search Engine- Gooru

If there is a recognized problem out there you can bet that someone is working on a solution.  Often people dismiss new technologies or solutions because of their initial shortcomings compared to traditional products.  However, over time those solutions can build market share and momentum as various problems or challenges get addressed.

This seems to be case for the OER movement.  For example, initially there was no way to gauge how good OER materials were, and variability in quality was a challenge.  To address this challenge we see innovations like the Connexions peer review model, or the OER Evaluation Tool  released by the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME) last November.  As these and related innovations take hold, a key challenge to OER viability decreases.

Another barier to OER adoption is that the search and discovery process for OER materials is timing consuming and confusing.  Initiatives like MERLOT have attempted to address this problem in the past.  Now, there is another solution for this problem. Search engine Gooru has organized OER resources into easy-to-locate categories and collections to helps educators and students more easily find materials online, according to this article in eClassroom News.   

“Anyone can now easily search for resources, collections, or quizzes; study individual resources or entire collections; practice with an adaptive assessment system; interact with peers or teachers; and save and customize their favorite learning materials,” the article states. 

The story says that more than 5,000 invited students and teachers currently use the resource, and all schools, students, and teachers will have access to it beginning in June.

Right now, these tools are mostly used in K-12 education and have not gained a lot of momentum on college campuses, at least not yet.  It is only a matter of time, however, before these and other innovations reduce barriers to OER adoption in higher education. 

For the OER movement, as a piece of advice, remember that value is not determined by price alone.  There are barriers to OER adoption, and just making more content available for free does not effectively address some of the underlying fundamental challenges to the adoption of this approach.  Perhaps more emphasis should be placed on the long-term sustainability of OER approaches, improving quality, ensuring accessibility compliance, and other barriers to adoption.  If those problems can be solved effectively, then it might make more sense to continue expanding content offerings.  The OER movement weakens its own effectiveness by failing to resolve key barriers to adoption.

For stores, expect that developments like Gooru, Connexions, and others will change the presence and "adoptibility" of OER content for course use.  While OER may not be having a significant effect on adoption now, it is important to track the evolution of these tools, become familiar with OER terminology and resources, and engage with the OER community where we can.

Encyclopedia Britannica stops its press after 244 years

The digital revolution takes another bite out of popular print medium.  Encyclopedia Britannica announced that after 244 years, it will put an end to the print edition and be available only in digital form, according to this CNN story.

Encyclopedia Britannica has been in print since it was first published in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1768.  It will no longer be available when the current copies run out. The Chicago-based company will continue to offer digital versions for subscribers, as well as educational products (online learning tools, curriculum products, etc.) which comprise the majority of the company's business today.

"This has nothing to do with Wikipedia or Google," Encyclopedia Britannica Inc. President Jorge Cauz said. "This has to do with the fact that now Britannica sells its digital products to a large number of people.  The sales of printed encyclopedias have been negligible for several years," Cauz said. "We knew this was going to come." 

The final hardcover encyclopedia set is available for sale at Britannica's website for $1,395.  The company plans to mark the end of the print version by making the contents of its website available free for one week, starting Tuesday, according to the article.

Print Textbook Price vs. iPad Textbook Price

An info graphic that recently appeared in MercuryNews shows that the cost of switching students’ four core courses from traditional textbooks to Apple’s new iBook 2 digital textbooks could cost school districts three times more.   Based on a classroom size of 32 students and four textbooks, including workbooks, lasting six years, the research shows that a school district would incur cost of approximately $11,328 for a traditional textbook program.  For an iPad textbook program that includes replacement of hardware after four years along with software, and e-textbooks, the cost is estimated to be $36,000.

The info graphic is a good step towards accounting for the factors that goes into the economics of e-textbook programs in K-12.  However, considering schools can resell the iPads after four years the cost for the iPad program could be much lower.  Of course, that could be off-set by replacement costs from lost, stolen, or damaged units. Nevertheless, until there is ample evidence that indicates technology such as iPads improve student’s learning, school districts should be wary about diving into a device-driven e-textbook program.   

CAMEX follow-up

I apologize for the absence of blog posts in the past week. CAMEX was even busier than usual, and I will likely be digging out for the next few weeks yet.  Much continues to happen though, and as I promised some attendees, I will put together a brief, 1-page summary of highlights from my CAMEX digital update session. 

NMS had a lot of activity at CAMEX around our three major initiatives:  Regional POD, Community-based self-publishing, and Grow Custom.  More information on each of those initiatives for members is available on the NMS website and will be forthcoming in the months ahead.

CAMEX 2012 is past, but plans are already in the work for CAMEX 2013.  We are planning a highlight around the future of course materials -- so if you are interested or involved with course materials, plan to be in Kansas City for CAMEX 2013!  Much more news to come... but for now, back to regular posts.

Developing a Digital Textbook Strategy

The videos from the Developing a Digital Textbook Strategy for Your Campus symposium hosted on Feb. 8, 2012 by the Florida Distance Learning Consortium are now available in YouTube, accessible from the Open Access Textbooks Project website, and will soon be added to The Orange Grove repository. Also available on the Open Access Textbooks Project website are presentations, implementation checklists for state and institutional textbook initiatives, publisher and vendor handouts, as well as other symposium documents.

Open Education Week: March 5-10-2012

March 5-10 is Open Education Week where people around the world will participate in local events to increase awareness and understanding about the open education movement and open educational resources.  Advocates for open education can be involved in the following ways:

1.       Provide a pre-recorded informational virtual tour of your project, work, or organization.

2.       Offer a webinar.

3.       Pre-record a presentation on open education concepts.

4.       Create or share text-based, downloadable information.

5.       Sponsor or host a local event during the week of March 5-10.

For more information on what is happening around the world and in your local communities please go to http://www.openeducationweek.org/