Andrew's point is well-taken, but the assumption
that Wikibooks would
have to do different materials for every state is unfounded. All we
need do is construct _one_ book that follows the standard, as a
placeholder and proof of concept. Once that's done, there would be a
definite viral effect in the market, because although the K-12
education community is massive, word travels fast.
I'm not saying that we need to write a million separate books, just making
sure that the few books we do have meet a wide range of curricula. For the
most part, the curricula of most states is very similar on various issues,
so that wouldnt be a problem anyway. If we picked a large state such as
california and wrote our books to those standards, modification to fit other
curricula would be simple indeed.
I still think that we lack the necessary manpower. However, if we advertised
the fact that we were writing open-content textbooks to a particular
standard, i'm sure we could gather a few volunteers and even a little
sponsorship.
If we are talking about texts that will be used by schools and school
students, we really need to consider things like stable versions, so that
the text of a book doesnt change drastically (and isnt open to vandalism) in
the middle of a school term. Whether this requires liberal use of
administrative page protection, or even a modification to the software to
prevent users from making drastic changes is open to some debate.
--Andrew Whitworth
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