Re: [Foundation-l] Rethinking brands

The wikijunior stuff is like a zoobooks online.  I wouldn't consider it
"curriculum".  It could be used to enhance curriculum.

If the quote I gave from Mr. Wales is no longer valid, then someone should
go out and update at least Lessig's website to reflect that.  It sure
mislead me!

This:
"The second thing that will be free is a complete curriculum (in all
languages) from Kindergarten through the University level." - Jimbo Wales

Is certainly different than this:
"However, if we define a textbook as 'an instructional book to accompany a
course of learning', we really have a lot of latitude." - Whitworth

Again, if wikibooks does not include curriculum, then it would be helpful if
Mr. Wales wrote some sort of article to redefine, restate, or retract what
he said.

-Kathy

-----Original Message-----
From: Andrew Whitworth [mailto:[email protected]] 
Sent: Friday, May 11, 2007 11:15 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Textbook-l] [Foundation-l] Rethinking brands

>I was under the impression that wikibooks would also include textbooks 
>for k-12.  Normally, k-3 don't have traditional texts because many are 
>still learning to read.  Later, they read to learn.  So much of the 
>"textbook" is really worksheets, pictures, and planned lectures and
activities.
>Actually,
>a better word to use for k-3 is curriculum, not textbooks. But I've 
>read we are not supposed to do curriculum.

We do include books for younger children, and the youngest children (birth
through age 12) are the target audience of wikijunior. Certainly the concept
of a "textbook" is different when we are talking about kindergartners. 
However, if we define a textbook as "an instructional book to accompany a
course of learning", we really have a lot of latitude.

>Soooo, I'm not sure what wikibooks really is.  Here is where I got my info:
>
>http://www.lessig.org/blog/archives/003069.shtml
>
>Although dated 8/05, it seems Mr. Wales had a definite vision:

Never seen that blog before, I'll have to read it.

>"The second thing that will be free is a complete curriculum (in all
>languages) from Kindergarten through the University level. There are 
>several projects underway to make this a reality, including our own 
>Wikibooks project, but of course this is a much bigger job than the 
>encyclopedia, and it will take much longer."

Another project that we work closely with is Wikiversity, which creates
curricula. A wikiversity course can use a Wikibook as an accompaniment. 
While wikibooks contains books, wikiversity can contain syllabi, tests and
quizes, slides and handouts, reading assignments, etc. Combined, the two
projects can create a complete educational experiance for learners of all
ages.

>Curriculum, by definition, is a package.  It can include textbooks but 
>certain goes beyond that to worksheets, teacher planning, activities, etc.
>I would love to redo the SRA Direct Instruction curriculum in wikibooks 
>so that parents AND teachers have an option for scientificially based 
>curriculum.  But according to new definitions, I'm not sure wikibooks 
>is an appropriate place.  Under the old definition from the website 
>listed above, it is.

Textbooks for the curriculum definitely belong on wikibooks, it's a great
collaborative place to host books. For additional materials, Wikiversity is
a great place for those. It can be a little inconvenient to have to move
between the two websites, but they have the same software, and linking one
to the other is very easy.

--Andrew Whitworth

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