Sanford Forte wrote:
We would like to get a pilot going, and what I'm currently thinking about doing - in the absence of funds - is starting something up via the Connexions Project at Rice University http://cnx.rice.edu/
Those who are interested in getting right down to the 'meat of the matter' should look here for the content: http://cnx.rice.edu/courses/
They are using the Creative Commons 'Attribution' license -- this is not 'Attribution-Share Alike', if you're a license connoisseur such as myself. :-)
All feedback is welcome. I understand this is a forum set up to share ideas, and am delighted to share what little I know about this area.
Our greatest strength is the strength of our community, and the "institutional knowledge" that we've gained as a group. We talk a lot, but more importantly, we just *do* things as they seem possible, without waiting for a 'project business model'. ;-)
For your purposes, what kinds of textbooks would be most useful to you as as 'pilot that proves the concept'? Choose wisely, because you may find yourself in two years holding a copy of whatever book you request of us!
My own thinking here is that the textbook project of the Wikimedia Foundation should focus on a single book or series of books that fit into the K-8 curriculum.
Interested parties should then write in accordance with the California state standards, supplemented by standards of other states where appropriate, and should also endeavor to obtain examples of competitor books as a "development target", i.e. to meet or exceed the standard set by existing texts.
If we focus our efforts in this way, we should be able to produce something that could be printed in small quantities as an example, and then you could use that as a proof of concept for your lobbying efforts.
--Jimbo