Dive Brief:
- Researchers at Pennsylvania State University are piloting a tool that gives faculty and students the power to create their own textbooks.
- Campus Technology reports that the tool features an algorithm that takes keywords and generates openly licensed resources that users can organize and edit in the program.
- BBookX is still undergoing limited testing, but researchers hope to eventually make it widely available, giving the academic community a free tool to create free resources using multiple OER repositories — though it currently runs only on Wikipedia.
Dive Insight:
BBookX developers are looking for people interested in partnering for future research concerning the tool and can be reached by email ([email protected]) or through their website (BBookX.psu.edu).
While open educational resources are considered a powerful tool in efforts to reduce sky-high textbook costs, a study based on a national survey found three-quarters of faculty don’t know exactly what they are. The U.S. Department of Education this fall, however, brought a dedicated OER staffer onto its team. Andrew Marcinek is the department’s first open education advisor and is tasked with working with schools at all levels in their search for open content.