Bridging the Gap between Commercial Publishing and OER

Hello Fellow OER Enthusiasts.   My name is Joyce McKnight.  I am an Associate Professor at the Center for Distance Learning of Empire State College which is one of the comprehensive colleges of the State University of New York in the US.   I have been involved with the wikieducator and OERu communities for about four years.  My special interests are community organizing/community development and developing processes to link students especially in the developing countries with opportunities to gain college credit.   I am senior author of a college textbook Community Organizing: Theory and Practice  which "belongs" to Pearson Publishing, a contract that was signed several years before I knew that the OER movement existed.  My book has two major purposes:  it is a comprehensive textbook for upper division undergraduates and masters' level human services and social work students and it is a handbook for participatory, asset-based community organizing and development.  Because it was published by a well-known publisher (and admittedly has many value added resources because of Pearson), the cost of my book is comparable to that of other college texts and because it doubles as a reference book is hopefully worth the price.   However, I would like to find ways to make its key ideas available to a wider audience...people in real communities around the world who want to work with their neighbors to improve their quality of life.   I am hoping that the OER community can help me accomplish this goal.   I look forward to meeting everyone and learning with you.