After considering some of the options available for free e-textbooks, which would best suit the needs of the learners in your context and why?
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tomwhyte1 8:13 pm on November 5, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
After reviewing the information provided regarding free textbooks, and after reflecting on my current and potentially future practice, I would most likely not use any textbook, even if it is free.
The reason for myself is simple. I have begun to ask in my professional practive, what should I be teaching:
1. The Textbook – which is loosely generated to supposedly fulfill all curriculum objectives
or
2. The curriculum…
The answer is the curriculum, as it always should have been (but lets be honest, never really was – teaching from the textbook, to the textbook was just too easy). Therefore, it is my mission not to assign Math Textbooks out too my students next year – but to develop Mini Lessons, Mini Projects, culminating into larger projects, which students show their understanding, and through this process, maybe we develop our own resource for future learning and review.
For if we used a textbook someone else made, it may or may not align well with my curriculum, and better yet, it most likely will not fit with what my students find meaningful.
Thoughts?
cunnian 9:05 pm on November 5, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Tom,
Thanks for your comment. Good on you for challenging the underlying assumption of this activity; namely that a textbook is a necessary part of any classroom. In your situation, you may be able to do away with this resource which hearkens back to the days of assigning the odd questions on page 46. The approach that you describe could allow for a much deeper understanding of the concepts than what most textbooks could offer. My own concern would be whether or not such an approach would allow me to balance both depth of learning and efficiency so that I might be able to cover all of the curricular requirements. Depth versus coverage is unfortunately a familiar conflict amongst many educators who find themselves teaching full curricula.
Before you write off this resource entirely, consider that one of the major affordances (this is most notable in CK12.org) is that you are selecting the content that appears in your text… they are flexible enough to allow you to personalize a resource for your situation. Another benefit is that such a resource may allow you to quickly create learning materials which would allow you to more easily differentiate your instruction to support those students who have gaps in their conceptual understanding. My own experience with teaching math has shown me that these students are quite challenging to support as they invariably require much more time than I can reasonably give in a day.
Finally, your students may find it nice to have another resource available 24/7 to clear up any misunderstandings and support their learning when you might not be available.
At any rate, my point is that, while the approach that you propose could certainly do away with using textbooks entirely, such a resource may nonetheless still find a little niche of usefulness in your classroom.
John
tomwhyte1 8:48 am on November 6, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Interesting view points, especially when you bring up the issue of breadth over depth. In Alberta, there are discussions right now on adjusting our curriculum. We do a lot, with very little depth – they want a vice-versa approach. Have a few major concepts, then cover with much more depth. From that potential reality, it is more than possible to eliminate traditional textbooks.
Secondly, as a department head, I know how much textbooks are costing – and I know I simply use it to assign questions. For me that is a huge waste of money. Yes I realize that these textbooks are free, however the device needed to use them is not. Furthermore, this would be a huge expense placed again on the parents, an expense at this time I cannot justify.
Thirdly, in todays modern world, and the abundance of free information, why does one need a specific textbook. For myself, that is going to the worlds best buffet restaurant and ordering a plain burger. We have the technology now to create our own materials based upon our own needs. A local district around where I teach, has eliminated textbooks and have as a district developed their own, meaningful resources for their students. Not using someone else interpretation of the objectives.
Fourthly, by instructing based upon a textbook, I am forcing (intentionally or unintentionally) my students to work on a very linear approach to education. However, if I teach to the curriculum, I can group, and regroup lessons based upon what objectives work best together, instead of teaching each inside of their own silo, and find the free resources to support the instruction.
Lastly, I am planning on having traditional textbooks in the room that students can sign out if they need to on a nightly basis. I realize, that some students still need that textbook, and to remove that learning resource would be detrimental to their education, something I cannot support.
Thoughts?
cunnian 11:00 pm on November 6, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks again Tom. As always, you have provided a well-articulated response. I am impressed that Alberta is having discussions about making such important changes to the curriculum. I personally haven’t heard of such discussions happening yet in BC at the ministry level, but look forward to when (if) they will eventually happen.
