scheduled for next week.
From what i understand, Courseload does take existing textbooks and creates
a PDF-like document, which they then access through their own reader to
allow for some social collaboration features within a class. Books are
purchased, not leased, by students.
I see this model as transitional; a bridge that enables teachers who are
familiar with textbooks to see that model in play with e-readers and
computers. Many teachers will quickly come to see that e-texts could be so
much more with embedded links, rich media contents, and built-in hooks to
their LMS.
I agree with Fred and Bill about the potential of a consortium of schools t=
o
contribute content. If you are not familiar with CK12.org, they are a
non-profite creating open-content textbooks (they call them Flexbooks) that
I think might make an interesting partner. Having several teachers work
cooperatively also reduces the burden of a single person creating a text,
not to mention the richer ideas that emerge from such collaboration.
Having schools collaborate on creating textbooks also has the benefit of
helping to capture the knowledge and pedagogy of master teachers, some of
whom are nearing retirement age, and whose loss to a school represents much
more than replacing one headcount with another. Knowledge retention is as
important in schools as it is in business.
s
-----
Steve Taffee | Director of Strategic Projects
Castilleja School | staffee@castilleja.org
1310 Bryant Street | www.castilleja.org
Palo Alto, CA 94301 | taffee.edublogs.org
650.924.1040 (Google Voice)
Women Learning, Women Leading
<http://twitter.com/sjtaffee> <http://www.linkedin.com/in/stevetaffee>
You don't *really* need to print this do you?
On Thu, Nov 4, 2010 at 12:10 PM, Bill Fitzgerald <dwfitzgerald@yahoo.com>wr=
ote:
> So here's my question:
>
> It looks like courseload offers the same stuff at a lower price - from
> their website:
>
> "And, it costs one-third the price of traditional textbooks =96 the same
> textbooks sourced from the same publishers that you use today."
>
> Why tether a new model to existing content?
>
> Given that we already have a great delivery system (aka the internet) and
> given that we can all create content for our subject areas (teachers do t=
his
> every day to augment/replace sections of any texts they use) and given th=
at
> tying any content to a specific device (Kindle, iPad app, etc) creates an
> unnecessary barrier to universal consumption, why not seek to repurpose
> existing open content into a set of resources that can be used or remixed
> anywhere, by anyone, on as many devices as possible?
>
> If a consortium of independent schools got together and
> released/developed/repurposed open content into a reusable format, that
> would be an amazing contribution.
>
> It would also go a long way toward addressing many of the features on
> Steve's list.
>
> And, more importantly, while the classroom experience within many
> independent schools cannot be replicated for all students, the curriculum
> and processes and collected knowledge accumulated within these schools ca=
n
> be. Sharing that wealth would constitute a social good that has the
> potential to provide access to more educational/learning opportunities fo=
r
> more students. If people within independent schools believe in the power =
of
> education to help eradicate or minimize the existing disparities between
> classes, why not share some of the intellectual wealth we have accumulate=
d.
>
> Jump-starting an ecosystem of open texts would be an amazing contribution=
.
>
> And, on the practical side, schools could save a tidy bundle on the cost =
of
> textbooks.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Bill
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From:Fred Bartels <fredbartels@gmail.com>
> To:ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU <To%3AISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU>
> Cc:
> Sent:Thursday, November 4, 2010 7:00:16 AM
> Subject:Re: Digital 'Textbooks' - What's Working, What Didn't Work, What =
Do
> You See on the Horizon?
>
> Steve,
>
> Thanks for your reply. You e-reader requirements list is great. Right on
> the
> money.
>
> Did you see this article in the Chronicle?
>
> http://chronicle.com/article/The-End-of-the-Textbook-as-We/125044/
>
> Interesting that it may be the colleges that force the publishers to move
> toward a viable e-text solution.
>
> I contacted these folks today (http://www.courseload.com/) as they are
> mentioned in the Chronicle article and seem to be a little ahead in
> developing a solution. Curious to see if they are interested in working
> with
> K-12s.
>
> Maybe a consortium of indy schools could work together with Courseload to
> try and bring to life your feature list.
>
> Fred
>
>
>
>
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