A retired librarian spots a scam:
Reference: here is another blog that is relevant to the discussion.
“Apple’s iPad Textbooks Cost 5x More Than Print”
By Lee Wilson
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Comment: I have watched the dismantling of the public library in my district. The newest “schemes” provide some kind of digital “books” that are only licensed for so many readers; once you go over that limit the fees are reapplied. I don’t have the specific details here but I have been watching carefully and have had several arguments with the director of the library and the IT director. All of the reference books have been removed from the shelves because “people can get that at home”.
I taught in a wealthy/affluent suburban (Greater Boston) district but I live in a city that is below the average on equity of resources so when I see what happens to the public library I predict what happens in the schools in these districts. If my library is the canary in the coal mine then I will want to stay out of their arena; I wish other teachers had this freedom but I have retired so i have more choices.
The market psychology is the “razor and the razorblade”…. give away the razor and you will have the client hooked. This actually happened about 1988; DEC gave our group a computer but then we were expected to be sales site for DEC in public schools.
When DEC closed they quickly moved some of their personnel into the fast track teacher education programs which they had every right to do I guess but they kept up the hype that these employees would make even better teachers than were typically in schools.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
We’re working with an inner city middle school that has found students are more receptive to reading books “on-line” than holding them in their hands. The school also has found that purchasing a license for the books is less expensive than purchasing 25-30 copies.
I’m not saying this is the best approach for everyone. But this school has found its youngsters (many of whom have not done well in elementary schools), are more enthusiastic about reading books “on line.”
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Students are happy to read books period. Well stocked classroom libraries with a variety of options: nooks, kindle, iPads, MP3 playaways, etc. I always find kids going back to books especially non fiction. They are not drawn to devices 24/7.
A school that doesn’t compute:
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Glad to see you endorsing Waldorf education. Even my small town has a Waldorf school, but as it is private, relatively few students in the town can take advantage of that approach to education.
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Teachers can and do incorporate the same philosophy into their daily lessons. Teachers are professionals always looking to improve their craft. Teachers should be respected for their dedication, even the unionized kind. Teachers make the difference.
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” The school also has found that purchasing a license for the books is less expensive than purchasing 25-30 copies.”
For how does the license last? One school year? If so, which I suspect or tech companies wouldn’t be clamoring to get school contracts, that’s where the cost comparison fails. Books last many, many years.
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Good question, Joanne. I will ask. The school also finds that paperback books deteriorate or disappear. I like Linda’s approach which is to use a combination of books and on-line resources.
I’ve also taught college classes where we were able to reduce costs to students by asking students to read a combination of “hard copy” books and free on-line materials (similar to Teaching Econ’s experience) Taught a college class this summer where all reading material was free and On-line.
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It’s always ABOUT $$$$$ in this country…sick and very sad. Our kids. teachers, and schools are being traded on Wall Street, folks.
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I have had retina surgery and it is impossible to read on a screen; my doctor says limit it to 2 hours a day…. some of those charter programs have as many as 5 hours a day in front of a screen? Am I interpreting this wrong. I have students who wear ball caps on their heads because the lighting is bad for their eyes (not many I agree) but the idea is When we get a new toy hammer everything has to be hammered. There is an appropriate place and time and purpose for technology . The “hucksters” are selling it as the only thing and it is “sexy” and cool. My first computer was a CRT tube/screen and a teletype keyboard so I am not a luddite. It is not a question of Either /OR…. it is not a question of all/nothing. Every tool in its appropriate place for the appropriate purpose.
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Bingo…see “personalized learning” in action at the Rocketship sweatshop charter chain.
It is “The Office” for kiddies and this they call: innovation. Well, for OPC anyway.
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Jean we agree that no tool is right for every purpose.
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Another perspective:
http://atthechalkface.com/2013/08/04/response-to-joe-nathans-hawking-for-tech-industry-profits/
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No surprise to see Mr. Nathan here, shilling for profits as always. I’m sure his anecdotal quote is as accurate as a NCTQ policy paper.
