[CALIBK12] e-textbooks

[Ellie Goldstein-Erickson]

Another perspective on e-textbooks showed up this past Sunday (S.F.
Chronicle) in a letter to the editor from a publisher. Here's the link:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2009/06/14/EDEL1836GS.DTL

Many of us will take issue with the writer's blithe comments "most
schoolchildren have the Internet available at school or at home" and his
assumption that these same schoolchildren have individual access to
printing capabilities and no shortage of paper!  Clearly his ultimate goal
is to sell e-books, without being concerned about the students who have no
internet, at home or school, and no way to print what they do access! 

Ellie

Ellie Goldstein-Erickson, Teacher Librarian
Berkeley High School Library
510-644-6857
ellie at berkeley.k12.ca.us

"Ann Sperske" <asperske at nvusd.k12.ca.us> writes:
>Write to the governor and Jack O'Connell. I did. And maybe more letters
>about this will help. I got a very nice letter in return... form letter
>... but nevertheless, a letter. More librarians for more online learning
>makes the most sense. Considering I work in a district where they don't
>value teacher librarians and are looking for ways to eliminate the few of
>us that remain, we need to do all we can to put our value into the faces
>of those who make the rules. 
>So I guess I will write more letters this summer. 
> 
>Ann Sperske
>
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------From:
>calibk12-bounces at lists.sjsu.edu [mailto:calibk12-bounces at lists.sjsu.edu]
>On Behalf Of richardguy at aol.com
>Sent: Friday, June 12, 2009 12:13 PM
>To: calibk12 at listproc.sjsu.edu
>Subject: Re: [CALIBK12] e-textbooks
>
>
>
>
>As entertaining as it is to talk about e-textbooks, that discussion has
>very little to do with what our governor has proposed.
>
>Even he has moved away from his initial statement about free online
>textbooks.  Now he is talking about learning online, which is, of course,
>next to impossible on any broad scale in a state where 85% of the K-12
>schools don't have a librarian.
>
>To imagine that all the work that goes into creating a massive tome which
>exhaustively covers a subject would be given away free is just silly.  To
>pretend that such resources exist online for free is to fail to
>understand the nature of the Internet. To fantasize about the research
>skills of students given access to databases without guidance . . .
>
>Can one learn online?  Of course.  One can have a rich, rewarding
>experience, interactively with people across the world with a vast
>diversity of viewpoints and ideas.  Those folks can bring resources with
>them about which textbook makers can only dream.
>
>None of which is a free online textbook.
>
>And Debbie is sharing the packaging problems of the stuff you have to pay
>for.
>
>The discussions the governor is having may lead to some very interesting
>products and services.  They will all have a price.  It may also lead to
>the aha! moment....."Hey, wouldn't it be cool if we hired some librarians
>like they do i n 49 other states......"
>
>
>Richard K. Moore, InfoSherpa
>Huntington Beach, CA
>**********************************************************
>A poem represents the mastering, even if just for a moment, of the
>pessimism and the melancholy, and enables you - you the poet, and you,
>the reader - to go on. -- Philip Larkin
>*************************************************************
>
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: debbie at abilock.net
>To: Bay Area Independent School Librarians <listserv at baisl.org>;
>calibk12 at listproc.sjsu.edu
>Sent: Fri, 12 Jun 2009 9:00 am
>Subject: [CALIBK12] e-textbooks
>
> 
> 
>For those interested in the pros and cons of e-textbooks

>[
>http://chronicle.com/free/v55/i39/39a01801.htm?utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
>]http://chronicle.com/free/v55/i39/39a01801.htm?utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
> 
>Debbie Abilock
>NoodleTools/NoodleTeach
>[ mailto:debbie at noodletools.com ]debbie at noodletools.com
>[ http://www.noodletools.com/debbie ]http://www.NoodleTools.com/debbie
> 
>"The true test of character is not how much we know how to do, but how we
>behave when we don't know what to do."  -- John Holt
> 
>
>__________________________