[CALIBK12] California opens the door to free open sourcedigital textbooks

Fri May 8 07:52:03 PDT 2009

Jeanne - Excellent info!

Barbara

>>> "Jeanne Nelson" <porschej at earthlink.net> 5/7/2009 7:22 PM >>>

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
Blog: 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 WarrenCoordinator of Media ResourcesOrange County Department of
Education200 Kalmus DriveSite Location:3001 Red HillCosta Mesa,
California 92626Phone: 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

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