5 ms·
Where was this when I was an undergrad at GaTech? I'll never forget how the math professors would switch from edition x to edition x+1 with the only clearly vi
by Zhenya 9y ago
Where was this when I was an undergrad at GaTech?
I'll never forget how the math professors would switch from edition x to edition x+1 with the only clearly visible difference being the homework assignment questions.
I truly hope that this is not just a trove of books, but also a signaling of the change in culture from opportunism at the expense of the students to openness.
- sand500 9y agoYes, all the calc classes made us by textbooks so we had access to the online homework software.
- jimhefferon 9y ago> signaling of the change in culture I am a free text author (one of mine is an entry on OP's page). If you want change, here is something you can do. When you are contacted by the alum reps at your school, GaTech or otherwise, don't ask about the football team. Ask if the faculty are rewarded for writing books that are Free. People respond to rewards. Said less abstractly, I have been told a lot, often by young folks starting out, that they have a good idea but cannot afford to spend the time on a project that would not be recognized at their institution when they come up for tenure or promotion. (My institution had the foresight to recognized this kind of work, for which I can only say how great that was of them.)
- kaitai 9y agoHallelujah and amen. Institutional support is crucial. I have found that librarians are more likely to provide material and monetary support than departments.
- jimhefferon 9y agoCould you say more?
- kaitai 9y agoLibrarians across the US are heavily involved in efforts to promote free and open textbooks. I don't really know what's happening, but university librarians all over are promoting open texts, providing hosting for them, working together to catalogue them, working with writers and instructors on copyright issues, etc. Some of them are putting money into texts, too -- I'm getting some funding to pay for a copyeditor, for instance. Departments have not (in my admittedly limited) experience ponied up cash or other support, although they seem to think open texts are nice.
- stablemap 9y agoI think the HN title is misleading: one professor was collecting links and encouraging change, and I wouldn't infer much more.
- II2II 9y agoThe culture is the same. It is just that professors are now enabled to do something about the textbook problem. For the most part, professors have to use books that the university bookstore can obtain. Since the publishers were always bumping up the edition, that meant using the new edition. When (and where) I was going to school, most professors would turn a blind eye to students using an old edition. Many would even go as far as supporting students with the old edition. A few would recommend entirely different books if they felt that they were better. I even had one professor who paid students for finding errors in a book that he wrote, even if he knew that the student was using a photocopy of his book. Very few professors are opportunists and most would prefer an open culture. They are simply stuck with the rules of a system that preys upon students.
- Zhenya 9y agoThanks for sharing - as with everything in life, things are not as simple as they appear.