At Yale, Online Lectures Become Lively Books
As Jennifer Howard notes in this interesting article, Yale is “reversing the process” and is publishing a group of paperbacks and ebooks based on its online Open Yale Courses. Why is Yale University Press creating traditional print books and ebooks using content born digitally and intended for the classroom? It is part of an overall strategy that according to Diana E.E. Kleiner, founding project director of Open Yale Courses, is about “reaching out in every way that we could” including “posting audio and video versions online (via Yale’s Web site, YouTube, and iTunes), and providing transcripts and now book versions of the lectures.”
The folks at Yale seem to recognize that traditional books and more contemporary digital modes of communicating are not mutually exclusive. A digital project like Open Yale Courses can successfully convert materials into book and ebooks formats to enhance the dissemination of course content. It’s inspiring to see that anyone, regardless of their preferred mode of learning, has a place at this table and can take part in these courses. Ms. Kleiner and her project deserve to be emulated.
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