John
melissaayers 6:32 am on November 6, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
As I do not have a context per say I will again base this on the MET program. Not wanting to be negative but I find myself having to reiterate Tom’s sentiments a little on this one. I find that none of these options seem relevant for the courses I have taken to date. It seems we (as MET students) have already had the readings and material pre-selected and provided as articles and or web resources by the course designers/facilitators. Following this I use websites and online journals in general when researching for a project or activity. I have not consulted or read (in its entirety) a real or digital book for these courses (I have taken only 5 so far so I am not sure how representative this is). That said I have of course read a number of chapters out of traditional text in pdf format.
Does this suggest in general for online higher education the traditional book as well as its digital version are no longer needed? Are websites and web content (interactive & static) more the way to go? Or will educators start to create content using the new tools that are becoming available to create digital books which incorporate the new features mentioned in the intro of the OER (( 3D images, Interactive images and galleries, Highlighting and Note-taking, Sharing))?
For the world of online higher education I find it difficult to differentiate between web content and new fully featured e-books. They seem the same and provide pretty much the same functionality but in general web content is a step or two ahead of the functionality that is provided in digital books. Overall I think it will remain the personal choice of the educator providing the course to what format they prefer to deliver their materials.
cunnian 11:16 pm on November 6, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Melissa,
Thanks for your post. I think that you are correct that ultimately it is the instructor’s choice as to which resources will be incorporated. I’m not sure that in a graduate program you would expect to see much in the way of a textbook of any kind. I’ve only had to purchase one so far for ETEC 500.
The problem that free e-textbook companies try to address is the ‘broken market’ of the textbook publishing industry. Costs of traditional texts have become oppressive and new versions come out each year, supposedly making the previous version obsolete. Web content and commercially-produced ebooks are indeed likely superior to these free products and you would think that if they were available for a certain subject, then the instructor would make use of them.
John
tomwhyte1 5:30 am on November 8, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
In my course work so far, I have purchased two “textbooks” – One was for ETEC 500 – the Educational Research course, for myself, that was needed, for my brain needs all the help it can get for statistical analysis and such. Might I have done without, and found free resources, most likely. But having the safety net of the required resource made me feel better about my chance in the course. Second textbook – is more like a book for ETEC 531 – read a chapter then you are required to answer questions based specifically on the readings.
So, could the entire MET course be completed with free etextbooks – yes. My two courses would have to have been revamped, and maybe when an ever-greening process occurs, this is something they might look into.
Lastly, through these conversations, it has become clear that many people value the information they are getting freely from the internet, but there seems to be a negative connotation to the word textbook, and subsequently e-textbook. Is this a backlash from our days as being a student, finding little value in what was on the printed page? I don’t know, but those of us who are gathering resources, putting them together, then providing them to our students, aren’t we doing the same?
So is the issue, centralized resources like textbooks or e-textbooks (or even the appearance of centralization), when over the last few years, the world of education has been afforded the opportunity to explore and capitalize on a decentralized approach to gathering and applying information?
Thoughts?
ETEC BYOD 5:51 pm on November 9, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I’ll weigh in on the debate over the textbook for ETEC 500, with the same question I had for the course instructor at the time: isn’t there an electronic version of this thing? The book was expensive, heavy (i.e. expensive to ship) and as Tom mentions, the content (or as much as we covered) could likely have been replaced with free resources online. Not mention that with the multimedia capabilities of etextbooks or online resources, the material covered in out ETEC 500 paper book could have been a touch more engaging and dare I say maybe even “fun” to learn 🙂
I think if we look e-textbooks as a replacement for good old books, we may not be happy with the change. However, if we look at the possibilities of the medium and apply the etexts in the right situations, students, teachers and stakeholders looking for accountability in education, can all benefit.
The notion of textbooks as static tombs of outdated information doesn’t need to be the case with etextbooks, which can be living and organically updated resources. I think of them in a way, as holding tanks for all the spoils of our online hunting and gathering. For this reason, I am more excited about the possibility of creating custom etextbooks tailored to fit the needs of individual educator, department or school, rather than simply replacing an old technology with a new one because we can, or because it will make some publishers more money.
pcollins 8:35 am on November 6, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
That is an interesting question Melissa,
Are textbooks… digital or otherwise… simply becoming a bit passe in higher education? Especially in light of the rapidly evolving world of digital knowledge. I mean, could a digital textbook even sufficiently keep itself up to date?
