Anybody read the Shoup one yet ? How is it ? I know as much about computational number theory as a chimp knows about computer science.
Open Textbook Initiative
81–89 of 89 posts
Re: Open Textbook Initiative
#82As someone who's never studied real math (only Physics math), I found the book "Abstract Algebra: Theory and Applications" extremely interesting, in part because it leads you to understand asymmetric cryptography and error-correcting codes. Also the SAGE exercises are neat. http://abstract.ups.edu/aata/aata-toc.html
Abstract Algebra or as mathematicians call it: Algebra.
Re: Open Textbook Initiative
#83I worked for a higher-ed startup that was heavily involved in the textbook space for a little over 5 years. There are a myriad of factors that contribute to the high price of textbooks. Some of those factors are: • The principle / agent problem - Instructors naturally select the course materials for their own courses but typically never need to pay for their own instructor copies. In essence instructors are making de…
The discovery and cost structure problems are points a lot of people miss. Textbook publishers are selling professor time in the forms of content discovery, basic homework creation, and basic lesson planning.
One expansion on the principle agent problem: college bookstores handle. Many bookstores rent their land from the college with the agreed rent of $X +Y% of gross. This creates a disincentive for the institution to spend time negotiating with publishers (or ensuring faculty are getting enough use for the materials they assign).
Re: Open Textbook Initiative
#84I'm just a lowly adjunct, but I sense that one barrier to open textbook adoption is the accreditation process. I don't know exactly the connection, but I get the feeling that the department can check some box if they say that all their lower division calculus courses are taught with Pearson's book, for instance. Sort of a "no one ever got fired for choosing IBM" type situation. Anyone have any insight to this? I only…
Schools buy Pearson because Pearson has strong marketing and is the biggest obvious choice, and because Pearson helps schols exploit their students by selling customized (not nationally standard!) hard-to-resell textbooks. Not the only well-developed choice. > "Common Core approved" This does not exist, so you have no problem with Common Core. Common Core is an open standard, not a certification. Any book can be Comm…
> Common Core is a standard (checklist of abilities students should learn), not a curriculum.
Yes, I understand what CC is... most states already had very similar standards. I should have said "New and Improved! Meets Common Core Standards!".
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/mollyhensleyclancy/pear...
CC was definitely used as an excuse to push unnecessary materials and not just by Pearson (I was using them as a bit of a bogeyman).
Sorry, I'm not sure what point you're making with the Illustrated Mathematics link.
Perhaps I muddled my point by bringing up Common Core (I have no experience at that level, I just expect there's a similar dynamic). And to repeat... my point was that some departments dictate the textbook choice and curricula of their lower division courses (often with good intentions!)... but when they do it's often easiest to standardize courses using a big publisher's materials. Good old fashion vendor lock-in.
Re: Open Textbook Initiative
#85Earlier quoted context omitted.
Even better, download a PDF on Libgen, print it out on the school library printer or pool your money for a laser printer, and bring it down to a local coffee center for a cheap plastic binder.
Even even better, don't print it and just read it on screen or get a supernote and put all of your books on there where you can mark them up and have them all with you all of the time.
eBooks just don't hit the same as their dead tree counterparts. Unless you can live-type LaTeX annotations, I need the paper for highlighting and scribbles.
Re: Open Textbook Initiative
#86Earlier quoted context omitted.
Even even better, don't print it and just read it on screen or get a supernote and put all of your books on there where you can mark them up and have them all with you all of the time.
eBooks just don't hit the same as their dead tree counterparts. Unless you can live-type LaTeX annotations, I need the paper for highlighting and scribbles.
You can highlight and scribble with a supernote
Re: Open Textbook Initiative
#87Earlier quoted context omitted.
It has been getting worse recently. Publishers are encouraging institutions to adopt programs that use dark patterns to force students to *rent* ebooks for the same price as purchasing textbooks new. The default release date for telling the student what book to buy is the first day of class, but reading and homework is assigned that same day. Unless you want to go in person to a book store and wait in a long line (or…
It seems the online quiz/testing racket, that is only available with the ebook license, is just the response to the fact that there is a vibrant ebook/textbook piracy community. I don't really get why this is even a hard thing, surely there is some wordpress/whatever "quiz" plugin that the teachers can use to copy/paste multiple choice question/answers in and the school can pay the minimal fees to host for all their…
There are quiz things. The online textbook ones do more than multiple choice like you can have questions where students enter a formula, or they deal with questions where students might have to enter a number but they need to account for students rounding etc. They also can randomize questions or parts of questions so Joe sees "Kelly has 8 balls" and Sally sees "Kelly has 5". But there are open source systems like LON-CAPA that will do all that too. But the book published ones come with giant quiz banks full with questions relevant to the subject/book used while the open source ones require you to make your own or scour for other people's. The school also doesn't have to host it. And of course no one needs to mark it except in the situations where it fucks up. It's an attractive cheap solution for schools and departments at the cost of the students which kinda sucks.
Course notes are typically posted by the prof if they want on services like Blackboard or Brightspace or Moodle. My university student union had a random PC with an old exam bank.
Re: Open Textbook Initiative
#88Earlier quoted context omitted.
eBooks just don't hit the same as their dead tree counterparts. Unless you can live-type LaTeX annotations, I need the paper for highlighting and scribbles.
You can highlight and scribble with a supernote
I can also sit on the beach in VR, but I'd still rather go in person.