Thursday, May 28th, 2009

Here's a new textbook model that would dovetail nicely with the California Open Source Textbook Project:  The Espresso Book Machine.  The Manufacturers call it an ATM for books.

National Public Radio's Morning Edition did a piece on the Espresso Machine this morning (5/28/09).

Apparently these machines cost around $175,000.  So purchasing one would be difficult for small districts under any circumstances, and difficult for large districts without a solid plan for extensive use.  But I can foresee a situation in which districts use the Open Source Textbooks or purchase electronic versions of textbooks at a reduced rate.  Then rather than attempt to outfit each student with a suitable eReader, districts use this machine to print copies. 

New editions could be partially printed with replacement pages reproduced rather than reprinting the entire book.  Editions could be adopted faster than the usual 3 to 5 cycle. Thus students could be kept up to date more easily.

If the textbook is Open Source, the cost of the text is essentially zero, so the expense of purchasing textbooks could be transferred to the cost of an Espresso Book Machine.  Small districts could form consortia or work with county offices of education to defray the cost of the machine.

Because Open Source books or eBooks could be formatted to different file types, districts could further cut the cost of printing by allowing students or programs with eReaders to use those devices instead of getting a paper copy. 

In the end, costs could be reduced and paper usage (for books) could be reduced.  Greener and cheaper!  How cool would that be?

Daniel


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