[CALIBK12] California opens the door to free open source digital textbooks

Thu May 7 19:22:11 PDT 2009

Hello everyone,

Weighing in on the discussion, when you issue four or five texts to a high
school student, you are issuing the price of a Kindle, and digital textbooks
do not get lost or damaged or returned late.  The Kindle may be lost or
damaged, but I anticipate the cost will go down dramatically, like every
other technology.

I was amused to notice that these free digital materials target math and
science, right after California has completed their adoption of texts in
both subject areas.  Now, if these digital materials had targeted language
arts, the next adoption area, I'd have been really excited! There would
actually be a cost savings.

The Kindle has the additional advantage of controlling the print size, and I
believe audio is also provided. You probably know that today, Amazon
announced their textbook version of the Kindle, and agreements with Pearson
and Cengage for texts.

Jeanne Nelson, Ed.D.
Murrieta Valley USD

-----Original Message-----
From: calibk12-bounces at lists.sjsu.edu
[mailto:calibk12-bounces at lists.sjsu.edu] On Behalf Of Barbara Duffy
Sent: Thursday, May 07, 2009 11:31 AM
To: Thomas Nixon; calibk12 at lists.sjsu.edu; Ann Sperske; GlenWarren
Subject: Re: [CALIBK12] California opens the door to free open
sourcedigitaltextbooks

You make good points.  This will be an interesting procedure.  Hopefully
good decisions will be made.

Barbara

>>> Thomas Nixon <Thomas.Nixon at fresnounified.org> 5/7/2009 11:11 AM >>>

The problem with using a Kindle is that there is no cost savings. Even with
some sort of education discount, they would still be three times the cost of
a textbook. Add to that the amount of money in losses each year (because it
really is easier to lose a Kindle than a textbook). Add to that the number
of Kindle repair and support people you would need to add as employees to a
large district.

Think how hard it is to get a student to pay for a $70 textbook. Now
multiply that amount. Also, Kindles would be high-theft items.

I do think we will be moving to some sort of digital reader. I think we need
to be looking for an as yet undiscovered company that can make them for $40.
You never know, but I expect that it may not be Apple or Amazon.

And, yes, Williams would require you to supply each student who needs one
with one.

Tom Nixon
--
Teacher Librarian
Tehipite Middle School
630 N. Augusta Street
Fresno, CA 93701
(559) 457-3420, x. 570
Web:  <http://www.tehipitelibrary.org/> http://www.tehipitelibrary.org
Blog:  <http://notyourmotherslibrarian.blogspot.com/>
http://notyourmotherslibrarian.blogspot.com

  _____  

From: calibk12-bounces at lists.sjsu.edu [calibk12-bounces at lists.sjsu.edu] On
Behalf Of Barbara Duffy [BJDuffy at lbschools.net]
Sent: Thursday, May 07, 2009 10:27 AM
To: calibk12 at lists.sjsu.edu; Ann Sperske; Glen Warren
Subject: Re: [CALIBK12] California opens the door to free open
sourcedigitaltextbooks

How about morphing to a Kindle for the books.  Wouldn't that serve the
purpose?  And students would be responsible for returning them in good order
just as they are with textbooks now.

Barbara

>>> "Ann Sperske" <asperske at nvusd.k12.ca.us> 5/7/2009 9:45 AM >>>

I read this and wrote a letter to O'Connell and Arnold immediately. Great
concept but there are so many problems with it. Access. Format.
Compatibility. Hardware. Computers. Editing, publishing, reviewing, parent
support  and school board review of new adoptions. The list goes on. We
don't even have enough computers on campus to have each kid trying to access
a textbook. No computers in the classrooms. Funding issues. Broadband
issues. Publishers' lobbyist groups. Database access for every school --
quality databases like SFPL has. 

We need a teacher librarian at every school, heading every district library
services dept, support staff in every library, fully funded school
libraries, refresh protocols for technology, standardized professional
development for staff on information literacy ... and so much more before
they try out digital textbooks withOUT support. 

Just a thought. 
Ann Sperske 
Google Certified Teacher Librarian 
Vintage High School 

  _____  

From: calibk12-bounces at lists.sjsu.edu
[mailto:calibk12-bounces at lists.sjsu.edu] On Behalf Of Glen Warren
Sent: Thursday, May 07, 2009 9:01 AM
To: calibk12 at lists.sjsu.edu
Subject: [CALIBK12] California opens the door to free open source
digitaltextbooks

California opens the door to open source digital textbooks.  Here is a snap
shot of the press release and the link provided below.

Gov. Schwarzenegger Launches First-in-Nation Initiative to Develop Free
Digital Textbooks for High School Students
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today launched an initiative to make
California the first state in the nation to offer schools free, open-source
digital textbooks for high school students. The Governor directed his
Secretary of Education Glen Thomas to ensure these resources are available
for use in high school math and science classes by fall 2009, a critical
first step in helping ensure digital textbooks are widely available to all
California students.

link:  http://gov.ca.gov/press-release/12225/

Glen Warren

Coordinator of Media Resources

Orange County Department of Education

200 Kalmus Drive

Site Location:

3001 Red Hill

Costa Mesa, California 92626

Phone: 714-966-4208

"There are only two ways to live your life.

One is as though nothing is a miracle.

The other is as if everything is."

- Albert Einstein

  _____  

ORANGE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
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