Boundless - free, open source, digital textbooks

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://crunchbase.com/assets/images/resized/0015/9054/159054v5-max-150x150.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://crunchbase.com/assets/images/resized/0015/9054/159054v5-max-150x150.png" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.boundless.com/">Boundless</a> is a service that provides free, open source, digital textbooks. There are 18 open textbooks with Creative Commons licensed content, for college subjects including accounting, biology, economics and more. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.boundless.com/">Boundless</a> provides a free alternative to expensive textbooks and they can also be used as supplemental materials for students. The content is changed and additions made, in direct contrast to printed textbooks that are usually outdated before they are printed.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.boundless.com/">Boundless</a> has an interesting process. They find the best free online content, have experts curate and vet it, and then deliver it in a way that is easy to read and navigate. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOkBFKs7XREufO7VT6zOrD8Y-ufPKLQWjTOlZxfwAd1KZXjqzXMpLwekhyphenhyphenU-yqYfJ3MmHAFbO22QqJbi5kB26-qYqhAJbLSLfC-yLqukKMQDx1seqoaJ7wpmBvGgHqXbm48Vc5im3gFopE/s1600/boundless+process.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="76" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOkBFKs7XREufO7VT6zOrD8Y-ufPKLQWjTOlZxfwAd1KZXjqzXMpLwekhyphenhyphenU-yqYfJ3MmHAFbO22QqJbi5kB26-qYqhAJbLSLfC-yLqukKMQDx1seqoaJ7wpmBvGgHqXbm48Vc5im3gFopE/s400/boundless+process.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">They also have some great features like SmartNotes which condense the full book into the main points, terms and examples, and Interactive Notebook to highlight items and add your own notes, Flash Cards, Quizzes, Study Guides and search. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.boundless.com/">Boundless</a> is a great resource for college students, as well as advanced high school students and teachers. I'm a huge proponent of free resources vs. expensive textbooks and really like the fact that these free digital resources are constantly updated and improved. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Here are all of their textbooks:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTTzb0jmpOZF827ZQotTfSk1AHSqLvNfevc4BtD0AXHHLB8cvwAjQ1xuXEc-mXHv3875cEGRAQMMNw5JAz-aGiDiadiiIsoGrRKZpywoOYINAhpY2Pvl-Wcr2mjEaWCRfNnkdbxLhoyHhM/s1600/boundless+textbooks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTTzb0jmpOZF827ZQotTfSk1AHSqLvNfevc4BtD0AXHHLB8cvwAjQ1xuXEc-mXHv3875cEGRAQMMNw5JAz-aGiDiadiiIsoGrRKZpywoOYINAhpY2Pvl-Wcr2mjEaWCRfNnkdbxLhoyHhM/s400/boundless+textbooks.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Related:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2012/01/what-i-use-with-physics-classes-instead.html">What I use with Physics classes instead of textbook</a> <br /><br /><a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2011/02/resources-to-replace-textbooks.html">Resources to Replace Textbooks</a><br /><br /><a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2012/03/ck-12-free-e-textbooks-and-more-updates.html">CK-12 - free e-textbooks and more - updates and news</a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>

Boundless - free, open source, digital textbooks

Boundless is a service that provides free, open source, digital textbooks. There are 18 open textbooks with Creative Commons licensed conte...

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Discovery Education Science TechBooks - great resource - more than an e-text