This is my seventh course and I have only purchased two textbooks. Both of which were only really supplemental to other readings provided by the instructors. And truth be told – I was questioning why we purchased them; being that less then 5% of the book was actually utilized in the course.
There does appear to be pressure put on higher education to move to more digital publications. This comes as political (see the newsstand) and student-led for environmental and monetary concerns. I am left wondering how much personal choice educators have with choosing their format for course materials. I know that as a high school teacher – I can only use district sanctioned text books which basically come from one of two major publishers. If I was to not purchase their texts for my class and choose instead to solely use an online resource such as the CK12 books I have made – I would be in a world of commotion.
PC
tomwhyte1 8:51 am on November 6, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I look at your last statement – a world of commotion for not purchasing textbooks… I must ask why?
When one considers the availability of free material (which is as good, if not better) and the huge expenditures when compared to dwindling budgets, I would think schools would support innovation and exploration?
Thoughts?
avninder 9:47 am on November 6, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
tomwhyte1 I like how you question new ventures instead of being impressed solely by the bells and whistles. I was quite impressed by the TED video with the sample digital book but have now realized that there may be drawbacks. Costs would be the biggest issue. On first thought by eliminating the cost of printing books, the digital books would pay for themselves but when you consider the cost of the tablets that each student would have to buy, things change. Of course if there were a BYOD system in place perhaps students would be able to utilize their tablets or computers to access the newly formatted books. I think digital books may be a better fit for higher education as most college students will have their own devices and they have to pay for their own books.
As a MET student who has only had to purchase books for 3 out of 9 courses, it was quite a change to have the majority of the readings online. At the beginning of the program, I was quick to print out the readings in order to highlight and mark; now I am comfortable with reading from the screen although this means I have to have access to a charged computer and an internet connection.
avninder 10:11 am on November 6, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I know a lot of people are meme-ed out but this seems relevant to this week’s topic: http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/353u99/.
I was going to post the the pic itself but the copyright pop up scared me.
Mike Rae 7:51 pm on November 6, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I like that meme…pretty funny.
In my situation teaching History 12, I was bummed that the textbook I had was the same one I used in high school (15 years ago). This bothered me so I supplemented myself with the internet, a printer and a photocopier. The next year I purchased two more recent textbooks (I was reimbursed) for the course that again I photocopied and handed out readings as supplements. It sure would have been nice if I could have done all that work (I did it during the year anyway) before the school year in creating my own book.
I’m not sure how that would have gone over in my school though which is not BYOD. And for the most part, I think that administration is used to cutting checks for traditional paper textbooks and convincing them that this was a better idea would have been a challenge in itself. But free is an enticing word when working out school budgets.
I think that we will see these textbooks used more and more in universities, where the idea of ‘a reading package’ will be replaced by the customized ‘e-book’ because in higher education there is such a large percent of students that own devices to use them.
I would love to see this in my school, but I think a BYOD program would have to be in place before it could work to its full potential.
MIKE
tomwhyte1 5:14 am on November 8, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I think your statement:
“I’m not sure how that would have gone over in my school though which is not BYOD”
really gets to the point on this issue. From the previous week, we looked at BYOD, and it is clear, at least for me, that not all schools/districts or even teachers are at the same point in their thinking or application of technology. And, again for myself, until this has progressed far enough, the introduction, and sustainability of paid or free e-textbooks cannot be achieved.
Thoughts?
ETEC BYOD 5:59 pm on November 9, 2012 Permalink
It’s true, without a way to cheaply and reliably read electronically, etextbooks are not going to be a viable alternative to books. Further to the last thread then, will we want to read textbooks when the same reading device will likely have full internet access to a online universe of dynamic information – for free.
tomwhyte1 5:21 am on November 8, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
One must not forget the cost of updating the technology (which in the long run, might be cheaper to buy paper..). For if a student is required to continually bring these devices for the sole purpose of accessing a textbook, the wear and tear will quickly diminish its life expectancy – for lets be honest – kids are kids.
Thoughts?
