Alfred,
This is great feedback, and I very much look forward to chatting w/ you
about this. Sincerely. I will be in contact w/ you soon.
TO EVERYONE ELSE ON THIS THREADI¹M VERY SORRY FOR THE SPAM....AND IF ANY OF
YOU WANT TO CONTINUE THIS DISCUSSION, PLEASE REPLY TO ME DIRECTLY TO AVOID
MORE SPAM TO OTHERS ON THE LIST.
Thanks and sorry.
John
On 9/23/04 8:30 AM, "Alfred Jole" <ajole(a)dcsd.org> wrote:
As a high school teacher, I have a few things to say
on the subject of
textbooks.
Oh, and please note, I am not in favor or against the project, I just wanted
to get in the discussion and get some real classroom input out there. I think
it would be a really good thing to think about, or to wrap a dissertation
around. Good luck!
³does a brand new U.S. History or Algebra 1 textbook need to be repurchased
every few years (at full cost) for whatever few changes may be made?²
We don¹t replace texts because of new editions, we replace them because they
get worn out. Amazing what a teenager can do to a backpack full of books.
³could digital learning objects be built around the text/course and provided
as supplements to the textbook²
Yes, but we couldn¹t get those out to the kids without a LOT more investment
in technology. I¹d guess it would cost more per year to ensure every teacher
had the projectors and computers and smart boards necessary; as well as to
ensure that every kid had access to their own work station, than it costs to
give em books. Just an educated guess though, good question for some research
there. Maybe a PDA version of a textbook; they are very much in line with
textbook costs right now, and would be easier to carry (and lose, but what are
ya gonna do?). Also in that discussion we need to look at all the training and
tech support costs that often seem to get overlooked.
³Could better, more innovate textbooks be developed in a community/open/wiki
style²
Maybe, but what do you do with the community that is too small, or simply
doesn¹t have the resources to handle it? Admittedly they could share in what
is out there, but how is that different from what we have now?
Also, since our core classes are so terribly test-driven now, (thanks to NCLB
and UBSCT), we need to teach what is on the standardized tests, and that is
already in the textbooks we choose; probably because the best tests seem to
come from the same places as the texts. In fact, when Utah tried to write the
UBSCT, we had a terrible time with it; which opens up a whole new discussion:
What about competency? How do you measure it if everyone gets to set their
own content?.
Perhaps the answer is in there somewhere, but it would take a change in the
entire fabric of how we do school in America. Which could be a good thing.
There are more ideas running around in my head, but I have to go teach Algebra
now.
Thanks, and let the rumble begin!
Al Jole
From: instgrad-bounces(a)it.usu.edu [mailto:instgrad-bounces@it.usu.edu] On
Behalf Of John Dehlin
Sent: Wednesday, September 22, 2004 1:43 PM
To: David Dehlin; Juli Faust; Nan McCulloch; John & Gina Faust; Joel Dehlin;
Ronald Fuller; Frank Fox; Frank Gorgenyi; Cindy Ingersoll; Ted Lyon; Lynn
England; William Bradshaw; Clayton White; Eric Ringger; Paul Mayfield; Pete
Gehrett; Bryn and Marita Lane; Steven Kent; Polly Taylor; Benson Parkinson;
Dilworth & LB Parkinson; Jim & Sue Parkinson; Mark Parkinson; Ricky & Mavis
Parkinson; Sam Parkinson; ldstt(a)yahoogroups.com; John Anderson; Stephen
Wesson; Paul LeFrere; Geoff Thatcher; Eric Jarvi; Dave Willman; Jessica
Friesen; Harvey Hughes; Mark Adams; Mark & Teri; Mark Nelson; Mark Berndt;
Karl Quilter; Spencer Scott; Catherine Scott; Jonathan Weber; Shawn Jones;
Maury Giles; Margi Dehlin; David Benson; David Taylor; Russ Watterson; Nick
Eastmond; brett.shelton(a)usu.edu; yanghee; Byron Burnham; Gwen Baird; Mimi
Recker; Joanne Bentley; Instagrad; John Dehlin; stephen(a)downes.ca;
ldsmbrs(a)microsoft.com; ldsshado(a)microsoft.com; curtc(a)microsoft.com; Matt
