Here
and there across the U.S., colleges and universities are trying out open-access
course materials, often cautiously as part of structured pilots. Now Canadian
schools are starting to join them. Recently the University of Windsor in
Ontario became the first to sign a licensing agreement for open digital
materials for a fall course in management information systems.
In
its press announcement of the deal, the school touted the cost savings to
students. The local paper, the Windsor
Star, also beat the same drum, starting off its report, “There’s a lot to
hate about traditional textbooks…”
Students
will pay $20 for e-books and study aids that can be downloaded to a computer,
laptop, smartphone, e-reader, or tablet. The materials are being provided
through Flat World Knowledge. About 200 students are expected to take part in this
initial pilot.
If
that goes well, the university plans to add more courses for the second term
and then expand depending on how quickly faculty are willing to adopt Flat
World titles. There may be somewhat more pressure on them to do so than at
other institutions, given that Windsor’s tagline is “Thinking forward.”
The
University of Windsor Bookstore already sells e-books and furnishes online
assistance with e-reader apps as part of an array of textbook services that
includes rentals, used books, and an RSS feed to provide textbook updates. The
store is also one of a handful of campus stores offering print-on-demand
through an in-store Espresso book-printing machine.
