Wikipedia

OpenStax CNX

Connexions, later known as OpenStax CNX[1] was a global repository of educational content provided by volunteers. The open source platform was provided and maintained by OpenStax, which is based at Rice University. The collection was available free of charge, can be remixed and edited, and was available for download in various digital formats.[2]

Connexions (1999-April 2014)
OpenStax CNX (April 2014-)
Type of site
Open Educational Resources
Available in34 languages
DissolvedDecember 21, 2022; 21 months ago (2022-12-21)
OwnerRice University
RevenueFoundation-funded non-profit
Commercialno
Registrationfree
Launched1999; 25 years ago (1999)
Current statusDiscontinued
Content license
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0

Founded in 1999 by Richard Baraniuk, Connexions was based on the philosophy that scholarly and educational content can and should be shared, re-used and recombined, interconnected and continually enriched. As such, it was one of the first Open Educational Resources (OER) initiatives along with projects such as MIT OpenCourseWare and the Public Library of Science. The materials in Connexions are available under a CC BY Creative Commons license, which means that content can be used, adapted, and remixed, as long as attribution is provided.[3] In June 2020, the CNX platform was retired. Its contents remain available on the Wayback Machine.[4]

Subject matter

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Connexions contained educational materials at all levels—from children to college students to professionals—organized in small modules (pages) that can be connected into larger collections (books). Material was authored by people from all walks of life. Much content is created by university professors,[5] but the collection also contained very popular music content[6] created by a part-time music teacher.[7]

Connexions material was translated into many languages, aided by the open-content licensing.

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To ensure the legal reusability of content, Connexions required authors to license materials they publish under the Creative Commons Attribution License[8] (presently, version 4.0). Under this license, the author retains the right to be credited (attributed) wherever the content is reused. The author grants others the right to copy, distribute, and display the work, and to derive works based on it, as long as the author is credited.

Features

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  • Connexions had content from all over the world in a growing variety of languages, not just materials from one specific school or university. It also collects materials to support education in K-12, community college, university, continuing education, and industrial training settings.[7]
  • Connexions was globally accessible to anyone to not only read and use the materials, but also take them, customize them, and contribute them back to the repository or not.
  • Connexions was grassroots organized from the bottom up rather than from the top down like many other open education projects. Everyone is free to join and take on a leadership role.[2]

Technical details

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Three key factors enable the collaborative environment in Connexions:

  • Copyright licenses that preserve attribution but permit sharing: Creative Commons "attribution" licenses[8]
  • Semantic markup of documents using XML (extensible markup language) so they can be searched for and combined. The markup language used is called "CNXML".[9]
  • Workspaces that facilitate collaboration by providing shared space, the ability to version materials and derive content from existing modules.[10]

Funding

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The Connexions project was started in 1999[11] and initially supported by individuals and Rice University. That support has been substantially supplemented by grants from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.[12]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Woodward, Ed (April 3, 2014). "New Name and New Editor Demo". OpenStax CNX Developer Blog. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  2. ^ a b Wales, Jimmy; Baraniuk, Rich (22 January 2008). "Bringing open resources to textbooks and teaching". The San Francisco Chronicle.
  3. ^ Kelty, C. M. (2008). Two bits. Duke University Press.
  4. ^ Williams, Daniel (February 7, 2020). "Saying goodbye to CNX and hello to the next chapter!". openstax.org. Archived from the original on 2020-08-13.
  5. ^ Wales, Jimmy; Baraniuk, Rich (2008-01-22). "Bringing open resources to textbooks and teaching". The San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2008-01-31.
  6. ^ "The Basic Elements of Music". Retrieved 30 November 2010.
  7. ^ a b "Throw away your school books: here comes textbook 2.0". CNN.com. 8 November 2007.
  8. ^ a b Cohen, Noam (14 September 2008). "Don't Buy That Textbook, Download It Free". The New York Times.
  9. ^ "CNXML – Connexions Markup Language". Retrieved July 31, 2010.
  10. ^ "Open-source software developed and used by Connexions". Rhaptos Software Homepage. Archived from the original on July 24, 2009. Retrieved July 4, 2009.
  11. ^ "OpenStax CNX: About Us". Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  12. ^ "Connexions wins $2M from Hewlett Foundation" (Press release). Rice University Press Release. 15 May 2008. Archived from the original on 20 August 2009.
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