This September about 200 students in a course on Management Information Systems will taking part of a new pilot project spearheaded by the Leddy Library. The project is a partnership with Flatworld Knowledge to provide free and open online peer-reviewed textbooks that are also available for a variety of digital readers - including the iPad, Kindle and Nook - while also being available in print at a fraction of the traditional cost of a paper textbook. This pilot is the first of its kind in Canada.
As the University of Windsor's Daily News describes it, "Students will be able to download the digital files onto any computer, laptop, e-reader, tablet or smartphone. Once they do, the content is theirs to use for as long as they like. All of Flat World’s content is free of digital rights management and unlike other etextbooks, doesn’t expire after six months".
The Windsor Star asked Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-Commerce Law at the University of Ottawa about this pilot. "I see this deal as part of a broader trend," he said. "It's part of a very clear shift toward more open approaches, open access, open licensing and increasingly, open educational materials."
Faculty interested in taking part in this pilot project should contact Gwendolyn Ebbett, Dean of the Leddy Library.
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