Hi Carol,
this is very interesting and I believe in the broad spectrum it is a great turn of events. Maybe it will be possible for the US to get out from under the State of Texas acting as the primary arbiter of textbook content.
I agree that it is good news for XO technology, pedagogical approach and open content movement. I use the digital distribution of information as one of the compelling advantages of the XO and mesh and explain that there is a lot of information that can be provided without a persistent internet connection. I think it is a winning issue for the millions of isolated rural schools. Sandra Thaxter
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Jun 9, 2009 05:06:39 PM, [email protected] wrote:
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Jun 9, 2009 05:06:39 PM, [email protected] wrote:
On Tue, Jun 9, 2009 at 12:53 PM, Caryl Bigenho <[email protected]> wrote:
Hi...Adam Holt alerted me to Gov. Schwarzenegger's proposal to go digital with textbooks statewide in California high schools, starting with math and science this year. Here is my retired teacher's view of the situation...
(See: http://gov.ca.gov/index.php?/fact-sheet/12455/)
The Good:
Textbooks can be up to date and, hopefully, will be.
Sets the stage for more competition in text books and being able to buy or download for free different chapters or lessons from different places. I'm thinking like iTunes. Before you had to buy the album, now you can just buy the song you want. Overall maybe the cost hasn't gone down but what I pay to get what I want has gone down quite a bit. I think levels the playing field some for organizations and individuals who want to put out truely free learning objects.
The Bad
Gov. Schwarzenegger suggests teachers can "print out pages for students who do not have computers." Who pays? Probably the teachers! This really shows no commitment to supplying the schools with computers
Perhaps an opportunity for Sugar on a Stick and School Key (my old name for a more standard Linux desktop version for older students) and donated computers.
Integrating with Moodle and Google Gears means the learning content they need that week can be automatically downloaded to the stick and then students could access it on very low end hardware, with or without internet.
Without a solution like this I can see huge disparies between kids who have computers and fast internet connections and those without. Even printing costs aside, one kid is using video, interactive models, and adaptive quizes from home, and another is getting printouts to put in his backpack?
The Ugly
Textbook publishing is a big, competitive business. Lots of profits are to be made in publishing textbooks. What incentive will there be to publish free online books? You can bet they will not be free for long.
Oh yeah, its going to be interesting....I've heard some pretty interesting stories about how text book purchasing decisions are made....I wonder if the whole process will get a bit more sunshine on it.
Thanks Caryl , this is certainly huge news for us.
Hummmmm...
Maybe we do need Jerry Brown to run for governor. He had a huge commitment to educational technology when he was in office.
Any comments?
Caryl
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Caroline Meeks
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