Pat A Son 11:28 pm on November 8, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I hear you on this point but I think that kids view of these modern gadgets are different from how we viewed books in our time. These devices have become more than just information libraries but have status symbols and as such great care is taken to protect them. In addition digital books do not age, do not occupy physical space and can be converted to paper if needs be. BTW books are updated also but most of the time the new edition are not much better than the old ones
Colin 5:37 pm on November 7, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I have to agree with what Tom is saying and that I rarely use textbooks in my class or at least trying to eliminate them. I do use it as a resource for myself to give me ideas, a general framework for a course or just for the questions. The problem with any textbook is the lag between when the author writes the book and publishes it and when it actually get into students hands (This lag is improved for e textbooks but still exists). For certain courses this is not a problem but for Business and Technology courses the world has changed a lot in that time. I find I am better off just teaching the newest and most relevant topics in my field at that time and for that I mostly use the internet.
However, I do like the idea of free e textbooks as it would allow me to tell students to read a chapter in this book and then another chapter in another book. I wouldn’t spend the money to buy all of these books but I will for free have students look at them if I think they are valuable.
Generally I think education is moving in the direction away from textbooks as a main teaching source and having them more as a resource. Textbooks are too linear and personalized learning is all about following different paths of information at different times. Textbooks are also too generalized for the large population and they don’t address specific issues in a certain area or the skills and interests of students.
tomwhyte1 5:18 am on November 8, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I also like your idea of sampling from multiple books, however, my concern is, does that chapter truly cover the curricular objectives we have been tasked to complete? Yes I agree, that it will cover the basics, and if it is only being used for that, then why not. But if I am spending the time to sample from various etextbooks, should I not, just sample information that truly aligns with the curriculum… from the largest, freest etextbook that exists… The Internet?
Thoughts?
Colin 11:08 am on November 8, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
That is the nice part about being able to pick and choose. When I go on the internet I am just looking for material that I believe covers the curricular objectives. The same is true when I look at different chapters in a book. Often there is one or two chapters in a textbook that I like how the author presented the material or I may not be able to find better information on the internet.
Also with the internet you can get many different approaches to how the different authors present the same material. However, I find if I jump around too much that it becomes more confusing for the students as they need a more structured approach or viewpoint. Really there is no perfect source of information and I cannot write all the information myself due to time factors. Right now I have been given a new course to teach so I am in the process of rewriting the course. Most of the information is coming from different sources on the internet and my own ideas but I am also looking at different textbooks.
Also in BC I believe you can be challenged on the resources you use in the classroom if it hasn’t been approved by an organization like ERAC. If you use one of their approved textbooks you are fine. Though this only becomes a problem if you have a parent not happy with what you are teaching their child.
cunnian 8:56 pm on November 8, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
HI Colin,
You’ve raised an important issue. In BC we are limited to using resources that are approved. In the case of science 6-10, there are really only two options for textbooks and you have to choose one (or someone chooses for you). I wonder if this policy might change as quality resources become more abundant online?
ETEC BYOD 6:05 pm on November 9, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I resonate with Colin’s comment about structure here. While the world is at our fingertips online, making sense out disparate pieces of information can be challenging for teachers and students.
Undoubtedly what some teachers, especially those new to a subject, love about any textbook, print or electronic, is the fact that some else has gathered and curated the information and hopefully presented in a logical manner.
Peggy Lawson 6:16 pm on November 9, 2012 Permalink
I fully agree BYOD. Despite our discussions of free eTextbooks, wikis, free articles to download as opposed to having to buy a course textbook – I think the real value of a professional textbook, for which we pay authors to create, is in the compiliation of a comprehensive set of information, hopefully skillfully woven together. For graduate students it may be enough to find our own sources and bring them together to make meaning. But for K-12 and maybe undergrads – there is value in textbooks that I’m afraid we might be missing in some of our discussions here.
kstackhouse 9:01 am on November 8, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I have to agree with what others have stated. In my teaching practice I have had courses with textbooks and courses without. I have found that the courses I did not have a book requred that I be much more engaged with the course and the needs of my students. Having worked on curricula writing for two NB courses I know that we are moving away from the textbook. The stance is that information is constantly changing and that resources can be better allocated than pouring them into textbooks. I do know that other courses, like Math or Sociology, do rely on texts more than the types of courses I teach. I must say though it bothers me when I walk by a Math class and the teacher has the agenda on the board…”Pages 36-45, answer all the questions and ask for help if you need it.” I have seen this! This is not inspiring teaching and I know most teachers would not do this, however there is less pressure to be engaged if you can just follow the same page order you used the previous year.
