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Full-Text Articles in Education

The Short-Term Influence Of Free Digital Versions Of Books On Print Sales, John L. Hilton Iii, David Wiley Dec 2010

The Short-Term Influence Of Free Digital Versions Of Books On Print Sales, John L. Hilton Iii, David Wiley

Faculty Publications

Increasingly, authors and publishers are freely distributing their books electronically to increase the visibility of their work. A vital question for those with a commercial stake in selling books is, “What happens to book sales if digital versions are given away?” We used BookScan sales data for four categories of books (a total of 41 books) for which we could identify the date when the free digital versions of the books were made available to determine whether the free version affected print sales. We analyzed the data on book sales for the eight weeks before and after the free versions …


A Sustainable Future For Open Textbooks? The Flat World Knowledge Story, John L. Hilton Iii, David Wiley Aug 2010

A Sustainable Future For Open Textbooks? The Flat World Knowledge Story, John L. Hilton Iii, David Wiley

Faculty Publications

Many college students and their families are concerned about the high costs of textbooks. E–books have been proposed as one potential solution; open source textbooks have also been explored. A company called Flat World Knowledge produces and gives away open source textbooks in a way they believe to be financially sustainable. This article reports an initial study of the financial sustainability of the Flat World Knowledge open source textbook model.


Openness As Catalyst For An Educational Reformation, David Wiley Jul 2010

Openness As Catalyst For An Educational Reformation, David Wiley

Faculty Publications

The word open is receiving a lot of attention in education circles. Openness in higher education has been discussed recently by writers in the Chronicle of Higher Education, the New York Times, EDUCAUSE Review, and EQ, among other publications. In January 2010, The Horizon Report, produced by the New Media Consortium (NMC) and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI), declared that open content will “reach mainstream use” in higher education within the next twelve months. But what does that mean? What is this open we keep hearing about?


A Sustainable Model For Opencourseware Development, Justin Johansen, David Wiley May 2010

A Sustainable Model For Opencourseware Development, Justin Johansen, David Wiley

Faculty Publications

The purposes of this study were to (a) determine the cost of converting BYU Independent Study’s e-learning courses into OpenCourseWare, (b) assess the impact of opening those courses on paid enrollment in the credit-bearing versions of the courses, and (c) use these data to judge whether or not an OpenCourseWare program could be financially self-sustaining over the long-term without grant monies or other subsidies. The findings strongly suggest that the BYU Independent Study model of publishing OpenCourseWare is financially self-sustaining, allowing the institution to provide a significant public good while generating new revenue and meeting its ongoing financial obligations.


Using Online Technologies To Extend A Classroom To Learners At A Distance, Charles R. Graham, John L. Hilton Iii, Peter Rich, David Wiley May 2010

Using Online Technologies To Extend A Classroom To Learners At A Distance, Charles R. Graham, John L. Hilton Iii, Peter Rich, David Wiley

Faculty Publications

The authors studied a course in which an instructor allowed individuals at a distance to participate. These students, though not formally enrolled in the university where the class took place, were given full access to all course materials and were encouraged to complete course assignments. The authors examined the time and technical proficiency required to involve learners at a distance. These learners were surveyed to determine how they perceived the course. Their work in the course was also examined. Learners at a distance reported receiving some benefit from the course, particularly in terms of learner-content interaction. Students in the face-to-face …


Free: Why Authors Are Giving Books Away On The Internet, John L. Hilton Iii, David Wiley Mar 2010

Free: Why Authors Are Giving Books Away On The Internet, John L. Hilton Iii, David Wiley

Faculty Publications

With increasing frequency, authors in academic and non-academic fields are releasing their books for free digital distribution. Anecdotal evidence suggests that exposure to both authors and books increases when books are available as free downloads, and that print sales are not negatively affected. For this study we interviewed ten authors to determine their perceptions of the effect free digital distribution has on the impact and sales of their work. In addition, we examined the sales data of two books over a two year period of time, in which one book was freely available for the second year. All of the …


The Four R’S Of Openness And Alms Analysis: Frameworks For Open Educational Resources, John L. Hilton Iii, Aaron Johnson, Jared Stein, David Wiley Jan 2010

The Four R’S Of Openness And Alms Analysis: Frameworks For Open Educational Resources, John L. Hilton Iii, Aaron Johnson, Jared Stein, David Wiley

Faculty Publications

A significant movement in education concerns the use of open educational resources. By "open" it is generally meant that the resource is available at no cost to others for adaptation and reuse in different contexts. However "open" is not a simple dichotomy; rather, there is a continuum of openness. We discuss four separate aspects of reuse and demonstrate how these describe different levels of openness. We discuss how the licensing and technical aspects of open educational resources affect the relative openness of an OER. Implications for those creating open educational resources are discussed.


Reflections From The First Year Of A Successful Aect Conference Mentoring Program, Richard E. West, Raymond Pastore, Mengqiao Xu, Cindy S. York Jan 2010

Reflections From The First Year Of A Successful Aect Conference Mentoring Program, Richard E. West, Raymond Pastore, Mengqiao Xu, Cindy S. York

Faculty Publications

This article reports on the successful first year implementation of a new graduate student mentoring program initiated at the 2009 Louisville convention of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology. This program was developed by the 2008 ECT Intern class, but will be continued at future conventions by the Leadership Development Committee and the Graduate Student Assembly. Information is provided to potential students and mentors interested in applying for the 2010 program.


Reliability Of Pre-Service Physical Education Teachers' Coding Of Teaching Videos Using Studiocode Analysis Software, Keven Prusak, Brigham Dye, Charles R. Graham, Susan Graser Jan 2010

Reliability Of Pre-Service Physical Education Teachers' Coding Of Teaching Videos Using Studiocode Analysis Software, Keven Prusak, Brigham Dye, Charles R. Graham, Susan Graser

Faculty Publications

This study examines the coding reliability and accuracy of pre-service teachers in a teaching methods class using digital video (DV)-based teaching episodes and Studiocode analysis software. Student self-analysis of DV footage may offer a high tech solution to common shortfalls of traditional systematic observation and reflection practices by increasing the amount, timeliness, and accuracy of performance feedback. What is yet to be determined is whether students can reliably and accurately analyze such footage. Using Studiocode software, student analyses were compared to those of experts to determine coding reliability and content accuracy. The results of this study indicate that with less …


Resisting Technological Gravity: Using Guiding Principles For Instructional Design, Jason K. Mcdonald Jan 2010

Resisting Technological Gravity: Using Guiding Principles For Instructional Design, Jason K. Mcdonald

Faculty Publications

Instructional designers face tremendous pressure to abandon the essential characteristics of educational approaches, and settle instead for routine practices that do not preserve the level of quality those approaches originally expressed. Because this pressure can be strong enough to affect designers almost as gravity affects objects in the physical world, the metaphor of technological gravity has been proposed to describe why designers choose one type of practice over another. In this essay, I discuss how designers can develop guiding principles to help them resist technological gravity. I describe three types of principles, in the areas of what instruction is, …


A Student's Guide To Strengthening An Online Learning Community, Richard E. West Jan 2010

A Student's Guide To Strengthening An Online Learning Community, Richard E. West

Faculty Publications

Students usually have plenty of experience with online social technologies, but they lack understanding about how to use these tools and methods for course learning. This article is designed to help college students who are anxious about participating in an online learning community or do not know how to build one effectively. With ideas derived from research and practice, this guide has been written to inform online students about learning communities, the benefits they offer, and how students can assist in building a successful online community.