Fed’s Challenge to Schools-Embrace Digital Textbooks
Share your thoughts on this article in 5 or more sentences using correct grammar, spelling and punctuation, then reply to 2 of your classmates. Click on link below for article.
Fed’s Challenge to Schools...Article
Welcome to 7215X - Technology in Education!
Over the next few weeks, we will explore several educational software and online programs that you can easily integrate into your teaching and learning. We will look at many free Web 2.0 tools that can be used to communicate and collaborate within your building as well as globally. As we prepare our children for a world of work which will be greatly different from the one we currently know, we must also prepare ourselves to change the way we teach so that it reflects best practices, offers differentiated instruction and allows for the seamless integration of technology.
Am all for the digital textbooks in the schooll. It will save lots of money to replace books that get worn and torn and updated by publishers. I believe textbooks will be a thing of the past very soon, especially now with the Obama administration challenge to schools. Digital textbooks would also be a great help to teachers and a benefit to students who would be able to touch a picture or word on the screen when they do not understand something that they may see or read. The $8 billion that Diskey pointed out that is spent annually on textbooks should be used to purchase digital text books that will help students to become more successful.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that worries me is students getting distracted by something they may see, but this is where the teachers come into play to help them stay on track with what is being taught. With these textbooks Students should be given the opportunity to freely brouse the book just like they would with a traditional textbook at some point whether its before, during or after a reading or lesson. They would be more interactive and receptive to the lesson being taught. I think this is a plus for students who hate to see a book and are more receptive to visual. As long as these digital texbooks are linked to sources that are limited and appropriate for young children. Teachers may have to screen these digital books or lessons in them ahead of time before giving them to students.
Digital textbook can be a great help for students and teachers. Many students don’t like having to carry textbook back and forth to school and home. Sometimes students will intentionally leave the book home or leave it in class to avoid carrying it. By having digital textbooks this problem can be solved. Students will only carry an ipad tablet. Digital textbook would also help teachers stay organized, have more space in the classroom, students desk would be neat and less cluttered. Another problem with textbook is that they are often out of date or they come in a new edition but by having digital schools don’t have to constantly purchase the updated edition.
ReplyDeleteWhat I really like about digital textbook is that it will allow students to explore things that they are having difficulty in such as; meaning of a word, which is great for ELL students or solving a math problem. Digital textbooks will also have video explanation for students. Digital textbook will help students in many ways but it can also be distracting depending on how students are using it. Also Schools are already struggling with their budgets and digital textbooks can be expensive.
Growing up, I remember my school having an issue with needing updated textbooks. Information in printed textbooks gets outdated very quickly. I feel a digital textbook is something much more resourceful than a standard textbook. It can allow students to get updated information, search a tutorial or video, or even blog about an uncertain topic. According to the article, "Students can use the textbooks for video explanations to help with homework, they can interact with molecules,
ReplyDeleteand they can manipulate a digital globe to see stories and data about countries." It opens up a whole new world of learning for our students.
I do see an issue with the budget. As with most technology, it is expensve to obtain digital textbooks. I think it will be quite sometime before EVERY school has the same opportunities with this technology. Some schools struggle with updating textbooks ever few years, so to gather money for this type of item is going to be rather difficult. However, in the long run it is definately more sensible to get the digital books because they can update themselves with new information and don't need to be replaced quite as often. Overall I think it is a wonderful idea and should be embraced, but we do need to figure out how to get the money for it.
The first time I saw a digital textbook was in college. I thought it was a great way to save a little bit of money and it was a great way to save some space. Digital textbooks are much more then space savers though. They give much more information than a textbook, for example, a digital textbook can allow students to explore, it can show them what a word means, how to solve a math problem that they couldn’t figure out how to solve. They are also much similar to a kindle in that they are a click away from knowledge. Digital textbooks also provide video explanations and would be easier to update information and data. I think these are great and useful features for teachers and students.
ReplyDeleteConsidering $8 billion is spent on textbooks each year, I would think more schools would want to save some money in the long run and go digital. Unfortunately a lot of schools don’t even have the money to purchase computer in every classroom. I think Obama’s five year plan, to have more digital textbooks, is a great idea but not very realistic.