I think that having free, if it is free, access to ebooks, ejournals, and other online resources are going to be the future of the textbook industry. The material can be dynamic rather than static, it can be updated regularly, and is cost saving for the consumer (student direct purchase or institution purchase).
jhodi 8:48 am on November 9, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
One of the major advantages to the e-text in my opinion is the ability to update the content with greater ease than a texbook with printing costs. Content, curriculum, teaching styles, etc. are always changing and it would be nice to have resources that have the potential to stay current.
teacherben 5:56 pm on November 8, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
It’s great that there are so many free options, but as Tom noted as he kicked off this discussion, it all looks a bit old-fashioned. Not only are those of us who are committed to a Constructivist pedagogy unlikely to stick with a traditional textbook approach, but the resources that I looked through so far are still heavily reliant on text as the primary delivery tool. They incorporate very little in the way of multimedia content, there is little or no interactivity and they follow a very linear framework that really does ask you to use it as your primary resource. These days, I am much less inclined to bother sifting through volumes to find the bits that I want. I am much more likely to search for resources that can stand on their own so that I can incorporate them into my own narrative. This may not be the case for every subject, but it seems to me that when we make the shift to problem-based/project-based learning, then this is more likely the approach people will take. Textbooks may have gone digital, but they still suffer from many of the same issues–largely that they represent a very teacher-centered program.
Jenny Brown 10:29 am on November 9, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I am torn as to my position on the use of textbooks for learning. I agree with Ben’s approach to learning using constructivist pedagogy with project-based work but do also think that a foundation of basic concepts may be acquired through reading a linear-based book and completing the exercises found there. At the same time though, I think that true application and situational understanding of concepts should always be incorporated in learning through the use of group projects, problem solving activities and discussions. In the adult classes I teach, the social constructivist approach I often take is to first have students understand their assumptions and what their knowledge base is on a subject and then challenge these assumptions and build on that knowledge by many group activities and discussions and then finish the session with time for reflection. Many of the students also appreciate the fact that we do provide a manual for them. I don’t teach from it but it is available for them to review and complete the questions if they wish. I think this mix provides a comfort level for adult learners, many whom grew up in teacher-centered classrooms.
frank 12:18 am on November 12, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Reading your responses, I’m reminded of Sugata Mitra’s vision that in the 21st century, education should be “digital, automatic, fault tolerant, minimally invasive, connected and self-organized.”
This social constructivist pedagogy to education might have many advantages over traditional models, but as you have pointed out, it may need to be tethered and tampered with, depending on the audience and circumstance.
Because e-books do allow for co-creation of educational learning experiences, they can provide flexibility where old models proved too rigid.
But we should not lose sight of the fact that these technologies and the newer approaches they facilitate are still in their relative infancy, and we still have a lot to figure out before we can be confident of their ability to produce consistent and reliable experiences/results in a cost effective manner.
In making the above points, I’m tempted to combine two seemingly juxtaposing proverbial statements: 1) Fortune favours the bold and 2) Proceed with caution. As we work to redefine the future of education, it would seem that educators will not only have to challenge their students going forward, but themselves as well. As Carl Rogers said, “The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn and change.” And who is to be more educated than educators themselves?
Mike Rae 7:03 pm on November 8, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
business and tech conversation made me think about how valuable an up to the day text book would be for a course like that. Then it got me thinking, wouldn’t it be cool if you could somehow have your textbook ‘updated’ automatically? Or at least subscribing to certain sites, magazines, or blogs that could send you alerts like ‘you may be interested in this article for your e-textbook’.
what do you guys think?
Lisa Nevoral 7:29 pm on November 8, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Mike,
I was thinking along the same lines. One bonus online textbooks could have over actual textbooks is the fact that they could possibly be updated with new information, then easily distributed (instead of a school having to purchase new textbooks).
