Tinkerings

Everyone has an idea of what the future holds for education.  Not all of them are in alignment with each other. Some see longer days (perhaps weeks) in the classroom, while others are claiming to have visions of shorter days and more asynchronous online learning.  Some see an expansion of state testing into national testing (can I get a show of hands?) while others foresee a time when standardized testing is scrapped for a more vigorous, and costly, project-based assessment.  Visions of the future run the gamut of ideas.

But there is one idea I believe will eventually happen.  I’ve looked into my own crystal ball for this one.  See if you agree.

I believe that textbook companies will eventually scrap the idea of paper books for online versions, and that schools will be required to give students the tools they need to utilize them both in and out of school.  These textbooks could be available on the Kindle, via a secure website, or even on an iPod.

Why do I believe this will happen?  Simple.  Printed textbooks are the worst books on the planet for ease of readability.  An online version could be made to be much more robust, engaging, and student oriented.

Follow me here.

Open any social studies, science, math, grammar, or reading textbook.  You see lots of words.  Lots and lots of words.  Some are bold.  Some are different colors. They are all spread out with pictures, charts, and tables interspersed to make it seem almost fun.  But it isn’t.  It is static.  It is boring.  Kids can’t follow the text patterns.  They get confused.

Now open my imaginary online textbook.  There are a lot of words on every page.  But, instead of a static picture in the middle of one, there is a link to a video clip.  The video clip might be a re-enactment of an historical event, a mini-teaching lesson from a trained instructor, a digital story created by an elementary school student, a step-by-step guide on finding the slope of a line.  Instant Instruction.

You see that static chart in the paper book?  It is now an interaactive chart with data that can be manipulated to see what would happen if certain perameters of an event changed over time.  Instant Engagement.

The questions in the back of the chapter are now an instantly graded pre-test.  Vocabulary is not only pronounced and defined, but a ahort 1 to 2 minute video clip shows the word being used in everyday conversation.  Instant Instruction.

Look again at the picture of Abraham Lincoln in the paper book.  Yep, it is the same old picture we’ve seen for the last 100 years of textbook printing.  But, in our online version, that picture is a link to an entire photo gallery of pictures that deal with Lincoln, the Civial War, the Emancipation Proclamation, and more.  Why you ask?  So kids can download them into Photo Story or iMovie and create their own instructional video based on the materail in the section and post it for the teacher to see how well the student comprehended the unit.  Instant Assessment.

Not only that, but the entire textbook can be embedded into the class wiki so students can work together on projects online.  Instant Collaboration.

And, the online book is user friendly.  That means that a teacher can create his or her own instruction video and embed it on page 76, or 152.  Or a Voicethread assignment.  Or a teacher-made online quiz.  Students have access to their own teacher 24/7.

Still think you want a class set of paper textbooks?

I didn’t think so.