Friday, April 12, 2013

E-textbooks workshop notes and my thoughts

Content of e-textbooks works best by designing a flipped classroom setting with reading etc done out side of classroom. Common core teachers should consider themselves and everyone a publisher and writer. Students can publish digitally using online book creators to let the tea her know what they have learned. Teachers can use open source material from reputable site to create an online chapter for class use and reading assignments. Most teens do everything on the tablet or smart phone if available. It has been found that most students in k-12 are set for environment as a digital learning. So the content needs to be changed from written books used in class to the flipped classroom and digital learning text books at home. Teacher use what use to be home work in class and add with digital media, e-textbook.

The questions: why why is this working? Are text books dead? A e-textbook should not just be a textbook that is a converted published text book to a PDF. A digital text book should be adaptive. It should be interactive! Teachers can take written text and add other content to it like videos, interactive online game links etc. then they could publish it onto a certain platform mostly iPad ibooks is the easiest to use for low tech and limited time. Now lets look at the teacher do they have time, skill, and the digital ability? Should it be expected?

Places to help shared book is a good place and is among the first to take licensed content, edited and buy only chapters you want from a variety of books, Hartcourt, Pearson etc. can mash all areas of textbook you only want.
CHALLENGES
Who is paying for it?
Data privacy
extra it burden
the teach digital divide.

OPEN SOURCE CONTENT
It can help with the cost however content must be checked. Community based content has been seen to be better especially in higher Ed where a high area of professors write much of their own content. Has been moving down to even middle schools. This has been opening the door to copyright issues where teachers copy paste due to time to create a textbook. So always make sure it is a open source labeled content you are using and always cite even for classroom use.

DEVICE strategy: BYOD, locked to one device ie student bring or issued or no strategy.
Things to think about digital divide do the teachers know how to use each device. Best scenario pick a platform ie apple, Lenovo tablet etc. give a 1/2 year to year for teachers to learn and play with. Then open it to students. One thing always brought up kids will text, look up stuff. Well they do that already pass notes etc. don't worry about it but if caught have an action in place one teacher if they catch them set it on your desk and hand them ie paper to write on or God forbid a written text book to read from. However DO have them stay busy looking up the topic, interactive textbook, videos, and apps that go with content. If you keep them busy while using the device they will use it. Teach them how to use the device not just play with it. Games are great but limited. If it ends then student ends learning it should be interactive and keep going going onto higher levels or go back to more basic content if student is done it should go into review or if student is not achieving high enough scores.

















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