<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://draft.blogger.com/"><span id="goog_551293095"></span><span id="goog_551293099"></span><span id="goog_551293103"></span><span id="goog_551293119"></span><img src="http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2012/01/DE_Techbook.POS1_.jpg" /><span id="goog_551293120"></span><span id="goog_551293104"></span><span id="goog_551293100"></span></a><span id="goog_551293096"></span></div><br /><a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/p/25-free-resources-from-discovery.html">Discovery Education has a lot of great resources for educators, many free (over 30).</a> They also have fee-based services such as DE Streaming with thousands of videos, audio files, images, lesson plans, and much more.<br /><br />One of their other resources that I have been using lately is the <a href="http://www.discoveryeducation.com/administrators/curricular-resources/science-techbook/">Discovery Education Science Techbook.</a><br /><br />The <span id="goog_551293137"></span><span id="goog_551293143"></span><a href="http://www.discoveryeducation.com/administrators/curricular-resources/science-techbook/">Discovery Education <span id="goog_551293134"></span><span id="goog_551293135"></span>S<span id="goog_551293140"></span><span id="goog_551293141"></span>cience Techbo<span id="goog_551293146"></span><span id="goog_551293147"></span>ok</a><span id="goog_551293144"></span><span id="goog_551293138"></span> is more than a digital textbook. "It’s a different way of thinking. Thinking outside the box, perhaps. Or more appropriately, thinking outside the book." "The Techbook not only provides awesome content aligned to each state’s standards (there are currently Science Techbooks available for most grades K-8 in 30 states across the U.S.), but includes a model lesson for teachers to use with every concept, assessment questions for each standard, a teacher’s guide, and DVDs for when the Internet is not available. Resources such as the virtual labs, reading passages, video segments, science sleuths, explorations, and interactive glossary, etc., are packaged together to follow the five E model of instruction. Teachers have found an easier and creative way to build lessons using technology resources and content, as well as differentiating their classroom."<br /><br />It is not just a PDF or other media file with links. It is an entire ecosystem of lesson resources for educators to use in their classroom. It's not free, but neither are print textbooks or <a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2012/01/apple-announces-ibooks2-e-textbooks-my.html">iBooks</a>, and the <a href="http://www.discoveryeducation.com/administrators/curricular-resources/science-techbook/">DE Science TechBooks</a> are ready, aligned to standards, and in use in thousands of classrooms around the country.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.discoveryeducation.com/administrators/curricular-resources/science-techbook/">DE Science Techbooks</a> feature<br /><ul><li>Lively, interactive resources that capture the attention of students</li><li>Custom, in-person professional development builds capacity to ensure effective implementation</li><li>Cost-effective and efficient</li><li>Organized around the teacher-friendly 5E Instructional Model and integrates the nature of science and inquiry into every phase of learning</li><li>Designed around big ideas and essential questions</li><li>Customized to your state standards</li><li>Student resources for ALL learning styles</li><li>Key teacher resources</li><li>Up-to-date content</li><li>Real-time feedback</li></ul>From Discovery Education's press release:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Unlike traditional textbooks, <a href="http://www.discoveryeducation.com/administrators/curricular-resources/science-techbook/">Discovery Education Science Techbook</a> uses an inquiry-based approach to learning, bringing key science concepts to life for both English and Spanish-speaking students. Other interactive elements available only from Discovery Education include an interactive glossary, videos and photos, and clips from Discovery Channel's award-winning series such as PLANET EARTH, LIFE and MYTHBUSTERS.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Using a real-time assessment component that measures students' progress and recommends individualized resources, the Science Techbook has the ability to address individual student's learning styles and prescribe resources targeted to their performance. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">The Science Techbook is dynamic and updated in real time, providing teachers the opportunity to incorporate up-to-date scientific issues into their curriculum and students the chance to interact with experts on the front lines. Most recently the Science Techbook has featured such events as the tornados that occurred across the southeast U.S. and the tornado and tsunami in Japan. Finally, Discovery Education Science Techbook is a substantially less expensive option per student than textbooks, with additional savings derived from a lack of textbook replacement or inventory costs. </blockquote><br />Some of Discovery Education's content, including the TechBooks, is Flash Based (for now) but you can access all of it on an iPad using <a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2011/12/get-discovery-education-flash-content.html">iSwifter</a>.<br /><br />Here's a nice <a href="http://www.toondoo.com/">ToonDoo</a>-inspired take on the differences between classrooms that are driven by books (digital or otherwise) and those that are driven by inquiry-based instruction from Lance Rougeux at Discovery Education.<br /><br /><img alt="ThinkOutsideTheBook2012" src="http://static.toondoo.com/public/l/r/o/lrougeux//toons/cool-cartoon-4482900.png" /><br /><br /><br /><b>Related:</b><br /><br /><a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/p/25-free-resources-from-discovery.html">25 Free Resources from Discovery Education</a><br /><br /><a href="http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2012/01/30/discovery-educations-science-techbook-scientific-explanations-in-action/">Discovery Education’s Science Techbook: Scientific Explanations in Action</a><br /><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2012/01/19/what-i-want-from-a-digital-textbook/">What I Want from a Digital Textbook</a><br /><br /><a href="http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2012/01/12/techbook-extravaganza/">TechBook Extravaganza</a><br /><br /></div><a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2012/01/apple-announces-ibooks2-e-textbooks-my.html">Apple Announces iBooks2 E-Textbooks - my initial thoughts</a><br /><br /><a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2012/01/what-i-use-with-physics-classes-instead.html">What I use with Physics classes instead of textbook</a><br /><br /><a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2011/02/resources-to-replace-textbooks.html">Resources to Replace Textbooks</a><br /><br /><a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2011/03/free-textbooks-online-download-ipad.html">Free Textbooks - online, download, iPad, Kindle</a><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://draft.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_551293108"></span><span id="goog_551293109"></span></div>

Discovery Education Science TechBooks - great resource - more than an e-text

Discovery Education has a lot of great resources for educators, many free (over 30). They also have fee-based services such as DE Streaming...

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eTextbooks, Textbooks, iPads - what are the costs?