Lisa
Lisa
cunnian 9:03 pm on November 8, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I wonder if something like an RSS feed could be built into an etext that could feed relevant and up-to-date articles and other media into it?
Lisa Nevoral 7:26 pm on November 8, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi All,
I have to agree with Tom on his first post. Do we teach to the curriculum or to the textbook? A lot of times a textbook put out by a publisher will hit most of the PLOs, but many of the questions are trivial. I know of a few teachers in my district that are going away from using textbooks altogether and creating their own activities or problems to instruct their students. I haven’t gotten there quite yet, but in math I don’t rely on the textbook as much anymore because I have been creating problems or projects that allow students to work out their own solutions. I find that math textbooks give too much information for each question and a lot of times are not realistic of what a student will see in real life. Someone who promotes this idea is Dan Meyers. Check out his Ted Talk about this idea (http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_meyer_math_curriculum_makeover.html).
Out of the sites provided, I would possibly use or direct my students to the CK12.org and Sophia sites. I thought they were easy to navigate and could help supplement student’s learning about things we are doing in class (ie.in Math and Science classes). Students could use these sites as resources or review sites. Sophia incorporates text with videos, but I would like to see more interactive problems. I like that CK12.org gave lesson objectives and vocabulary words. One area that it was lacking was the exercise section which stated they had no exercises. There was a contribute button, but I wonder who would be monitoring this site to see if these activities were good or appropriate.
Lisa
cunnian 9:10 pm on November 8, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Lisa,
CK12 still seems to be in its infancy so over time I would expect that there would be exercises put into that section. I am not sure if there would be a moderator per se; instead they may rely on crowdsourcing as quality control. Hadn’t seen that Ted talk before… thanks for sharing!
By the way (and speaking of videos), the Dr. Knox Gangnam style Halloween dance video crossed my path yesterday – very impressive!
Lisa Nevoral 7:29 pm on November 11, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Yes, crowdsourcing would work as quality control. If I didn’t like an activity, I wouldn’t have to use it. If you go to Dan Meyer’s website, he has lots of good math problems and such.
The kids loved the dance. We did Thriller two years ago, so had to up the showmanship.
Lisa
jhodi 9:59 pm on November 8, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
The taxpayer funded e-text would be suitable to my environment. After reading how BC is thinking about this option, it seems to have several merits. I quite like how these texts are intended to be created with the input of the institution, instructors, and publishers. It allows teachers to modify the text for a specific class. The open resource allows teachers to constantly change and modify their resources without being bound to a specific textbook. For my own sake, I would love to be able to add/subtract to my resources every semester as I figure out what works for me and what does not.
Given that I teach high school, I think that it is reasonable to think that the majority of my students have a technological device that would give them access to an e-text. This provides convenient access to learning resources for students and a less expensive option than traditional textbooks for schools.
Compared with e-texts with targeted ads, this is also a safe alternative for students and schools. Student information can remain safe and private without any risk of sharing personal information or work over the Internet.
cunnian 10:23 pm on November 8, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Good points jhodi. Advertising in schools is still a very controversial issue. Access is another key issue… the majority of your students may have a device that permits access, but what do you do for the rest? This brings up some of the issues from last week`s topic of BYOD.
There aren’t too many details that I’ve seen about the BC e-text initiative apart from what the government has released. It will be interesting to see how this pans out.
cunnian 10:32 pm on November 8, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Using my amazing powers of observation, I think that it would be fair to say that many of you are less enamored with these resources than these Free E-textbook businesses would like for you to be. And I must admit that textbooks in my own context as a high school science teacher are infrequently used as there are so many good resources to use that are already freely available.
Given that many of us probably have the same opinion of these resources, I can’t help but wonder why it is that we are suddenly seeing all of these free e-text start-ups appearing. What’s driving this? If teachers are rejecting the use of traditional textbooks en masse, then is this market doomed or is there still a niche which can be occupied? Would you invest in one of these resources (if possible, of course) or is this ‘broken market’ even more broken than these publishers thought?