I think that President Obama’s five year plan to digitalize all school text books is a very realistic and achievable goal. A digitalized text book can incorporate pictures, videos, sound tracks, and can be a part of interactive learning. Devices such as the Apple I-pad, The Barnes and Noble Nook, and the Amazon Kindle all go to show that books can be digitalized easily, and be carried around much better than their printed counterparts. According to the article, “Going digital improves the learning process,” and this is a vast improvement for learning guidance over the old printed matter.
ReplyDeleteThe 8 billion dollar school text book budget could be diverted to upgrade schools with E-readers and tablets. One of the disadvantages of current school books is that “When a student reads a text book and gets to something they don’t know, they are stuck… [And] Working with the same material on a digital textbook, when they get to something they don’t know, the device can let them explore, it can show them what a word means, how to solve a math problem that they couldn’t figure out how to solve.” Clearly, the digital world shows a distinct advantage over printed matter world.
However, at some of the schools that I did observations at, there were aging Apple and DELL computers that still had tube screens, and that they never went beyond Windows XP. Surely many schools need a cash injection to update their technology resources, or, otherwise, they are not ready for the digital age.
If someone had asked me before reading this article if I was for digital textbooks, I probably would have been indifferent. I didn't realize that digital text books would have the discovery options that was described. I also think that reading digital books is a new skill in the 21st century that schools need to prepare students for. I was also impressed with how the article said that states who are embracing digital technology have lost textbooks due to natural disasters. It is very smart of them to replace books with digital print.
ReplyDeleteThe talk of implementing a new technological device always brings up equality. The article does a good job describing how many states not only aren't ready for digital textbooks, but finding the money to afford them is a challenge. In order to buy digital texts, students would need computers or iPads to utilize them. Although purchasing digital textbooks is expensive, purchasing regular textbooks are also expensive. Purchasing books for a full class schedule for college can equal between $100 and $1,000 dollars. Wouldn't the money be better spent with digital textbooks that allow students to explore and clarify their own learning?
I never liked the idea of reading from a tablet or on the computer. I would print everything out of buy the book. I recently bought a tablet and now I enjoy reading from the tablet and on the computer. I love the features that are on the tablet, I can look up a word if I don’t know the meaning, you are able to increase the font and my kids enjoy reading from it as well.
ReplyDeleteHaving schools with digital textbooks it beneficial for both the school and students. Cost must be taken into consideration, all schools are not digital ready and that is an expensive cost. Hopefully it can happen within the next five years.
I support the use of digital text books in the learning environment especially to assist students during the learning process. The use of this device will allow students to be much more engaged as they interact with its various features that cover a wide magnitude of information. Students also have the opportunity to identify the challenges they are faced with, and instantaneously receive guidance with the assistance of the teacher. With some traditional books they do not thoroughly address the challenges students are faced with while reading or trying to solve a problem.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, the introduction of this tool into the curriculum will require a great deal of effort from all that will be involve as they work towards the materialization of this tool in the teaching and learning process. One of the greatest obstacles that need immediate attention will be the financial position of those in authority to provide the schools with the necessary help that they will need. With the replacement of the traditional text books with the digital text books, students need to see this change as a means to enhance the teaching and learning process with a new tool and not as a means to replace the teacher. The availability of this tool will also reduce the burden of having t o carry around large and heavy text books on a daily basis, with a much lighter version that can be used wherever they go.
Before reading this article, I did not know that the Obama administration had been pushing for digital textbooks to be used in the classroom within the next five years. I guess since there is so much improved technology today, we need to expose our children to technology and make them learn the proper way of using technology could be one of the reasons behind this push. In addition, another reason that I read about is that it saves a lot of money to make textbooks become digital because there is so much spent on textbooks each year. According to the article, “About $8 billion dollars is spent annually in the U.S. on textbooks for children in kindergarten through 12th grade”, which is an amount that can be reduced if going digital. I also found it interesting that using digital textbooks can be interactive. I found that reading digital textbooks can be more helpful than regular ones because it has many collaborative aspects.
ReplyDeleteAs for the obstacles for this push of digital textbooks, there still lie obstacles in its way. For example, the article states that in some schools there is not enough broadband capacity that is available for the use of so many computers to be used. And some schools are not fully equipped with enough computers or tablets for students to use, which poses another problem. Hopefully within the next five years all schools will have enough in their budget to make each student with their own collection of digital textbooks on computers or tablets to use.
Ideally, digital books should cost less than actual hardcover copies so the budget shouldn’t be an obstacle that slows this movement.
