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Who needs textbooks?

Commentary by gsiemens () on , February 24, 2011.

Cable Green - our guest presenter the past Wednesday - forward a link to this blog post and asked us to share with course participants. The post details the media response to Washington State's digital textbook initiative... (Hits Today: 871 Total: 871)

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Re: Who needs textbooks?

Theodore A. Hoppe, February 25, 2011
If we are to ask the question, "Who needs texbooks?" we what do well the examine the"need" to arrive at the who.
Dan Meyer is a math teacher from New York City who lecture to other math teachers about the problem his has teaching math to students who don't want to learn it. Meyer think textbooks are a big part of the problem. "I'm here to tell you that the way our textbooks, particularly, mass-adopted textbooks, teach math reasoning and patient problem solving, it's functionally equivalent to turning on "Two and a Half Men" and calling it a day."
Why is this? Meyer explains," In all seriousness, here's an example from a physics textbook. It applies equally to math. Notice first of all here that you have exactly three pieces of information there, each of which will figure into a formula somewhere, eventually, which the student will then compute. I believe in real life. And ask yourself, what problem have you solved, ever, that was worth solving, where you knew all of the given information in advance, or where you didn't have a surplus of information and you had to filter it out, or where you didn't have sufficient information and you had to go find some. I'm sure we all agree that no problem worth solving is like that. And the textbook, I think, knows how it's hamstringing students. Because, watch this, this is the practice problem set. When it comes time to do the actually problem set, we have problems like this right here where we're just swapping out numbers and tweaking the context a little bit. And if the student still doesn't recognize the stamp this was molded from, it helpfully explains to you what sample problem you can return to to find the formula. You could literally, I mean this, pass this particular unit without knowing any physics, just knowing how to decode a textbook. That's a shame."
If this is what textbooks are actually providing, wnat is the need it addresses?
When we write, "Who need textbooks?" we should remove the question mark and make it a declaritive statement: Who needs then!

Dan Meyer has a TED talk: "Math Class Needs A Makeover" found here.
http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_meyer_math_curriculum_makeover.html

Re: Who needs textbooks?

LeahGrrl, February 25, 2011
Being in the textbook industry, I don't want to talk myself out of earning a living--but the reality is that textbooks are written to address state standards (i.e., to be marketable as a commodity) and not to enhance learning. Textbooks are written mostly by corporations called "development houses" who hire freelance writers (that may or may not be subject experts), and more and more often that piece is going to countries where those writers work for ridiculously low wages.

I love Cable Green's model of RFP processes designed to elicit the best possible instructional materials. If publishers get left behind because their/our business model is outdated and their products are subpar...well, then, all the better for students.

However, in an age in the U.S. of relentless testing, *no* instructional materials are going to help motivate and engage students.

Re: Who needs textbooks?

Theodore A. Hoppe, February 25, 2011

I'd like to focus on the issue a bit more because the information provided by Cable Green flew by too quickly, and needs to be examined, and reexamined.
Without notes I give have to rely on research and a recall of the numbers he used.
The first issue worth our attention is the this MOOC has no textbook. This is an obvious point, but one to reflex on.
Second, Green seems to afford for only a reduction in the amount of spending that occurs around textbooks, down to $10 billion. This is not good enough.
Look at this website at the facts and figures and tell me we cannot do better.

http://www.centerofmath.org/blog/the-state-of-the-textbook-industry-facts-and-figures/

Third we are in the midst on a paradigm shift many may be sensing, but one that is difficult to talk about, because of the profit structured, corporation society we live in. This is quickly becoming the Creative Commons era, where open sourcing will continue to emerge, due to the fact that answers to the current day problems MUST evolve quickly.

Re: Who needs textbooks?

vjansen, February 27, 2011
I think Cable hits the mark when he speaks about the need to decrease our reliance on textbooks in education and an increase in using more creative commons or open source materials. Textbooks are driving higher costs of educating students and it appears that most textbooks are not used effectively in most learning situations so these resources are marginalized in many instances. I have spoken to several textbook publishers who agree that textbook publishing is on a downward spiral.

The textbook is a no longer the learning medium of choice,by today's digital natives, being replaced by YouTube, that is more engaging, controllable and informative over a short period of time. The learner can replay the video, go back and forth, can select the topic the meets their specific interest and also has the audio component.

In case you have not seen the latest developments take a moment to view the site at Khan Academy (www.khanacademy.org). This is the a fine exemplar to the open learning concept.

Re: Who needs textbooks?

Theodore A. Hoppe, March 9, 2011
Who needs Videos, the new textbook?

Vjansen's thoughtful comments mentions khanacademy.org.
TED has taken notice of the new "world class room" being invented there as well.

"It can happen in every classroom in America tomorrow"
Salman Khan

http://www.ted.com/talks/salman_khan_let_s_use_video_to_reinvent_education.html

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