Professors try open-source textbooks

Paying hundreds of dollars for textbooks is a thing of the past for some University of Nebraska students at Omaha and Kearney.

Their professors decided to give open-source textbooks, licensed to be free online, a try.

"I used it last fall for the principles of advertising course. The students (about 50) were thrilled with the price," said Jonna Holland, marketing and management professor at UNO, in an email.

After receiving "a very well done" mailer she ordered a review of the text.

That was two years ago.

Her students had the option to use the free-online text, print the text themselves or order a hard copy.

"The material was well presented and the students were happy... so was I," Holland said.

She plans to use the same text in the fall and will evaluate other texts as they become available.

Holland is one of four educators at UNO to use open-source textbooks from Flat World Knowledge. Three professors at UNK also used open-source textbooks last semester.

Michael Marn was a UNK communications professor last semester and he used open-source textbooks for one of his courses.

"Obviously, ONE of the big drivers of my decision to try it was the high cost of textbooks," he said in an e-mail.

Marn had even come to a point when he wanted to try teaching without any textbooks, "so it was a good opportunity to try an open source version," he said.

Flat World Knowledge isn't the only source out there. Schools have also gotten into the game such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Foothill de Anza Community College district.

The idea may be around on UNL's campus, but none of UNL professors have come out to said they've used open source textbooks. "Do I think this is a magic answer? No. There are certainly excellent texts out there for purchase, and I don't like to think I'm discouraging good people from writing good books by potentially reducing profit potential. But I think one way or another, the buisness model is going to be changing anyway, and authors will be commpensated in a different way for these "open source" kinds of options. And if NOT, at least people like me using the occasional Flat World book will help drive down the prices of texts, and/or force other delivery options, for students," Marn said in an e-mail.

tanikacooper
@dailynebraskan.com