i started writing an open source textbook on my sabbatical last year. i have 6 chapters of what will be 10. i flirted with the idea of putting it on Wikibooks as some folks suggested above, but i found that a cohesive textbook is not something that can be community written easily, if at all. it's far easier for me to create the whole framework and then fill in the details and make the end product something i can put on Wikibooks for the masses to tweak. that way, i can keep my final copy . . . i use Drupal's Book module. i can always tweak and revise my copy based on what happens on the Wikibook version (although, i am also flirting with a wiki version that i host and then i can approve potential authors before they contribute. having a wiki version on the side allows edits to be made all year and then some time in early August the edits can be moved over to the more permanent copy (in my case, Drupal Book version) and remain intact during the school year for students and instructors.
i also explore lulu.com as a way for students to have a printed copy. unfortunately, a printed copy isn't going to be idea in my case because i am adding multimedia elements to better illustrate some points and enhance the content.
but i also wrote a textbook previously that was published by a big publishing firm. i ended up making a few thousand dollars, which meant that i probably made about 20 cents for each hour i worked on the textbook. and the publisher and bookstore took a HUGE chunk of my work (far more than i made). that's what caused me to consider what i am now doing. i'll be using my 6 chapters this semester so i am looking forward to it.
good luck in your efforts.
i use the book module in my Drupal installation and use Dreamweaver to create the content of what goes into the book (e.g., formatting and stuff).
what i'd really appreciate is a way to code for Wikipedia using Dreamweaver as i am now creating a lot of content for an open source textbook i am creating using Mediawiki (same tool Wikipedia uses).
i teach undergrads going into teaching. i stopped using Blackboard many years ago and only use open source solutions in my teaching. for example, i use phpbb for discussion forums; i use drupal for our class management (the book feature puts it over the top against Moodle); and, i even highly encourage my students to download Firefox during the first week of class. more importantly than using these tools, i also explain to my students the reasons i use these tools and what it means to use open source over commercial, etc. -- i should note, the vast majority of my students haven't heard of open source or just assumed that open source was a longer way of saying "free." i wish other teacher prep programs would emphasize these solutions.
on a related note, think of the money that elementary schools could save by switching to Edubuntu or something similar along with Open Office . . . times every computer in the building. our tax dollars are going to MS Windows and Office and it's really just wasted at that level. i'd argue the same for high schools, but at least let's get elementary schools on board.
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i started writing an open source textbook on my sabbatical last year. i have 6 chapters of what will be 10. i flirted with the idea of putting it on Wikibooks as some folks suggested above, but i found that a cohesive textbook is not something that can be community written easily, if at all. it's far easier for me to create the whole framework and then fill in the details and make the end product something i can put on Wikibooks for the masses to tweak. that way, i can keep my final copy . . . i use Drupal's Book module. i can always tweak and revise my copy based on what happens on the Wikibook version (although, i am also flirting with a wiki version that i host and then i can approve potential authors before they contribute. having a wiki version on the side allows edits to be made all year and then some time in early August the edits can be moved over to the more permanent copy (in my case, Drupal Book version) and remain intact during the school year for students and instructors. i also explore lulu.com as a way for students to have a printed copy. unfortunately, a printed copy isn't going to be idea in my case because i am adding multimedia elements to better illustrate some points and enhance the content. but i also wrote a textbook previously that was published by a big publishing firm. i ended up making a few thousand dollars, which meant that i probably made about 20 cents for each hour i worked on the textbook. and the publisher and bookstore took a HUGE chunk of my work (far more than i made). that's what caused me to consider what i am now doing. i'll be using my 6 chapters this semester so i am looking forward to it. good luck in your efforts.
i use the book module in my Drupal installation and use Dreamweaver to create the content of what goes into the book (e.g., formatting and stuff). what i'd really appreciate is a way to code for Wikipedia using Dreamweaver as i am now creating a lot of content for an open source textbook i am creating using Mediawiki (same tool Wikipedia uses).
i teach undergrads going into teaching. i stopped using Blackboard many years ago and only use open source solutions in my teaching. for example, i use phpbb for discussion forums; i use drupal for our class management (the book feature puts it over the top against Moodle); and, i even highly encourage my students to download Firefox during the first week of class. more importantly than using these tools, i also explain to my students the reasons i use these tools and what it means to use open source over commercial, etc. -- i should note, the vast majority of my students haven't heard of open source or just assumed that open source was a longer way of saying "free." i wish other teacher prep programs would emphasize these solutions. on a related note, think of the money that elementary schools could save by switching to Edubuntu or something similar along with Open Office . . . times every computer in the building. our tax dollars are going to MS Windows and Office and it's really just wasted at that level. i'd argue the same for high schools, but at least let's get elementary schools on board.