Rice relations and open source Connexxions

But the old school is doing some grand things, and one is smack in the middle of open source. It's Connexxions, an open source publishing platform first brought out in 1999 by Prof. Richard Baraniuk.

The system has more than software. It also contains a Content Commons, under the Creative Commons license, that can be used to create courseware.

Connexxions has already allowed Rice to re-open its defunct academic press imprint. Now it's getting the funding it needs to really compete, most recently a $1.7 million grant from Hewlett-Packard.

How far can this go? One of the big problems in college education is the cost of textbooks and courseware. It keeps smart kids from getting the degrees they need to succeed. Connexxions is putting the most-popular community college texts online free, with hardbound copies at $30 each.

Pretty far.