The Answer for Textbook Publishers

Flickr Photo by Judy Baxter

We all know how much our students love technology.  They spend so much time on their mobile phones reading and typing, conversing, Googling, playing, working, and living — it’s a given that our students live in their pockets.

So, if we want to continue to be relevant to our students lives and their future, and the textbook industry wants to be a part of this reinvention of teaching and learning,

Then they must make their textbooks smaller.

It is obvious that for our children, the optimum size for instructional delivery is about 2 x 3 inches, the size of my iPhone display.  Think of the trees that could be saved.  Think of the reduced load on the vertebra of our little darlings.  You can even fit the little books with Velcro so that they could be attached to our students phones.  They could hold their tech-of-choice while engaging in the night’s reading.

Not to fear.  For those of us older than 39, the teachers edition would have to remain the standard 9×12 inches and 12.23 pounds — and textbook companies could continue charge their just fees.

If we are going to truly address the needs of today’s children, we must be able to do it where they are — from their pockets.

As a matter of full disclosure, I am not in the employ of any textbook corporation, nor have I received a single product from said industry that is smaller than my own brain.

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12 thoughts on “The Answer for Textbook Publishers”

  1. I really admire your insight David. Our students really are mobile learners and we need to redirect our education efforts to meet kids where they are if we ever hope to lead/influence them…if this is still the role of school. I don’t think teaching and leading are synonymous anymore, maybe we need to redefine teaching as facilitating learning (which at times may require a Direct Instruction approach and at other times not). My specialty is behavior interventions, which also must be designed to meet students where they are and not just heap on more consequences and discipline.

  2. I would add something to the call for small… I am frustrated with the texts available for some of my classes (my college-level AP European History text book is very good… and there are as-good-or-better alternatives available) but for classes like my World Cultures class, most of the available texts suffer from being too much and too little at the same time. Too much in that they provide less content that is relevant and instead is mostly distraction. Too little in that they often have odd and narrow scopes. I’d love a simple, 100 page text for World Cultures that was almost an outline… students could read to get the basics and the we could supplement with lecture, research, discussion and better bits from other sources.

  3. Can we take this a step further? Why stop at small non-digital texts? How about if publishers start offering more e-texts that allow students to carry their “textbook” in their computer? I find that most publishers have minimal offerings along the line of e-texts for schools to use. Parents would like to have the e-text so that their sons and daughters do not carry both a laptop and a text to and from school. Our 1 to 1 school is craving more e-texts yet publishers say that they don’t have the demand for e-texts from US based schools. How can we get the publishers’ attention so that they offer more e-texts for our programs? Until then, I guess we will see students carrying book bags and laptop bags as the standard M.O. and hope the kids have strong backs!

  4. I completely disagree with the idea that 2 x 3″ or a mobile device is “optimal” in any way for educational uses. There are several reasons:
    1. Ergonomics. While this never seems to be a topic of conversation, it is critical that we start to look at the physical impact of using these types of devices over extended periods of time.
    2. Screen Resolution. While I love my iPhone and conduct a lot of work on it, I still need my laptop to conduct in depth work (i.e. serious writing were I need to see more than a paragraph at a time and content post-production, be it images, movies, or audio.) Also, my iphone doesn’t cut it when I’m looking at larger images, such as detailed maps or primary documentation.

    Smartphones are wonderful for basic tasks and consuming information, but they are limited at content creation. Isn’t that the problem with American education as a whole?

    Where I do agree with you is the textbook companys are way behind. They need to adopt an model of delivery that mirrors iTunes. (Not my idea but I’ve heard it before. http://www.k12blueprint.com/k12/blueprint/story_moving_beyond_textbooks_vail_arizona.php) Imagine a teacher able to select the texts they want their students to access and only pay for those pieces.

    I also think that the “mythical” device is coming. Sometime in the next couple of years a company will make a large iPod Touch like device or netbooks that will have touch screen features, a usable keyboard, and/or voice recognition software. All of this will be available for under $300 with a reasonable warranty. That will be when suddenly it is cheaper and more effective to use a digital device than a textbook.

  5. I would love for my students to have an textbook or access to a textbook at all times. In this digital world there has to be some way to incoporate the literature I use in my classroom electronically.
    My students are internet savvy and could easily complete assignments through the web. If students had computers in class that were checked out from the school for their use while enrolled at that building they could use this device for all fo their classes and learning. I am not sure if there is a classroom or school out there that is solely based on technology but if there is I would love for someone from that school to visit my building!

  6. David you bring up a very valid point. The textbook companies are making way too much money for a book that has become almost useless in most classrooms. It would make since for textbook companies to make a digital version of their book that includes audio, links to websites, videos, and other technology resources that could be downloaded onto an IPod or other types of hand held devices. The students could then use the digital version of the textbook to further their knowledge on topics covered in class. This new version of the textbook may even create self motivated learners. I also think that teachers may even see students become more engaged in learning because it is something they can relate to.

    1. Victoria, thanks for your comment. I agree that textbook companies need to be moving beyond published print-based content. I see this is an opportunity to really reach outside the box for instructional support — that we/they need to be think beyond just content and looking to experience — and more than just videos and audio files. What if the content could invite comment from learners, enable them to annotate their content in ways that makes it theirs. What if a teacher could plant a discussion on any paragraph, picture, or video. What if you could take your textbook, and turn it into a meeting place for learners. What if the teacher could pick and choose from a variety of content modules, and assemble their own textbook for their class, or if students could assemble their own textbook for their own learning styles. I think that they need to go beyond, how do we make our service better to what kind of service can we provide that we couldn’t before.

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