thoughts on FlexBooks?

[Tyson Hallet]

Just wondering if anyone has any experience with/insight into FlexBooks, the open-source online textbooks in development by the CK-12 organization. On first looking into it, there seemed to be an over-reliance on wikipedia, but then they do have content-area experts who review chapters/books. Is this a tool I can get out there to teachers or has it yet to prove itself?

[Debbie Abilock]

The value of FlexBooks is the ability to craft a textbook which fits your class and your students. In practice, it ranges from cut-and-paste assemblages from Wikpedia and other Creative Commons content to "designer" textbook which supports student learning at a high level. The project has been seeded with content-area expert contributions to jump-start the process. As more people contribute and improve the content (just as in Wikipedia), it is hoped that the textbooks will become rich and useful. If you have teachers who are interested in this approach and want to contribute to the greater good of education, this would appeal to them. Off and on, I've wondered if a group of school librarians wouldn't want to take on the challenge of creating a FlexBook for information literacy which could be used and modified by anyone for the good of all.