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Open Source Textbook For Computer Literacy?

Posted by timothy on from the just-ask-russie-poo dept.

dcollins writes "The college where I work has decided to forego ordering a textbook for the computer class that I teach this fall. Does anyone know of a free, open-source textbook for basic computer literacy concepts (overview of hardware, software, operating systems, and file systems)?"

6 of 95 comments (clear)

  1. You could always write one... by BabaChazz · · Score: 5, Interesting

    And get the class to help. Contributions count towards the class grade, of course. http://en.wikibooks.org/

    1. Re:You could always write one... by sys.stdout.write · · Score: 4, Informative

      There is also a bill being pushed through the House (H.R. 1464) to create open source textbooks at a college level.

      The idea is that there are plenty of retired professors who would love to write chapter seven of the official (say) thermodynamics textbook. There are worse things you could do today than e-mailing your congressman and telling them you support this..

    2. Re:You could always write one... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      Considering this is an introductory class, writing a whole book might be a little much when it's unlikely the students are familiar with the subject. I'm not saying the students can't contribute their notes to an existing project, but making the whole class be just writing the book....
      .
      I would have recommended this link instead:
      Wikibooks:Featured books
      .
      The problem with Wikibooks is much the same problem with open source in general. While finding a books related to the subject you are interested in is easy, finding one that was completed to a usable state before being abandoned is a different matter.
      .
      These two look like they might be a good starting point for the author:
      Basic Computing Using Windows
      How To Assemble A Desktop PC
      .
      There's also the much overlooked:
      http://en.wikiversity.org/
      And Wikiversity Featured resources
      .
      This one might also be useful as well:
      Introduction to Computers

  2. Re:No need by Brian+Gordon · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Lecture notes are no substitute for a well-written textbook. Lecture notes are for when you learn in class, and then remind yourself for the test. But you really should be learning from your coursework and using lecture time to just try to absorb as much insight as possible from the masters..
     
    I've had professors who expect us to learn from the course materials. They don't repeat the same thing that's in the textbook because that's a total waste of time. They do what a professor should: provide insights not in the book, share real-world experience (if applicable), and answer questions.

  3. Re:This is college level stuff?? by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 5, Informative

    "overview of hardware, software, operating systems, and file systems"

    I have a hard time reconciling that this should be college level course material. What kinds of students actually need to be given this information in 2009?

    I have a hard time reconciling that an educated person would be unaware there are college students enrolled in majors other than Computer Science.

    If you've been to college, you almost certainly have been required to take courses outside of your major - usually known as survey courses. You're usually given a range of classes that meet the basic requirement. A CS survey course would likely satisfy a general science requirement for, say, a history major or an art major. You might even see students from other science programs (e.g. geology, chemistry).

    --
    #DeleteChrome
  4. Quick answer and research links by mattr · · Score: 5, Informative

    Quick answer:

    Introduction to Information & Communication Technology - Using Free Software and Open Technologies
    Edited By: Will Brady
    http://openbookproject.net/courses/intro2ict/index.xhtml

    The Non-nerds Guide to Computers
    http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Non-nerds_Guide_to_Computers

    But seriously spend half an hour going through results of Google search on these terms: open textbooks computing

    You will have to go through the texts yourself but there are many out there at many different levels.

    Here are the main resources.

    Wikibooks
    http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Subject:Computing
    http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Non-nerds_Guide_to_Computers
    http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Computers_for_Beginners

    Flat World Knowledge
    http://www.flatworldknowledge.com/

    MIT Open Courseware
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIT_OpenCourseWare
    http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Electrical-Engineering-and-Computer-Science/index.htm

    Make Textbooks Affordable open textbooks
    http://www.maketextbooksaffordable.org/statement.asp?id2=37833

    Student PIRGs
    http://www.studentpirgs.org/open-textbooks-catalog#computersci

    List at Walla Walla Community College
    http://www.wwcc.edu/CMS/index.php?id=2835

    The Assayer free books list
    http://theassayer.org/
    http://www.theassayer.org/cgi-bin/asbrowsesubject.cgi?class=Q#freeclassQAc

    California Learning Resource Network (only math and science)
    http://clrn.org/FDTI/index.cfm

    OER Consortium
    http://oerconsortium.org/discipline-specific/#Computer

    Open Book Project
    http://openbookproject.net/
    http://www.openbookproject.net/courses/

    Introduction to Information & Communication Technology - Using Free Software and Open Technologies
    Edited By: Will Brady
    http://openbookproject.net/courses/intro2ict/index.xhtml

    O'Reilly Open Books
    http://oreilly.com/openbook/

    Textbook Revolution
    http://www.textbookrevolution.org/index.php/Book:Lists/Subjects/Computer_Science

    http://www.opentextbook.org/
    http://freelearning.bccampus.ca/openTextbook.php?page_id=221&bookmark=Computing