Are Textbooks History?
Posted by ejallen on June 30, 2009
As we wrapped up another school year, book collection became a major process. For the past few weeks since school ended, the steady stream of students and parents coming in to turn in books or to pay for lost ones has been the focus of much activity. And the replacement charge is always high, in the $70 range.
Well, I was thinking. With the nature of content these days, the ability to collaborate, the growing use of the cloud, iPods, iPhones, netbooks and other mobile devices, has the long-standing image of the textbook as an essential instructional tool begun to fade?
I don’t mean the format of the textbook. Sure it could become an e-book, or a Kindle book. I mean cease to exist. I am just asking. We have seen the demise of the encyclopedia. Isn’t a textbook a subject specific encyclopedia?
I know that Gov. Schwarzenegger has proposed something like this for California and has pointed out the savings that could be generated. It would be huge. It would be a challenge. But it could be worth it.
In addition to the financial benefits, is it possible that learning would increase if we had to teach without the text and students had to learn without it? Possible? Imminent? Crazy idea?
Thanks for taking the time to read this. Please feel free to comment.
July 14th, 2009 at 10:27 pm
I feel that in certain areas, textbooks are becoming more and more obsolete. Cease to exist? One could hope, but I don’t see it possible in the near future, at least not in all subject areas. I definitely feel that your sciences, like biology and chemistry are going to need some sort of written supplement to go alone with any digital textbook that would be used. Law is another area that will be difficult not to have some sort of written textbooks.
I’d like to think that with the world of CGI, Green Screens, 3-D, Blu-Ray and more, the world could see a revolution as a method of teaching. Think about the college years. Several of my professors only used the textbooks as a reference, but the rest was through experience in the business world and the word of academia. How difficult would it be to introduce this paperless method into the classroom, if good models and tables can be brought to life on a screen? My only issue with net work would be: how do we keep students focused on the task at hand, and not have 35 different tabs and programs running instead of paying attention to the what we are teaching them?
I think textbooks are becoming too expensive, cumbersome and obsolete before they are even in the students hands. It has become so much of a money making industry that editions are updated by the semester practically. New discoveries are happening everyday in all fields of life, that the textbooks are even having online portions to their textbooks to try and make up for what is being missed since the edition hit the printer.
Students don’t get a fair percentage for buy back, after paying nearly 200 dollars for a single book that most times does not get opened. The state has begun to make the amount of money for textbooks at private schools more limited as budgets are getting cut, which begs the question “How do we make up for what we don’t have anymore?” I think it’s time to stop saying “what if” and let’s put together a test program and at least try to see where it can lead us! If you can dream it, you can do it!
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ejallen Reply:
July 15th, 2009 at 9:16 am
Sean, thanks for chiming in! I think the books will be difficult for some to let go, but the time is coming. If the teaching community shares resources, eventually even for science, a printed book would be an expensive outdated item. It truly comes down to academic transparency.
Content is truly ubiquitous. We need to have our students learn to navigate the glut of information out there to discern what is useful. If we can do that, have teachers share in a transparent manner, and use all that is available to us, textbooks will be history.
By the way, love the Disney quote. You knew I would get that!
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August 9th, 2009 at 9:48 am
I was just reading the New York Times and found this article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/09/education/09textbook.html?_r=1&hp
I think that it fits in well with this blog post. Worth a look.
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