Eva Ziemsen 1:09 pm on November 9, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
After assessing the resources provided, I would have to say that I would likely not use any of these free textbooks on film. It seems I am on the same page as many here. At least from what I saw, the sources were not so impressive in the area of film. Perhaps this is due to the fact that filmmaking is very niche and there is less available in this area? Perhaps I would consider using a textbook that is normally $60+ and perhaps it was available for free with ads. I would allow my students to make that decision, as they are in post-secondary.
I personally have been surprised how little ‘books’ I am using in my studies in ETEC and other courses. I think the most common resource I use are articles in the form of PDFs through UBC’s library and journal system.
As for textbooks in general (digital or hardcopy), there are still a few texts that I recommend to anyone studying in film. For example, sometimes people ask me, “if you could recommend one book, what would it be?” My answer is always “Directing: Film Techniques and Aesthetics” by Michael Rabiger. It’s the kind of book, that in its latest edition (published a few years ago) is the kind of book where I think someone is in good hands. If I had to replicate this book with several sources, I would be spending days compiling something comparable. Some of the postings make it seem like textbooks are going out of style, but in this context of a few key texts, I would argue that they are classics and will never be outdated or irrelevant.
I must also say, that many teachers, as bad as this sounds, often stick to what they know and what has worked, sometimes due to time and also proven efficacy. I know my colleagues are always updating their work every year, but it is challenge to constantly incorporate new things. For a while, we thought our copyright laws were changing to be much more strict, so we all were going to have to switch gears in many ways. However, that was avoided. I think issues surrounding copyright will also affect the way we use textbooks or any texts for that matter.
ETEC522grp8 5:07 pm on November 9, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Update on Flatbooks:
Open source textbook provider Flatbooks announced this week that it will no longer provide free access to its textbooks, although it will still offer an affordable textbook option for students. http://www.nacs.org/campusmarketplace/110212.html
Mike Rae 4:04 am on November 10, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Eva, I totally agree that part of the problem in education are teachers unwilling to change, and a lot of that is because they are attached to the textbook they have. eTextbooks could break that, especially if they are being updated all the time. Teachers would be forced to rethink what they are doing. Would it be more work for teachers? yes, but it would also be better teaching. If a geography teacher is teaching about about weather, wouldn’t it be more meaningful if examples were drawn from hurricane Sandy?
I really believe that customized textbooks are the way of the future in that you could create a ‘one stop shop’ resource that aligns perfectly with curriculum and learning outcomes.
As this thread has discussed a major problem over the years has been the dilemma of teaching to the textbook or teaching to the curriculum. eTextbooks look like a solution to that.
visramn 6:57 pm on November 10, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I found it interesting to see that there are so many options for e-texts. I work with a population of learners who struggle with literacy. Hence, textbooks are not ideal for them because written text that is clumped together, as it is in textbooks becomes daunting for them. The visual components present in e-texts would be beneficial for my students and I could see how an e-text would be better than a regular text due to such components. However, I still do not think Texts are the best learning medium for them. My student do better with more hands on tasks that they find engaging and are less responsive to textbooks or information that is shared in a written format.
If I was to choose one of these types of texts, I would stay away from the ones with the advertising because my students struggle with engagement and ads would just distract them from the educational content in the e-texts. I think I would be more likely to encourage government funded books or Foundation/granted-funded e-texts. These books are generated for learning and do not have any ulterior motive such as the ones with ads. However, they are also less likely to be as vast due to lack of finances.
Nureen
jameschen 12:41 am on November 11, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
From my experience as an ESL instructor, almost all of the free e-textbook sites provided on the blog would suit the needs of my learners. Many have resources for both the teacher and the student, so it would be a matter of finding the right materials to suit the needs of both my learners and myself. I would most likely suggest Sophia’s ESL Tutorials to my learners because the website is organized in a way so that graphical information and interactive content are presented right on the website.
To respond to the posts above, for me, the free e-textbook = low quality perspective is somewhat valid, because there is a reason why products are priced the way they are. However, our role as educators is to help learners overcome their challenges using whatever resources available. It is important for us to consider the issue of ‘haves and have-nots’ before we determine whether or not the quality of learning is dependent on the price of textbooks. As many of you have already written, good learning does not necessary mean spending more money on expensive textbooks. The issue is in how the content is taught rather than the content itself.
– James