A textbook innovation taking off in higher education circles will make its way to Virginia’s schools this winter, potentially saving districts money and broadening their educational reach.
The product is a first-of-its-kind online physics textbook with updatable text — a concept called “open-sourcing” because registered experts have the ability to add and edit material as the field progresses. Imagine being able to edit a chapter to reflect Pluto’s demotion from planet status, for example.
“This is the coolest project ever,” said Aneesh Chopra, Virginia’s secretary of technology, adding that it’s free, and could help save some of the nearly $100 million spent in Virginia each year on paper texts.
The group of volunteer teachers recruited to create the materials will focus on physics concepts that all students should know, not just those on a path to higher-level science study, Chopra said. Because the state has no standardized physics exam, teachers are freer to use the materials to create lessons based on student interest and need.
“Where open-sourcing works best is where individual instructors have a lot of authority and responsibility,” said R. Preston McAfee, a professor at California Institute of Technology and author of a highly regarded open-source economics textbook, available free online.
By contrast, in schools and districts where textbook politics enter the marketplace, or where standardized tests dictate classroom content, McAfee said open-sourcing could flounder.
“You could hope to have a fair bit of choice from open-sourcing,” McAfee said. “So from a societal standpoint, it could be a high-value thing.”
