Open Source Learning
Connexions is an open source online education system that could replace textbooks. In true open source fashion, anyone can view or contribute educational material to Connexions. Checks & balances are provided through peer review. The project is driven by Rice University electrical engineering professor Richard Baraniuk.
Publishing is Cumbersome
The publishing process creates a wall between the authors of books and the ultimate users of books. Publishing on paper is an expensive and cumbersome business, especially in the technology fields. It takes as long as nine months for a typical paper book to go from manuscript completion to printed textbook. Technology textbooks can go out of date in that time. There must be a better way!
Better than Printed Books
The Connexions approach: Take all of the world’s books, tear out the pages (digitally), and store them in a massive digital archive. Index each page with extensible markup language data so the information is easier to categorize and search. Next, create an easy way for people to author new material. Finally, put it all together in a single searchable database.
Make Equations Come Alive
Even better: Leverage the tools available in electronic media. In the case of an mathematics textbook, treat the equations as hyperlinks. Show an animated graphic of the equation in action. Professor Baraniuk shares more in this 19-minute video from TED.
Different from Wikipedia?
How does Connexions differ from Wikipedia? Connexions doesn’t replace Wikipedia. It supplements it. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, while Connexions is a huge set of textbooks.
The Long Tail of Publishing
Connexions does not aim to replace best-sellers. There’s something satisfying about reading a paper book sometimes. Rather, highly specialized textbook material will find a broader audience through Connexions. As Professor Baraniuk says in the video, this is about making impact, not necessarily making bucks.
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