[Sigia-l] Texts in e-book (Microsoft/Adobe Reader) format

[Janna Hicks DeVylder]

> I heard that some schools were trying to have e-books replacing paper
> textbooks. Students ended up using both paper and e-book versions.
> Simply making an electronic version out of the paper version does not
> work very well.
>
>
> Boniface

There are SO many issues with this, but we unfortunately cannot just say it
doesn't work very well. We need to find a way for it to work. Boniface is
right, simply translating the print to an electronic medium (be it CD or
web) is currently problematic for many reasons. While we on the development
side have issues, another issue to think about is the way technology is used
in the classroom. For the most part, it is an afterthought due to access
("We'll go to the lab next week to work on our powerpoint presentations or
term papers"), where I've heard that the ultimate goal for many schools and
teachers is to have the use of technology (loosely defined) in the classroom
to be as common as the blackboard, the pencil, the paper and/or the
textbook. But until teachers are able to rely more on the technology, and to
know that their students have equal access outside of school, most will
still rely mostly on print, some on both. Until then, we'll still have
requests to have page numbers online, and have to deal with an environment
that requires both print and electronic-based books in order to have a
wholistic experience.

I was in a school last week where all students had laptops. They had online
access in every classroom. Tables replaced desks. Network cables, power
cords, laptop bags were carried around rather than the trapper keeper and
brown paper-wrapped books of my day. Online books were being utilized, but
even in this situation, textbooks were still a reality. This school is
certainly not the norm, but it certainly is a trend that I don't believe
will go away anytime soon. It was the most eye-opening experience I've had
in a long time.

Janna