Electronic Textbooks

This is the time of year when my boys are asked to bring back the textbooks they have had at home all school year. Each time they brought these heavy books back and forth to school I asked them how much they actually used them. The only text books I saw them use with regularity were the math books. And, don’t get me started on math kill and drill instruction! That’s another post, but as far as textbooks are concerned, I think our governor may have come up with a brilliant idea that we should have been doing for several years now – digital textbooks.

You can read an editorial about Gov. Schwarzenegger’s electronic textbook plan here: http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_12531938?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com

The pros: it’s good for the environment, it reduces costs, it makes backpacks lighter, it uses more interactive materials in a medium kids are used to, it encourages less traditional textbook instruction. The cons: not everyone has a computer. But, pages could be printed for those students that need them, so I don’t see this as a real negative. Plus, the Kindle (an electronic reading device from Amazon) is getting lower in price and may become accessible to more students and teachers.

According to this editorial, “today California spends about $100/student a year on textbooks. That cost is rising, while the cost of the Kindle & other electronic devices is dropping. The hope is that digital products will be cheap enough to be available to everyone or at least cheap enough for school districts to buy them for those who now qualify for free lunches.”

How can we encourage this great idea? Email the governor with your support at: http://gov.ca.gov/interact Tell your friends to do the same. I just did it, it took about 15 seconds.