California Open Source Textbook Project
Encyclopedia
The California Open Source Textbook Project (COSTP) is a collaborative, public/private undertaking created to address the high cost, content range, and consistent shortages of K-12
textbook
s in California
.
The cost of K-12 textbooks has risen steadily over the years and critics contend publishing
companies artificially increase prices. The state of California currently spends more than US$ 400M annually for K-12 textbooks, and with enrollment projected to rise in the coming years, revenue demands for textbooks and other curriculum
materials will surely increase.
COSTP will employ the advantages of open-sourced content and innovative licensing tools to significantly reduce California's K-12 textbook costs — eventually turning K-12 curriculum and textbook construction from a cost
into a revenue
generator for the State of California. Open sourced, distributed content can be made available gratis
, and/or through the use of innovative copyright tools provided by organizations like Creative Commons
, its partners, and other organizations.
COSTP's currently projected benefits are:
It is important to note that COSTP's mandate does not replace printed textbooks, but simply making them less expensive to produce. This creates many additional efficiencies
that will fully leverage California's activities in the K-12 textbook publishing domain.
In phase two of the COSTP plan (following year five), California will be able to offer (by license, at nominal cost) K-12 textbook and curriculum materials to other educational organizations and international agencies. This should create substantial cost savings for those entities, and will result in a revenue generator for California.
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Primary education
A primary school is an institution in which children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...
textbook
Textbook
A textbook or coursebook is a manual of instruction in any branch of study. Textbooks are produced according to the demands of educational institutions...
s in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
The plan
There are three main goals to COSTP:- Leveraging free, already-existing, and widely available K-12 educational content in the public domainPublic domainWorks are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
- Better leveraging the substantial curriculumCurriculumSee also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...
-based intellectual capital of California's best K-12 teachers - Using innovative copyrightCopyrightCopyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
tools to secure new and dormant K-12 textbook content that would not otherwise be made available
The cost of K-12 textbooks has risen steadily over the years and critics contend publishing
Publishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
companies artificially increase prices. The state of California currently spends more than US$ 400M annually for K-12 textbooks, and with enrollment projected to rise in the coming years, revenue demands for textbooks and other curriculum
Curriculum
See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...
materials will surely increase.
COSTP will employ the advantages of open-sourced content and innovative licensing tools to significantly reduce California's K-12 textbook costs — eventually turning K-12 curriculum and textbook construction from a cost
Cost
In production, research, retail, and accounting, a cost is the value of money that has been used up to produce something, and hence is not available for use anymore. In business, the cost may be one of acquisition, in which case the amount of money expended to acquire it is counted as cost. In this...
into a revenue
Revenue
In business, revenue is income that a company receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. In many countries, such as the United Kingdom, revenue is referred to as turnover....
generator for the State of California. Open sourced, distributed content can be made available gratis
Gratis
Gratis is the process of providing goods or services without compensation. It is often referred to in English as "free of charge" or "complimentary"...
, and/or through the use of innovative copyright tools provided by organizations like Creative Commons
Creative Commons
Creative Commons is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons...
, its partners, and other organizations.
COSTP's currently projected benefits are:
- Complete elimination of the current US$ 400M+ line item for California's K-12 textbooks
- Significant increase in the range of content afforded to California's K-12 textbooks
- Permanent end to California's textbook shortages
- Creation of fully portable content holdings databaseDatabaseA database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
that scales with classroom technologies as they are introduced.
It is important to note that COSTP's mandate does not replace printed textbooks, but simply making them less expensive to produce. This creates many additional efficiencies
Efficiency (economics)
In economics, the term economic efficiency refers to the use of resources so as to maximize the production of goods and services. An economic system is said to be more efficient than another if it can provide more goods and services for society without using more resources...
that will fully leverage California's activities in the K-12 textbook publishing domain.
The future
COSTP is projected to augment the current K-12 textbook supply chain, be self-supporting with 18 months of starting up, and save the State of California upwards of US$ 200M+ per year for K-12 textbook allocation within five years.In phase two of the COSTP plan (following year five), California will be able to offer (by license, at nominal cost) K-12 textbook and curriculum materials to other educational organizations and international agencies. This should create substantial cost savings for those entities, and will result in a revenue generator for California.
External links
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