<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="200" id="il_fi" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTZHXGXra6uBY9Mpq2Adul1XBfqhiq7AoO0McB5Cy1FCzu1XKlIDfONHwcvLwo0rPmBIPE0iydaYoArPhXoNWT4f-rDoNi3myVaZdxdSu-HpnkPjpq_D5Btvm0REvcnWyQVYkRVptMmkn9/s200/digital-textbook.jpg" style="padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="188" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Last month, Apple announced iBooks2 with the main focus being on electronic textbooks for education. I wrote my <a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2012/01/apple-announces-ibooks2-e-textbooks-my.html">initial thoughts, concerns, and observations then</a> and am still a skeptic due to costs and access to devices. iPads are expensive ($500) and then add in the costs of the iBooks ($14.99) for each student. Most schools are in the red and have no money for devices. Instead, I like device and OS agnostic, free apps and e-textbooks, along with free web resources. There are a bunch of links below for more on that.<br /><br />Here is a great infographic that goes through the costs of iPads and iBooks vs. traditional textbooks. It's an interesting comparison.<br /><br /><b>Related:</b><br /><br /><a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2012/01/apple-announces-ibooks2-e-textbooks-my.html">Apple Announces iBooks2 E-Textbooks - my initial thoughts</a><br /><br /><a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2011/11/on-device-appssoftware-vs-web-apps.html">On device apps/software vs. web apps - which is better for schools?</a><br /><br /><div><a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2012/02/obama-wants-all-students-using-digital.html">Obama wants all students using digital textbooks - I ask where the $ are coming from</a><br /><br /><a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2011/02/resources-to-replace-textbooks.html">Resources to Replace Textbooks</a><br /><a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2012/01/what-i-use-with-physics-classes-instead.html"><br />What I use with Physics classes instead of textbook</a><br /><br /><a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2011/11/ck-12-free-e-textbooks-download-kindle.html">CK-12 Free Digital Textbooks </a><br /><br /><a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2011/06/150-free-textbooks-great-list-of-great.html">150 Free Textbooks </a><br /><br /><a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2012/01/hows-whys-and-value-of-educational.html">The How's, Why's and Value of Educational Technology</a><br /><br /><a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2012/01/10-important-skills-students-need-for.html">10 Important Skills Students need for the Future</a> </div><div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><a href="http://www.onlineteachingdegree.com/ipads-vs-textbooks/"><img alt="iPads vs. Textbooks" border="0" src="http://images.onlineteachingdegree.com.s3.amazonaws.com/Ipads-vs-Textbooks.gif" width="500" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div>

eTextbooks, Textbooks, iPads - what are the costs?

Last month, Apple announced iBooks2 with the main focus being on electronic textbooks for education. I wrote my initial thoughts, concerns, ...

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Obama wants all students using digital textbooks - I ask where the $$ are coming from

<div style="text-align: center;"><img height="200" id="il_fi" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTZHXGXra6uBY9Mpq2Adul1XBfqhiq7AoO0McB5Cy1FCzu1XKlIDfONHwcvLwo0rPmBIPE0iydaYoArPhXoNWT4f-rDoNi3myVaZdxdSu-HpnkPjpq_D5Btvm0REvcnWyQVYkRVptMmkn9/s200/digital-textbook.jpg" style="padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="188" /></div><br /><a href="http://www.theverge.com/2012/2/3/2767593/obama-administration-digital-textbooks-5-years">"Obama administration wants all students using digital textbooks in five years"</a> - headline from the Verge. Read the comments as they are very interesting. <div><br /></div><div>My reaction: " we don't even have money for the basics, like paper textbooks, computers, lab equipment, paper, teachers!, etc. So where does the money come from for 1:1 computing devices for every student, the digital textbooks (which have to be purchased again every year), support for the devices, replacement devices for damage, loss, and theft, etc." Many of my students don't even have a computer at home, let alone a portable device like a smartphone, laptop or tablet. How are they going to access the digital textbooks without a digital device? Will they really all have a device in 5 years? Paper textbooks offer an option for students and districts without digital resources. </div><div><br /></div><div>It's a lofty idea that will cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Education budgets are being cut left and right and then this. Not sure how this idea can work.</div><div><br /></div><div>I've already discussed <a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2012/01/apple-announces-ibooks2-e-textbooks-my.html">my reaction to Apple's iBooks announcement</a> and <a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2012/01/what-i-use-with-physics-classes-instead.html">how I don't use textbooks with my physics students anyway</a>, but this article got me going again. Are digital textbooks really a worthwhile use of shrinking education budgets? I don't think so. Let's look more at <a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/p/project-based-learning.html">project based learning</a>, <a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/">free online digital resources</a> and teacher created resources instead. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><i><b>What do you think?</b></i></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><u>Related:</u></b></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2011/02/resources-to-replace-textbooks.html">Resources to Replace Textbooks</a></div><div><a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2012/01/what-i-use-with-physics-classes-instead.html"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />What I use with Physics classes instead of textbook</a><div><br /></div><a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2012/01/apple-announces-ibooks2-e-textbooks-my.html">Apple Announces iBooks2 E-Textbooks - my initial thoughts</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2011/11/ck-12-free-e-textbooks-download-kindle.html">CK-12 Free Digital Textbooks </a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2011/06/150-free-textbooks-great-list-of-great.html">150 Free Textbooks </a></div><div><br /></div><a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2012/01/hows-whys-and-value-of-educational.html">The How's, Why's and Value of Educational Technology</a><div><br /></div><a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2012/01/10-important-skills-students-need-for.html">10 Important Skills Students need for the Future</a> <div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>

Obama wants all students using digital textbooks - I ask where the $$ are coming from

"Obama administration wants all students using digital textbooks in five years" - headline from the Verge. Read the comments as t...

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