Ocad / Pearson Fine Art Textbook Update

This is an update on the story close the $180 ready text for an Art History - a ready text mass amongst no pictures!)

This empty frame unremarkably contains a rather practiced even so life yesteryear Cezanne
which hangs inward the Musee d'Orsay
Photograph © Katherine Tyrrell (2009)

I've received a comment from OCAD which inward plough has highlighted their official reply too I'm reproducing both of them below.  Along amongst some references to Pearson Publishing's approach to creating learning materials - too my comments on the whole affair.

Let me state at the outset that I yell upwardly at that spot are some lessons for everybody - fine art schools, publishers, parents too students.

It's really apparent to me that the fact that a concerned nurture went world too his network took the story viral around the basis agency at that spot has been a fast response.  It's to their credit that the College too the Publisher have got responded apace to the concerns existence expressed.  The College has listened to the concerns of the students too the publisher would forthwith similar to acquire the mass out of circulation asap.  Plus at that spot are some proposals every bit to how the affair mightiness endure resolved for this year.

However I'm even so left amongst the impression that people are even so looking at the incorrect work - of which to a greater extent than inward my analysis too comments at the end.

First the update on the province of affairs - too and then my analysis.


The OCAD Media Perspective

This is a comment I received on the previous post.  Sarah misunderstands my comprehension of the copyright situation.

Hi Katherine,

If you've been continuing to follow this story you'll banknote that the solution that was arrived at prior to the start of the course of report was indeed an endeavour on the role of OCAD University to save students a meaning amount of money.

OCAD University has accepted total responsibleness for a flawed learning system, too is working amongst the students too publisher to brand things right.

The publisher has accepted total responsibleness for producing a flawed production (you tin sack read an article that includes quotes from yesterday's forum, attended yesteryear the publisher, on the Toronto Star website, for example). This article also outlines the steps the publisher is taking to address the work for students affected this term.

The copyright aspect is far to a greater extent than nuanced than your article relays. There is a practiced give-and-take of these nuances on Wednesday, September 26, 2012

The Response from the Dean

This is the content of the missive of the alphabet referenced inward the inward a higher house comment.  I'm wondering why the inward a higher house missive didn't reference the upshot of the bit coming together amongst Pearson referenced below.

Friday, September 21, 2012

Update from Dean K. Shailer re LBST 1B04 Custom Text: Proposed Solutions

Thank you lot to all the students who came to the Open Discussion Session yesterday to limited their deep concerns close the flawed course of report packet (reader, 2 e-books) nosotros provided for this course. I sympathise they were speaking on behalf of many other students who could non endure at that spot – every bit evidenced yesteryear the number of signatures on the online petition (which I have got forthwith read inward total too am taking quite seriously).

Here's a summary of the primary concerns (and suggestions) I heard from students:

• All the blank blocks where images were meant to endure was a waste matter of newspaper too misfortunate design;
• Being expected to displace betwixt a impress text too online images contained inward an e-book was not a feasible learning organisation (regardless of historic catamenia or tech-savviness; also many students demand a workable organisation to utilization when inward transit)
• Although a number of students asked explicitly for a “more economical” e-book version of the 
• reader, others asked merely for images too text to endure inward the same way (digital or print-based) 
• and inward the same place;
• They felt similar guinea pigs or beta testers for a novel organisation that didn’t run too wanted compensation;
• They worried close resale value;
• Some students wanted to revert to the old fine art history courses.
• Were students amongst disabilities existence accommodated amongst a special-format version of the custom text? This is existence addressed - yes. 
• A number of work-around solutions were thrown out (e.g., purchase Stokstad too Drucker online at 
• used prices too sell dorsum at destination of term).

We also spent some fourth dimension talking close copyright too the limitations nosotros human face upwardly amongst visual civilization books – especially a pocket-size impress run similar this one. We demand to a greater extent than give-and-take on this.

To endure clear: My foremost objective is to have got the cloth (text too images) of this phenomenal new course inward students' hands inward a format they experience they tin sack use, so they tin sack acquire on amongst the course of report now.

Meeting amongst Pearson Learning Solutions

I met afterwards inward the afternoon amongst reps from Pearson – including the President of the Higher Education Division of Pearson Canada, Steve O’Hearn – too from the U of T/OCADU Bookstore, every bit good every bit a number of other OCAD U faculty too staff. We set out the concerns too asked for solutions. Pearson was highly responsive too proposed offering:

• Guaranteed end-of-term buy-back of the custom text (dollar amount to endure announced side yesteryear side week); they desire to convey it out of circulation.
• Provision (free) of impress copies of the Stokstad text (which contains the vast bulk of missing images) to all students who have got purchased the reader, to utilization every bit a print-based cross-reference; these would endure the relevant volumes of the portable version of Stokstad (much easier to carry) – details on how this volition whorl out side yesteryear side week.

For side yesteryear side semester (LBST 1B05), nosotros volition have got 2 possible scenarios that we’d similar to poll students on. In any instance at that spot volition endure NO EMPTY BLOCKS OF WHITE SPACE. And for futurity offerings (next twelvemonth too beyond): nosotros volition hold back until March too farther feedback from all of you lot earlier making whatever decisions.

similar to introduce all this to interested students every bit shortly every bit possible too are scheduling a bit coming together for side yesteryear side Tuesday afternoon. If you lot cannot attend, delight acquire inward touching too allow me know your thoughts.