ReplyDeleteSince it will be easier to update in the long run, and these digital books are pushed forward it should have higher quality than the prints in our classroom as well as maintaining this version of high quality after it’s been released. A digital copy allows instantly defining a word a student might not now. Of course, this means that the device should be always charged- and shouldn’t run out of battery in the middle of work. It also means that there should be a backup of this text and student’s work (highlighting and their bookmarking) just in case if the device has caught a virus.
I prefer the use of a digital book over a physical book because of many reasons: the biggest reason is space and hygiene. A digital copy cannot be tainted by physically nor does it take up a lot of space. An issue however would be coping and duplicating textbooks for future students. However, I would like the idea of at least a few physical textbooks in my classroom-- Just in case if device malfunctions or differentiated instruction regarding each student.
After I read this article and watched video on youtube, that introduced digital textbook, I changed my mind about this topic. Me personally have never used e-books or reading tablets. But interactive reading that was shown in video and much more options for student to get and master their knowledge convinced me to this option. It is said in the article that implementing this approach countrywide requires funds and teaching the students how to use the digital textbooks. And like the others said it also requires equality in access for students.
ReplyDeleteDigital textbooks are very engaging. I am just not sure that this program can be integrated everywhere during 5 years, according to authorities. It seems like a good idea for me. It will allow to the teacher to spend more individual attention to a student, will teach students to work independently and see heirs results right away by using mini tests. The only thing is students need to be taught how too use it. And first - the teachers need to be taught how to use it too.
I think digital textbooks will be great to have in the classrooms, however it seems impossible to make that transition in 5 years. All schools don't get equal funding and that makes things very difficult. Updating textbooks will be much easier and there will be a lot more resources available to students and teachers when using a digital textbook. A digital textbook will be space effective as well.
ReplyDeleteAs everything else is becoming digital, I think it's important to make textbooks digital as well. It will be more interactive than a traditional textbook.
It's great the Obama Administration is pushing towards digital textbooks, but where are schools expected to get these funds? Federal spending needs to be done here at home rather than on war.
Wow! I looked at the YouTube link about digital textbooks provided in the article and I was thoroughly impressed. These digital textbooks provide so many opportunities for students to learn on their own and get a firsthand experience to support classroom instruction. I can’t help but think back to all the times when I struggled through a textbook and had no one to help me. There is no one that would not benefit from the use of digital textbooks.
ReplyDeleteMy only problem is the same one that keeps arising when we are discussing technology in the classrooms: How will everyone gain access to it. I am bothered by the fact that these articles keep saying the Obama Administration are challenging to schools to transition within the next 5 years, as if the money for this change doesn’t come from the government. Why don’t these policy makers figure out a way to make these technologies available to every single school district and delegate funds solely for that purpose? No new steps toward digital learning will be truly impactful if every single student doesn’t have access to it and in my opinion this goes way beyond the principals and school districts.
Derice
ReplyDeleteI must say that I loved this article . I have to agree with the fact that students need to have electronic textbooks especially in the higher grades . I have seen how ebooks have helped me . In the case of when I am reading and I do not know a word I can touch that word and instantly find the definition or get to the web instantly and see what it means. This would be good in the case of the students that are reading a book and do not understand something they can instantly click the words or pictures and get ore information by exploration. The article touches on this but I can ee tha they're would be many advantages. I would love to see how this would work in the classroom with my students. I know that it may be hard because there is not a lot of computers or ebook readers in my school, but I can imagine my parents getting involved for their children. It's an interesting concept and I would love to see how this would work it he future.
This article shows how limited schools are when providing suitable technology for students. Although the technology to provide students with digital more robust textbooks is available, the schools are not equipped to give laptops or tablets to students. Digital textbooks can provide faster help to students who are struggling. When I have used EBooks in the past it has been more efficient in every way. I was able to highlight digitally, click new words and instantly look it up, and click a name or topic to look up on the web. Students will not be limited to the information in their books when using digital textbooks. Digital textbooks are quick to use. For example instead of turning through pages to find a chapter, you can type in the page number, and you’re there. Digital textbooks are also more economical for schools. Information in printed textbooks quickly becomes outdated. Instead of purchasing entire new curriculums every few years, they can just update their digital textbooks. Providing a student with one lap top can save money (in the long run), classroom space, and academic time. The only issue would be assuring high speed internet service to schools. It would be very problematic if all student books were internet based, and a schools network was not working properly. Perhaps to aid this issue, schools can have students download books, so they are always accessible.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this article. The author discussed digital textbooks and how much it would improve education and save money. The author states that paper based textbooks cost about 8 billion dollars a year for grades k-12th. If all schools were to adapt digital books, there would be more money in the budget for other needs. I actually believe it's a great idea, not only because of the monetary gain but also because the books will not just be interactive. However there may be downfalls such as taking the digital book home. How do we ensure the devices will come back and when they do they're not destroyed. Another problem, technological issues, like networking issues and software problems. One thing we have to remember is technology isn't perfect, and until these issues are solved technology based learning will always have schools who aren't ready to take the leap.
