Support the development, adaptation, and use of open textbooks

Kai von Fintel
March 31, 2018

MIT should support the development, adaptation, and use of open textbooks. Faculty need resources (summer salary, assistants, etc.) to develop open access textbooks. For subjects where there are already open textbooks, faculty might need resources to adapt the textbooks for MIT classes and to develop syllabi that make optimal use of open textbooks.

Our students spend way too much money for closed access textbooks. Also, it is hard to adapt such textbooks for use at MIT. Open access textbooks, especially those with a liberal license, are easier to adapt and cost our students nothing.

Just one example in a field close to mine: https://www.fecundity.com/logic/.

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13 people have voted.

Comments

Anonymous on April 3, 2018

I support this idea. In the Assistive Technology Center (ATIC) on campus, we work to provide textbooks and readings to students who have print disabilities. If there were open access textbooks that could be converted to multiple formats with ease, it would be such a benefit to our students and the many students utilizing MOOCs.