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Free digital textbooks offered as Gov. Jerry Brown signs bills
Los Angeles Times ^ | September 27, 2012 | 3:10 pm | Patrick McGreevy

Posted on 09/28/2012 6:01:22 PM PDT by newzjunkey

California college students hit with tuition increases in recent years will get a little financial help after Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Thursday to create a website on which popular textbooks can be downloaded for free.

Twin bills by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) will give students free digital access to 50 core textbooks for lower-division courses offered by the University of California, California State University and California Community College systems. Hard copies of the texts would cost $20...

(Excerpt) Read more at latimesblogs.latimes.com ...


TOPICS: US: California
KEYWORDS: education; moonbeam; textbooks
There's a catch like to doom a noble effort: faculty may NOT be required to use such textbooks.

You may remember Arnold attempted a similar project for K-12. It didn't work.

1 posted on 09/28/2012 6:01:29 PM PDT by newzjunkey
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To: newzjunkey
Hard copies of the texts would cost $20.

I've never, ever seen a textbook priced at $20.

2 posted on 09/28/2012 6:04:01 PM PDT by FoxInSocks ("Hope is not a course of action." -- M. O'Neal, USMC)
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To: newzjunkey

What publishing company in their right mind would agree to a contract like this?


3 posted on 09/28/2012 6:06:19 PM PDT by ElkGroveDan (My tagline is in the shop.)
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To: newzjunkey

I like it: Require the socialist faculty to make their books available for free.

Otherwise, use old open source texts that are already online for free... Euclid’s Elements, etc. Like someone once said, if you really want to learn mathematics, study the masters, not their pupils.


4 posted on 09/28/2012 6:14:35 PM PDT by LibWhacker
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To: ElkGroveDan

“Free” simply means the cost has been transferred from the consumers of the book e.g. the students, to the taxpayers at large.


5 posted on 09/28/2012 6:15:37 PM PDT by SpaceBar
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To: newzjunkey

“The state is going broke, governor - We have to do something.”

“Hey! Let’s give away some more free stuff!”

“Good thinking, gov’!”


6 posted on 09/28/2012 6:15:42 PM PDT by Iron Munro (US Embassies Come and Go But An Obama Apology Lasts Forever)
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To: LibWhacker

I agree and I would go one stepfurther. I would make all course materials open to the public. Education is supposed to benefit society then put at least all the remedial courses online free. Paying tuition for a basic math course makes no sense.


7 posted on 09/28/2012 6:35:43 PM PDT by Lurkina.n.Learnin (Ignorance is bliss- I'm stoked)
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To: FoxInSocks
"I've never, ever seen a textbook priced at $20."

I'm thinking they dropped a zero because 200 bucks is more in the ballpark.

8 posted on 09/28/2012 6:40:56 PM PDT by Mad Dawgg (If you're going to deny my 1st Amendment rights then I must proceed to the 2nd one...)
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To: newzjunkey
The plan is to develop these “open-source” books from scratch. One estimate I read is that start up costs are 25 million. They will start at 25 million, and go up.
taxpayers will now not only subsidize tuition, but books as well. Now all the Cali students can be indoctrinated in the same books as freshmen, at taxpayer expense.

The ultimate goal of the really big publishers- is to sell digital to Universities on a licensed platform. They could reduce their prices considerably - but the college would pay for every student enrolled in the class. 25 students in a class, 25 license fees. No used books, no sharing, no purchases off of Amazon.

9 posted on 09/28/2012 6:46:02 PM PDT by pineybill
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To: newzjunkey
The plan is to develop these “open-source” books from scratch. One estimate I read is that start up costs are 25 million. They will start at 25 million, and go up.
taxpayers will now not only subsidize tuition, but books as well. Now all the Cali students can be indoctrinated in the same books as freshmen, at taxpayer expense.

The ultimate goal of the really big publishers- is to sell digital to Universities on a licensed platform. They could reduce their prices considerably - but the college would pay for every student enrolled in the class. 25 students in a class, 25 license fees. No used books, no sharing, no purchases off of Amazon.

10 posted on 09/28/2012 6:46:16 PM PDT by pineybill
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To: newzjunkey
The plan is to develop these “open-source” books from scratch. One estimate I read is that start up costs are 25 million. They will start at 25 million, and go up.
taxpayers will now not only subsidize tuition, but books as well. Now all the Cali students can be indoctrinated in the same books as freshmen, at taxpayer expense.

The ultimate goal of the really big publishers- is to sell digital to Universities on a licensed platform. They could reduce their prices considerably - but the college would pay for every student enrolled in the class. 25 students in a class, 25 license fees. No used books, no sharing, no purchases off of Amazon.

11 posted on 09/28/2012 6:46:28 PM PDT by pineybill
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To: FoxInSocks

I’ve never, ever seen a textbook priced at $20.”

I think they forgot the last zero.


12 posted on 09/28/2012 6:48:56 PM PDT by Grams A (The Sun will rise in the East in the morning and God is still on his throne.)
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To: newzjunkey

"The state is going broke! What's the answer?"

"I know! Give away text books for free!"


13 posted on 09/28/2012 6:50:23 PM PDT by COBOL2Java (I'm not voting for Obama, so therefore I must be helping Romney!)
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To: newzjunkey

“O’er the land of the free stuff...”


14 posted on 09/28/2012 6:52:34 PM PDT by FlingWingFlyer (Vote early and vote often.)
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To: newzjunkey

Well, I do agree that something needs to be done. College books are ridiculous. In my last semester, I spent almost $700 on 3 books... USED!

And every few semesters they publish another version and force students to buy new.

They should require a book be used in a course for four years, take the cost of the book new, divide by eight, and make that the bookstore price for all four years. Oh... and prohibit professors from requiring a book for which they have received payment for “reviewing.”


15 posted on 09/28/2012 6:57:35 PM PDT by MeanGreen2008
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To: newzjunkey

I’ve wondered, for decades, WHY Universities require NEW text books for “Intro to” courses YEARLY [or even decadely].

Just how often does INTRO change?


16 posted on 09/28/2012 8:32:24 PM PDT by PizzaDriver ( on)
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