Re: [Foundation-l] Rethinking brands

>Andrew's point is well-taken, but the assumption that Wikibooks would
>have to do different materials for every state is unfounded.  All we
>need do is construct _one_ book that follows the standard, as a
>placeholder and proof of concept. Once that's done, there would be a
>definite viral effect in the market, because although the K-12
>education community is massive, word travels fast.

I'm not saying that we need to write a million separate books, just making 
sure that the few books we do have meet a wide range of curricula. For the 
most part, the curricula of most states is very similar on various issues, 
so that wouldnt be a problem anyway. If we picked a large state such as 
california and wrote our books to those standards, modification to fit other 
curricula would be simple indeed.

I still think that we lack the necessary manpower. However, if we advertised 
the fact that we were writing open-content textbooks to a particular 
standard, i'm sure we could gather a few volunteers and even a little 
sponsorship.

If we are talking about texts that will be used by schools and school 
students, we really need to consider things like stable versions, so that 
the text of a book doesnt change drastically (and isnt open to vandalism) in 
the middle of a school term. Whether this requires liberal use of 
administrative page protection, or even a modification to the software to 
prevent users from making drastic changes is open to some debate.

--Andrew Whitworth

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