SECOND STUDENT MEETING WITH DEAN SHAILER AND PRESIDENT OF THE HIGHER EDUCATION DIVISION OF PEARSON CANADA
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Room 190
100 McCaul

With best wishes,
Kathy Shailer
Dean, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Scienceskshailer@ocadu.ca

The Commentary from Local Press

This is the article published on Tuesday inward The Toronto Star - Publisher offers costless textbooks, buyback selection for artless-art history textbook.

So forthwith students volition have got an $180 textbook amongst no pictures plus, every bit of this Friday, a five-volume ready of Stokstad fine art history textbooks for no extra accuse addition $50 reimbursement when they render the mass without images to Pearson at the destination of the academic course.

Pearson Publishing

I don't yell upwardly anybody has yet referenced "Custom Solutions facilitate educatee success" on the higher educational activity role of the Pearson Publishing's website

In social club to aid progress some agreement of the province of affairs inward Ontario let's consider what it says.  In essence it:

• offers to do customised learning materials
• indicates that customised learning materials atomic number 82 to meliorate levels of educatee engagement (they for sure succeeded on that one!)
• creates custom textbooks which are affordable (wrong - really incorrect - when it comes to art!)

So it appears what nosotros have got hither is:

• a publisher who is trying difficult to run out how it tin sack do novel products out of its existing property base of operations - inward much the same way every bit many other publishers - inward social club to do novel turn a profit streams within the context of the collapse of the traditional work organisation model for publishing (I've written close this previously in Art Books #2 - the economic science of publishing (Jan. 2009) amongst honor to art instruction books and within the context of the changing nature of the publishing industry, the ascension of ebooks too the potential to completely eliminate the publisher).  In this instance they seem to have got an thought which fails to deliver on the promises because of the particular expenses associated amongst images too copyright.  One would have thought they'd have got spelt this out at the commissioning stage.
• an enthusiastic but naive customer (OCAD) who wanted to utilization this novel procedure for creating novel too customised learning materials for a novel course.  However they evidently proceeded without obtaining:
• any costing every bit to what cost the educatee would have got to pay for the customised materials
• or an guess of what cost the licence mightiness endure for copyright photos of images which are mainly inward Earth domain. 
• an guess of the impress run assumed yesteryear the publisher

Neither did a practiced job.  Neither had a robust framework of checks too balances inward house which would signal whether or non the projection was a "goer".  How do I know this?  Well apart from many years experience of unpicking "what went wrong" - they either didn't have got the checks inward house or they didn't utilization them.  This projection was ever a non starter - because of the fees required for licensing photographs of the artwork too the fact that the materials were for i course of report amongst a pocket-size number of students.  

In other words the work isn't the copyright issue.  The work is that nobody estimated the impact of the copyright issue.

My guess is that mortal at Pearson's forgot that if you lot do a novel publication based on existing text too images you lot have got to acquire a novel ISBN number too pay a licence fee all over in i lawsuit again for the images.  Or perhaps this was the foremost fourth dimension they'd created customised learning materials for an fine art course of report - too they learned the lesson close what's involved the difficult way?

Looking at the incorrect problem

I even so hold that creating a newspaper production every bit a customised ready text for a course of report amongst a pocket-size number of students is the incorrect way of addressing the learning needs AND the affordability issue.  BOTH imperatives have got to endure met.

In the same way, nobody volition ever forthwith persuade me that the lineament of reproduction of images inward a textbook inward whatever way rivals the lineament of images which i tin sack forthwith access online for costless - too zoom inward too out of.  If I desire students to have got the best experience of artwork I'd ever recommend they facial expression at it online (and I've spent a lot of years tracking downwards too looking at artwork online)

It is perfectly possible to do an ebook which uses a thumbnail of an paradigm too embeds hyperlinks to much larger versions of the paradigm which tin sack too then endure accessible for costless to those who are engaged inward an educational process.  

Such ebooks tin sack endure made available online via iPads, Kindles too ordinary computers.  

The notion that people don't similar to read a lot online is wholly negated yesteryear a publishing manufacture which is existence turned upside downwards yesteryear the movement of purchasers from reading a lot of text on newspaper to reading a lot of text online.  (eBooks forthwith outsell impress sales on Amazon inward the UK plus distributors are starting fourth dimension to heavily discount the cost of ebooks every bit they should). 

I do wonder if students had to pick out betwixt a really affordable ebook amongst access to really practiced lineament images too a really expensive printed textbook amongst just the same content whether they'd even so have got the same problems amongst reading off a hide too which i they'd genuinely choose.

It also strikes me that perhaps the educational community has also forgotten that i of the "fair use" exemptions for copyright is education.  

If I had whatever involvement amongst the Art Education community inward Canada - every bit a tutor, a nurture or a educatee - I'd endure wanting to acquire the Canadian Government to convey a serious facial expression at the Educational Sector Licences which are available from the Copyright Agency inward Australia.  When covered yesteryear such a licence paid for yesteryear an annual fee, a instructor can, inside reasonable limits,  reproduce too position out copyright text too images, inward impress too digital formats, for free.  That should hateful that copyright costs nix - so long every bit it is licensed.

There in i lawsuit again - if I was a lecturer inward art, I'd endure using my opor-garai to write the side yesteryear side best selling ebook close fine art history too and then release it every bit an "indie" for utilization inside the educational activity sector! ;)

PS  If anybody wants an affordable ($40) mass amongst just pictures of global fine art on which to base of operations an academic course I tin sack highly recommend Book Review: Art - the definitive visual guide

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