On August 9, 2010 we convened the second meeting of participating teachers. Having had a month to dig into their textbooks and the adaptation process, we were excited to see the progress teachers had made. It was incredible!
For example, the teachers working on adapting the Chemistry textbook reported on their work. They began with the stock CK-12 chemistry book which is an extremely thorough 1200 pages long! They then went through the book, pulling out material they didn’t need. They next searched the web for other open educational resources, inserting supplemental material directly into the textbook as they found what they were looking for. The end result: a 100% Utah-specific textbook, tailored precisely to the needs of these teachers’ students, that is less than 250 pages long! It looks like printing this book in paperback form will cost just over $5.
What happens when you empower teachers with open educational resources? First, you end up with a highly customized textbook. Second, you end up with a teacher who has read every word of the textbook she is using. Third, you save a huge amount of money. How will student learning be affected? That’s what we’re going to find out…