ReplyDeleteIn the article “Feds’ challenge to schools: Embrace digital textbooks”, mentions about replacing the traditional textbooks with digital books for the sake of interactive and engaging learning. I loved this article. The idea of digital books is awesome. As indicated in the article the new digital books are not just the print-based textbook being digital but it is much more robust and interactive and engaging environment to support learning.
ReplyDeleteThe YouTube link was very impressive. I love the way that the digital books include images and videos that also provides audio and visual aspects to the learners. With the help of digital books, it gets very easy for the students to look for the definition of an unknown or tricky word. Students are able to explore much deeper with the help of technology. As with the use of technology, everything is turning into paperless environment. In order to have digital books in the classroom, the networking issues in the schools have to be considered as well, as technology gets unreliable sometimes.
Digital learning is the mode of education for the 21st century.Teaching and learning are gradually moving away from paper text book to e-books. These are said to be more interactive, user friendly and cheaper to produce. It is also great to see the Federal government calling for e-books in the classroom over a five year period.
ReplyDeleteHowever,the progress of integration is slow because implementing and maintaining technology in the schools have a cost that most schools can't afford.I think the companies who make these devices should produce some at a lower costs for the school. Also, companies need to provide aid to school for technology because they are equipping the labor force.I think all states need to be on the same page with digital learning. The USA need to be the leader and keen competitor in technology.
I love the idea of using digital textbook in classroom. As digital learning is getting more involved in the era of technology, students enjoy creating, playing games and reading on digital devices. Apple is making phenomenal efforts to expand the technology and to make the our life easy. Digital learning can save budget on ordering new supplementary textbook and materials every year. Students can reuse devices such as iPads from previous students from last year. Digital books can also get updated as the technology company updates the apps in certain time of period.
ReplyDeleteAs the growth of integrative learning goes up, schools and the department have to have budget for technological supplies. If integration is to be adapted, it will be better to integrate slowly depends on the needs of school. Schools need to adapt to technology but they also need to adapt to the amount of cost they fund to buy all these devices.
The digital textbooks are great tools for today's technology driven students. I however believe it is going to require more than 5 years for many schools to transition to this technology due to their high costs. Though technology in general has its disadvantages,as I watched the video,I could see the digital books revolutionizing teaching within the next ten years since the costs for them will decrease as they become more popular.
ReplyDeleteStudents will welcome the digital book's portability as they reduce their load of carrying 3 to 4 hard bound books. The digital books are interactive, searchable, current and provide amazing animated 3D models for challenging subjects such as science. They provide immediate feedback for review questions and provide links in their index and glossary to related topics. These books will definitely add fun to teaching and learning and get students reading more.
The article “Fed's Challenge to Schools: Embrace Digital Textbooks”, was a calling by political and educational leadership for replacing paper books with digital ones. This calling was not just for the sake of merely replacing paper books with digital books, but was more for the purposes on complimenting and embracing technology integration in education.
ReplyDeleteDigital books are here already. The issue for me is that it is not wide spread enough and it isn't happening quickly enough. I'm not sure why this is so but I'm rarely able to buy digital textbooks, especially the newly published ones. The inaccessibility to wide spread digital books may have to do with limitations publishers face, including economic realities. Whatever the case, we need to get digital textbooks in the classroom as soon as possible.
Digital textbooks add a wonderful new dimension to the reading experience due to its interactive nature. Students with reading disabilities are now able to get immediate digital feedback to issues such as word structure, pronunciation, and other language mechanics. And what a wonderful idea it would be for text to be read back to students who need that kind of support. Digital books are a wonderful idea and I hope it is truly a reality for all textbooks...and soon please!
Donald...
