This Instructors Perspectives' essay from Robert Blake initiates a discussion on publishing language textbooks. It is followed by responses from Annamaria Bellezza, Nikolaus Euba, and Mark Kaiser.

This article draws on experience both within commercial textbook publishing and on textbook-development projects at the UCL Institute of Education to interrogate the current dynamics of 'neoliberal' edu-business (after Ball, 2012). The author discusses some damaging limitations inherent in publishing coursebooks predicated on what Young and Muller…

This paper examines the issues useful for faculty members that are considering electronically self-publishing their course textbook. A brief history of the use of electronic textbooks is presented as well as the advantages and disadvantages associated with self-publishing and electronic textbooks. A brief overview is provided on the process of…

The Impact of Open Licensing on the Early Reader Ecosystem examines how to use open licensing to promote quality learning resources for young children that are relevant and interesting. Research in early reading tends to focus on traditional publishing value and supply chains, without taking much consideration of new approaches and solutions…

To address the high cost of textbooks, Rice University's Connexions and the Community College Open Textbook Project (CCOTP) collaborated to develop a proof-of-concept free and open textbook. The proof-of-concept served to document a workflow process that would support adoption of open textbooks. Open textbooks provide faculty and students with a…

Specific guidelines for having textbook manuscripts published are presented with emphasis on procedures used by commercial textbook publishers. (JMF)

Elementary social studies textbooks in the United States are better today than they have ever been before. Changes in the educational climate, the textbook evaluation process, and the marketplace have led to vast improvements in published materials. (RM)

Mathematics textbooks are critical tools for student learning in American classrooms. Teachers use them daily to plan and deliver lessons, and students use them in class to explore and learn mathematics. Given textbooks' potential to support student learning, it is important to understand how they are developed. While pressure is growing on…

In this excerpt from the book "Lies My Teacher Told Me," sociology professor James Loewen asserts that textbooks used in American history classes are boring and predictable and full of irrelevant details and errors. The textbook publishing industry is cited for concern about profit rather than the quality of their products. (MLF)

Textbook publishers are under attack for producing books that are superficial in content and oversimplified or confusing in language. They respond that their products are the inevitable result of applying the many textbook selection formulas to book production. Efforts by educators to improve textbooks are currently being organized. (PGD)

Integrity in the search for truth is not the aim of the textbook business. Pressures are put on publishers by various political groups. The result is monotonous, bland, glossy, vapid textbooks. The system is largely to blame. Choice and competition must be brought into the textbook business. (RM)

A university professor describes his experiences in compiling, editing, and finding a publisher for a reader for a college-level American history course. (RM)

In the fall of 1984, the Education Commission of the States (ECS) was awarded a grant from the U.S. Secretary of Education's Discretionary Fund to identify alternative state roles for improving instructional materials in mathematics. To help state leaders define an appropriate and effective role in upgrading these materials, ECS proposed first to…

A university professor describes his experiences with publishing companies and editors as he wrote the undergraduate U.S. history survey textbook "These United States." (RM)

In his assessment of the current state of e-book technology, David Rothman illustrates the value of e-books for educators, accounts for why the technology has not been more widely embraced, and discusses new developments that suggest a better future for e-books. For educators, particularly distance educators, e-books hold great potential to…