Digital Textbooks

There’s a bunch of freely available education content on the web, so why not round it up and cobble it together into virtual textbooks? That’s the idea behind Boundless, a Boston-based company that turns open-source content into free textbooks that serve as alternatives to the big-name textbooks assigned by college professors. This is probably music to all those college kids' ears. If you’re wondering if traditional textbook publishers might have a bone to pick with Boundless, you’d be right: The company is currently being sued by three of the major players. “That’s not a surprise that they’re trying to fight innovation.” These are the same publishers that are own about 80% of the market. I can tell you from experience that some of the textbook cost an arm and a leg. Some professors are even choosing to use IP telephony to further help the students learn and understand the material. In what direction do you think textbooks and publishing is going?