Not everyone's cheering as last textbooks leave Huntsville classrooms (al.com)

[eppur_se_muova]

By Lee Roop | [e-mail]
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on April 07, 2016 at 5:04 PM, updated April 07, 2016 at 5:05 PM

The last printed textbooks are being removed from Huntsville classrooms this spring, and that may prove as unpopular as the system's first steps toward digital learning four years ago.

Writing on his "Geek Palaver" website, blogger Russell Winn quotes a teacher as having "moved from frustrated to angry" at the news the classroom sets are going away.

The teacher says the system's transition to digital learning on laptops was "very difficult," and the classroom sets helped. They also helped when technical problems shut down the digital system twice in the 2014-15 school year, Winn wrote.

Schools spokesman Keith Ward said Thursday that the system agreed when it went digital to keep a classroom set for several years "to ease the transition," but removing the printed textbooks was always the plan.

Digital books are loaded on the laptops now and can be used without an Internet connection, Ward said. They can also be updated annually as opposed to the seven-year life of printed editions.
***
more: http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/index.ssf/2016/04/more_textbooks_leaving_huntsvi.html




Much flamage in the comments section; people either are gung-ho to do *everything* digitally ASAP or consider it all a horrible mistake. Personally, I hate to think kids are going to be using keyboards and touchscreens almost exclusively from such an early age. The problem I've always encountered with "educational" software is that you have to spend a lot of effort learning to use the software that would be better devoted to learning the material. Then you change to a different class, or a different publisher, or a new release of the same software, and you have to learn it all over again.

Once you've learned how to use a book, you're pretty much set for life.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

1. Digital books are just as easy to read as regular books.

Swipe left or right to turn the page. Not really a steep learning curve.

[eppur_se_muova]

3. Not with my eyesight.

Then there's this ...

technical problems shut down the digital system twice in the 2014-15 school year

[Dr Hobbitstein]

4. You can easily change the font size to what you need.

My tablet is set to be the same font size as the average paperback. My wife's is set like the large print hardcovers.

If the books are stored locally on the tablets/readers, then there is no issue if the main system goes down. They can still read.

I graduated high school in the late 90s. My last 2 years, we had a digital system in place (albeit, much more rudimentary than what we have now) that was an optional class. I was behind in credits (I was a slacker), and was able to use the digital system to catch up on credits. For me, it was much easier to learn and test on (I could work at my own pace, which was more accelerated than most classes). From the experiences I had, I fully support the new systems that some schools go to.

I still read paperbacks/hardcovers, listen to CDs/vinyl, and watch physical media (DVD/BluRay), but I also use my tablet/computer to read, listen, and watch. Convenience.

[TexasProgresive]

2. Alabama or Texas?