Clearwater (Florida) High ditches textbooks

[scasi777]

This is the front page story in todays St Petersburg Times newspaper. Subtitle: Forget books: Every student will get an 3-reader next year. Astudent is pictured holding a Kindle 2. These e-readers will come with all the text books needed already pre-loaded on the device. Amazon will provide devices to all 2100 students. The school's 100 teachers have already been issued devices. This is great news for e-reader users! Wonder if Steve Jobs will do anything like this with his overpriced and overblown I Pad.

[murraypaul]

Ick, frankly this sounds like it would be pretty awful for the students, cool gadget factor aside.
You tend to flick back and forth in textbooks looking for the place you are after, switch back and forth quickly between different sections, have multiple textbooks open to at once, etc...
Trying to do that on an eInk screen with the page turn delay that implies doesn't sound at all fun.

[stustaff]

Originally Posted by murraypaul

Ick, frankly this sounds like it would be pretty awful for the students, cool gadget factor aside.
You tend to flick back and forth in textbooks looking for the place you are after, switch back and forth quickly between different sections, have multiple textbooks open to at once, etc...
Trying to do that on an eInk screen with the page turn delay that implies doesn't sound at all fun.

yeh they would be better with an lcd device like the iPad.

[WillAdams]

Apparently the matter is still being negotiated:

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/06/0...e-readers.html

I'm surprised that they think that all of the text books they need will be available --- also how will licensing them be handled? (and what will be the budget for replacements of broken units). What about teachers' editions of texts?

Given the limits of DRM (if they don't use opensource / copy-left textbooks), a given unit will pretty much be locked to a particular grade (and who pays the extra when a student needs an extra textbook 'cause they're taking an advanced level or AP class? Kind of unlikely to charge the student full price for this when they won't get to keep the text afterwards).

How will they control web browsing during classes? Or students purchasing additional books from Amazon on the school's dime?

William

[Worldwalker]

Ebook readers are great for anything one wants to read in a linear fashion: A novel or a magazine article, for instance. They're terrible for anything you need to jump around in, like a technical reference book -- or a textbook. On my computer, I sometimes have several instances of a technical book on-screen, the equivalent of having my fingers stuck into several parts of the book that I'm flipping between, and better yet, I can line them up side by side. You just can't do that on an ebook reader. I don't think this is going to work out as well as they planned.

Not to mention, of course, the whole DRM issue. If a school buys a textbook in physical form, they can keep using it until the covers fall off. If they buy a textbook in ebook form (probably for the same, if not a higher, price) they can use it for one student, and then they have to buy it again next year. Sure, the publishers love this, but it's going to be a massive waste of money at a time when school budgets have already been bled dry.

[J. Strnad]

If this were Texas and they were ditching textbooks, I might think it was a good idea.

They might want to consider doing this for the books that work well on the Kindle. But not all of them! My god, that's nuts!

[SameOldStory]

Several thoughts
1) Whatever they used would have to be militarized. Teens will treat them harshly. You don't like me? Knock my reader to the floor and stomp on it. Tell the teacher that you didn't do nuttin to my f@#^&#% reader. Have a friend do the same thing when I get a new one.

2) The PocketBook reader can maintain a list of the last 10 books being read. A student will need something like that to find the right book quickly .

3) Limit the material that a student can put on it. Lets see. Teenage boys. Porn. Hummm. Can the Kindle remove everything but the required books?

4) Books, last place in books, bookmarks, and notes must be synced. As a student I would need to do my homework and studying on a computer. So now you have to get "home" computers for each student. Along with an internet connection other than phone/modem.

5) Make it accessible to the handicapped.

The more I think about it.......

[Kali Yuga]

I, for one, think this is at least worth trying, if not a downright good idea.

- The kids won't have to carry around 20-30 lbs of books all day long.
- Paper textbooks will be available for those who need them.
- There will be less need to stop at a locker in between classes, so there may be less tardiness.
- Page changes on a Kindle are a bit slow, but not necessarily a deal-killer, especially since you can do a keyword search.
- The administration isn't snowing people by declaring it's a cost savings before they've tried it out.
- High school students shouldn't annotate their textbooks. It would be better if they did have that option, but for this particular group it won't be a missed function.

Originally Posted by WillAdams

how will licensing them be handled? (and what will be the budget for replacements of broken units). What about teachers' editions of texts?

Presumably the texts either are or will be available, or if necessary they can use paper.

They're considering offering parents an optional insurance program for damaged units.