ReplyDeleteThe article “Fed's Challenge to Schools: Embrace Digital Textbooks”, was a calling by political and educational leadership for replacing paper books with digital ones. This calling was not just for the sake of merely replacing paper books with digital books, but was more for the purposes on complimenting and embracing technology integration in education.
Digital books are here already. The issue for me is that it is not wide spread enough and it isn't happening quickly enough. I'm not sure why this is so but I'm rarely able to buy digital textbooks, especially the newly published ones. The inaccessibility to wide spread digital books may have to do with limitations publishers face, including economic realities. Whatever the case, we need to get digital textbooks in the classroom as soon as possible.
Digital textbooks add a wonderful new dimension to the reading experience due to its interactive nature. Students with reading disabilities are now able to get immediate digital feedback to issues such as word structure, pronunciation, and other language mechanics. And what a wonderful idea it would be for text to be read back to students who need that kind of support. Digital books are a wonderful idea and I hope it is truly a reality for all textbooks...and soon please!
I support the use of digital textbooks in the classroom. When I was in school there was an issue with students having updated textbooks. With the use of digital textbooks, the information within the textbook will be updated as soon as there is an update ready. Students can benefit from having interactive, digital books to enhance lessons learned throughout the day. I have never used an e-book, but I feel like I should be after reading this article. I am excited to see how long this shift in learning will take. There are many questions to be answered: Will the school provide the students with the tablets/ IPads? What if a child has no internet access at home? These are all ideas that should be taken into consideration.
ReplyDeleteAs an educator, I think embracing digital textbooks is an excellent idea since it would provide interactive learning and save money. It would provide updated materials faster to students thus enabling them to keep up with the transitions that are taking place in the world today. Through the use of digital text books, the students will be able to explore when they have assignments to complete, find meaning of words and much more as they adapt themselves to face up with the world’s transition through the use of modern technologies.
ReplyDeleteI embrace the idea of digital textbooks. I have used them in the past, and they are a lot cheaper and more convenient, than hardbound textbooks. Digital textbooks provide more “interactive learning, and more updated material,” and can be stored on portable devices that are much easier to carry around.
ReplyDeleteMany of the digital textbooks have search functions that make it easy and quick to search for information relating to the topic that the student is working on. With hardbound textbooks, students have to take time to search through the pages or the index to find the information. Nevertheless, there are some problems that students will encounter with digital textbooks. First, since these are only accessible through a computer, students must have access to a working computer and high speed internet, and if the computer crashes or the internet become inaccessible, then the student is left without a textbook to use. Second, with digital textbooks students can easily stop reading and start playing a game or watch a video online. The decision to use digital textbooks should be the student’s personal preference, rather than the government making it mandatory for schools to stop using hardbound textbooks.
Embracing digital textbooks is a great idea for many reasons. Students can look up words that they don't understand as they read. There are videos at the beginning of some of the chapters. There is a highlighter for students to highlight as they go. Some of these textbooks are interactive. Students and teachers will benefit. They are also cheaper in the long run.
ReplyDeleteMany schools are not prepared to embrace digital textbook. They do not have the funding and some teachers may not know how to use digital textbooks.
Digital textbooks are more than just a textbook it goes way beyond the simple definition and breaks through barriers. Within five years if the education department can put that 8 billion towards upgrading schools textbooks to digital they wouldn’t have to spend as much money on textbooks every year because at that point it would just be an application update away, making the learning process faster and more efficient. I am all for students being able to use their critical thinking skills to get past a word or problem they don’t understand by switching apps at the swipe of their fingertips. With a plan like this trying to be put into effect there will always be some bumps in the road with funding but in the long run it will pay off and be cost efficient.
ReplyDeleteThis article states that the Obama administration wants all schools in the US provide provide digital textbooks to all students within the next five years. I believe that textbooks are so outdated and that they need to be out of the classrooms. The textbooks take up a lot of time, money and space in the classroom, and students could highly benefit from digital textbook learning, as opposed to traditional textbook learning.
ReplyDeleteThe great thing about the digital textbooks is that they're more than just copied words from an original textbook; these digital textbooks are an interactive way for students to learn. These new digital textbooks can help students solve problems, look up words in the dictionary they don't understand, search through a digital globe, and serve as many other technological tools to help students learn through interaction. Hardcover textbooks are expensive and quickly outdated. In the long run, textbooks become less expensive and can be quickly and easily updated to current times. I would not be surprised if a majority of schools had only digital textbooks within the next 5 to 10 years.