Open access textbooks and financial sustainability: A case study on Flat World Knowledge

Authors

  • John Levi Hilton III Brigham Young University
  • David Wiley Brigham Young University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v12i5.960

Keywords:

Open educational resources, open textbooks, electronic textbooks, Flat World Knowledge, open access, sustainability

Abstract

Many college students and their families are concerned about the high costs of textbooks. A company called Flat World Knowledge both gives away and sells open-source textbooks in a way it believes to be financially sustainable. This article reports on the financial sustainability of the Flat World Knowledge open-source textbook model after one year of operation.

Author Biographies

John Levi Hilton III, Brigham Young University

John Hilton III is a doctoral student in Instructional Psychology and Technology at Brigham Young University (BYU). He also teaches part-time with BYU's Department of Ancient Scripture.

David Wiley, Brigham Young University

Associate Professor, Instructional Psychology and Associate Professor, Instructional Psychology and Technology Brigham Young University

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Published

2011-06-29

How to Cite

Hilton III, J. L., & Wiley, D. (2011). Open access textbooks and financial sustainability: A case study on Flat World Knowledge. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 12(5), 18–26. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v12i5.960

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 5 (2011)

Section

Research Articles

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