Originally Posted by WillAdams

Given the limits of DRM (if they don't use opensource / copy-left textbooks), a given unit will pretty much be locked to a particular grade...

Yeah, no.

- Many of the English texts will be public domain, thus no DRM issues.
- Many textbooks need to be replaced anyway on a regular basis, particularly science books.
- Amazon has already set up some pilot programs for college use and are actively courting the education market, so I'm sure they will work something out.

Originally Posted by WillAdams

and who pays the extra when a student needs an extra textbook 'cause they're taking an advanced level or AP class?

The school, who would have to buy the addtional textbooks regardless of whether they are paper or ebooks.

Originally Posted by WillAdams

How will they control web browsing during classes?

By taking away their iPhones.

Web browsing on the Kindle 2's is very limited and slow. I'd be much more concerned with the kids texting each other on their cell phones.

Originally Posted by WillAdams

Or students purchasing additional books from Amazon on the school's dime?

I'm certain that will be locked down.


I don't think this is necessarily going to turn out to be the perfect option right off the bat. But in a few years, this type of situation will be perfectly normal, and a good use of ebooks.

[happy_terd]

Originally Posted by Kali Yuga

I, for one, think this is at least worth trying, if not a downright good idea.

- The kids won't have to carry around 20-30 lbs of books all day long.
- Paper textbooks will be available for those who need them.
- There will be less need to stop at a locker in between classes, so there may be less tardiness.
- Page changes on a Kindle are a bit slow, but not necessarily a deal-killer, especially since you can do a keyword search.
- The administration isn't snowing people by declaring it's a cost savings before they've tried it out.
- High school students shouldn't annotate their textbooks. It would be better if they did have that option, but for this particular group it won't be a missed function.

I agree.


Interesting post scasi777.

[SameOldStory]

Originally Posted by WillAdams

also how will licensing them be handled?
William

In large companies an operating system isn't licensed to a particular computer/user. The company will get a license for the numbers of computers that they need, say 1,000. As the computers get replaced the "same" copy is installed on the new one. So long as the total is 1,000 or less they're fine.

I imagine the same can be done with text books. An end of use agreement can be agreed upon where the school system must replace the "text book" every 3-4 years.

"They're considering offering parents an optional insurance program for damaged units."

What are schools doing now, insurance wise, where laptops are issued?

[crazed792]

When you look up results from schools that have tried this, generally colleges, the results are largely negative. Most people think they make great book readers but are not suitable for the way a school will use them. Personally I think part of that may come down a training issue of how to properly bookmark pages and note things, etc. Perhaps some teaching would help out, but I have no idea how much training they go over in the colleges that have attempted this. I also don't know if the small percentage that liked them knew the ins and outs better or if it's more a matter of them not using the textbooks in the same fashion.

If they do go through with this, as someone else said, with the age group it would do best to make sure they do something to keep the screens from breaking. Whether or not e-readers are too fragile seems to come up as it is. Change the demographic to 16 year olds and watch the fun.

[luqmaninbmore]

I think it has to be kept in mind that secondary students study differently than college students. Annotation is less of an issue than either the weight of texts that must be carried from class to class, the ability to look up unknown words in the dictionary quickly, or the ability to do keyword searches. Just the other day, one of my students expressed to me her annoyance that we had not found a better way to educate than to have students lug around ~40-50 pounds of textbooks. Without explicitly saying it, she outlined as ideal an ebook device that would permit access to multiple textbooks in one unit. Personally, I think netbooks might work just as well if not better; they tend to be cheaper (with the exception of super-cheap devices like the Jetbook Lite) and offer greater functionality. They also tend to be more rugged. In addition, you have all the advantages of standard ebook readers, except for the battery life and visability in direct sunlight, neither of which are as important in a classroom setting.

Luqman

[MaggieScratch]

I'm taking an online class right now and I've converted the coursework to PDF and reading it on my EZReader. It's working out great. I'm not a "highlighter"--I find it works better to take notes as I read. I retain it longer and understand it better, especially if I force myself to rewrite the information in my own words. I read somewhere that highlighting gives you permission to go back and read that item later, rather than retaining it as you read it.

I realize that mileage may vary, of course. But I'd like to see the kids be taught better study habits than read and highlight and forget.

[SameOldStory]

Originally Posted by SameOldStory

Several thoughts
1) Whatever they used would have to be militarized. Teens will treat them harshly. You don't like me? Knock my reader to the floor and stomp on it. Tell the teacher that you didn't do nuttin to my f@#^&#% reader. Have a friend do the same thing when I get a new one.

Problem # 1 solved



For a MUCH better demo see Engadget