Brinton; Dan Peay; cslemp(a)microsoft.com; judih(a)microsoft.com; Lary Cullimore;
chrisb(a)microsoft.com; Mary Bradford; Maury Giles; tomjones(a)microsoft.com;
chasf(a)microsoft.com; todd.garner(a)crbard.com; dmahlum(a)microsoft.com;
jasonkap(a)hotmail.com; john.b.thorpe(a)smithbarney.com; reedp(a)microsoft.com;
davjohn(a)microsoft.com; skindmore(a)aiken.com; jeff Skidmore; Mark Adams;
raulj(a)microsoft.com; mattsmit(a)microsoft.com; Afif Say; Afif Say;
jkap(a)microsoft.com; David Wiley; Tom and Julie Hatton; Arthur Hatton; Sanford
Forte; textbook-l(a)wikimedia.org; beesley(a)gmail.com; soziologie(a)t-online.de;
Eric Ringger
Subject: [Instgrad] Utah OpenTexbooks Project (Project Dyson)
Friends, Family, USU IT Faculty, Grad Students & Alumni,
It's only in its infancy (pre-conception, you might even say), but I wanted to
let you all know about a project that I've started to think about, under the
guidance/tutelage of Dr. Wiley here at USU.
It is currently called the "Utah OpenTextbooks Project" (codenamed
"Project
Dyson" by Dr. Wiley)--and I am considering doing my dissertation around it.
The basic gist is as follows:
The state of Utah, and other states like it, spend over $20M annually on K-12
textbooks. With that kind of money, and with shrinking educational budgets, a
few questions are worth asking:
* Are these textbooks worth the $$$? Also, does a brand new U.S. History or
Algebra 1 textbook need to be repurchased every few years (at full cost) for
whatever few changes may be made?
* Do we want a handful of states (New York, California, Florida, Texas)
driving the content of textbooks in all the other states (which is basically
what happens today, as I¹m told)?
* Could better, more innovate textbooks be developed in a community/open/wiki
style (see
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Main_Page and
www.opensourcetext.org
for starters), where the COMMUNITY would retain ownership of the contentor
better yet, share w/ other states/countries?
* Once a textbook has been written by a community, could digital learning
objects be built around the text/course and provided as supplements to the
textbookhelping teachers teach better, and learners learn better (think free
multimedia clips for lectures, test banks and innovate lesson plans for
teachers, or cool multimedia games/self-direct modules for student homework,
etc.)
* Finally, if we can create ³local² (statewide) online communities where
teachers, students, and subject matter experts congregate to create textbooks,
share lesson plans, and basically socialize in the context of an academic
course...can we harness the power of the internet in more positive ways...to
far more productive ends (think ³replace MTV or Xbox with Utah Math Rocks
Internet Plaza¹²?
I have attached a very, very rough "Vision Document" that outlines what we
have brainstormed, and some early, high-level steps on how we might go about
achieving our vision. If you are not comfortable opening attachments from an
email (can¹t imagine why you would be :) ), feel free to download the document
from:
http://f4.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/oL1RQdNHDrnawcLP1c-av2v_Y1LRpZ_PL_4Paj7XwHCX0b…
Ppay-jJ0791jStsb2IgwQl1VSP0Rf6L3jpxxg/Utah%20OpenTextbooks%20Project.doc
We need lots of input/ideas/feedback, so if any of you are interested in
participating in/supporting this project in any way (even as a silent
observer), please feel free to reply w/ feedback, or even join our community
at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/utahopentextbooks
Also, if you know anyone interested in Utah Education, or Open Textbooks,
please feel free to forward this message to them.
I look forward to collaborating w/ those of you who are interested. It will
be a long journey to be sure, but hopefully a worthwhile one.
John Dehlin
Director of Outreach
OSLO Research Group
http://oslo.usu.edu/people/jdehlin
Utah State University