More importantly, let’s talk about availability of books in digital format versus their analog counterpart. From my essay [1] where I quote the distinguished Professor Stephen Krashen extensively:
‘Data shows that “ebooks appear to be capturing some of the paperback book market, but certainly not all of it, and not the hard cover or tradebook market. Thus far ebooks make up only a tiny percentage of total school library collections.” [1] In other words, while ebooks are making inroads in the profitable popular paperbook sector, there hasn’t been a great deal of investment in the more costly and lower volume textbook and hardcover sectors. As a consequence “ebooks only account for one-half of one percent of school library collections, and this is predicted to increase to only 7.8% in five years.” [2]’
The one thing the tech industry loves about the charter sector is that there’s negligible oversight — especially for purchasing, but a steady stream of funding from the labor of working class people. Selling gadgets that don’t improve access to books, but do boost profitability is very easy when charter boards tend to be intimately related to the vendors. Of course that isn’t just true of the privatizers in the lucrative charter industry, certain school districts with Broad Superintendent Graduates have also become feeding troughs for the CCSS and e-book corporate cash bonanza. [2] Ultimately students have less exposure to literature while technohucksters stack paper.
There are appropriate uses of technology in pedagogy. Ignoring the dearth of educational content in digital format isn’t one of them.
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[1] http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2011/09/john-deasys-queen-antoinette-moment-let.html (both my essay and Krashen’s paper are from 2011, figures have changed slightly since then)
[2] http://www.laschoolsmatter.info/2013/07/larepresents-emperor-has-no-clothes.html
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Here are some other educators, some with 30-40 years in district public schools, who don’t share your descriptions of me as shill and a person who lies:
http://hometownsource.com/2013/07/24/joe-nathan-column-second-opinions-valuable-in-medicine-and-in-schools/
Tom King says:
July 27, 2013 at 7:42 am
When it comes to the needs of our kids, two opinions is better than one. And it never hurts to solicit an opinion from the learner, too. Often, they know more about the issue than anyone else.
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Dr Gary Gruber says:
July 27, 2013 at 8:52 am
Joe,
Your most recent offering is an illustration of one of several maladies than have been plaguing schools for at least the past half century. When will we (or they) wake up and realize that one size does not fit all, or even most? Ideally, every student would have an I.E.P. as would every teacher. Each student has his or her unique interests, skills, learning styles, and personalities. Ken Robinson’s illustrated lecture on changing the paradigm is a terrific example of how most schools are still saddled with the old industrial, factory model of education.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U Crank them out in batches on the assembly line so that they all look alike and they have all met the same standards vis a vis quality control and testing. Sir Kenneth makes a good case for radical reform.
It’s crazy and makes no sense at all to me, never did. We all saw that as kids and we knew that we were better at some things than others and other kids were better than we were at other things. The reading groups in elementary school did not fool anyone. We knew that the cardinals were better than the bluejays and that the bluejays were better than the robins. All you had to do was look at the different books assigned to each group. At least they were trying different things for different levels of achievement, all in the same grade. And that was OK with us. At least it did not frustrate those on either end of the reading level, turn them off to reading which is the basis for so much of the rest of learning.
There is a disturbing percentage of kids who aren’t reading at grade level by the third grade and why is that? I do not presume to know although apparently family background and support are involved. If a family does not value learning as a priority, it is more likely that a child in that family will not get the necessary reinforcement to ensure academic success. There are many exceptions but it remains one of many unsolved issues in the bigger picture.
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Tom says:
July 27, 2013 at 9:08 am
Well done.
It always pays to look under the covers– and get a 2nd opinion.
There is not a one size fits all model when in comes to learning.
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Wayne Jennings says:
July 27, 2013 at 10:10 am
A serious shortcoming of conventional schooling is that non-academic students (not good at reading and/or math) are treated as poor or failures. That takes an enormous toll on a student’s sense of self when, in fact, the student may be strong in non–academic areas. In schools, those areas just don’t count for much–a human tragedy. Another version of the same story is those students whose maturation levels do not meet school expectations. When will we learn and act upon the fact that not all students learn the same? Or that schools need to recognize, prize and reward many kinds of learning? To do otherwise, continues an inhumane aspect of schooling.
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Barbara says:
July 27, 2013 at 11:10 am
I agree wholeheartedly with your premise. What a significantly different and important second diagnosis.
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Rosanne Wood says:
July 27, 2013 at 1:43 pm
Joe hit the nail on the head. As a former Florida principal, I know that the more alternatives we have for our students, the more success stories we’ll have to share. Given the right school environment-ALL students can succeed.
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Darren Beck says:
July 27, 2013 at 8:07 pm
Love this Joe. (And hope you are on the mend.) Kids need the adults involved in their lives to be more invested in them along these lines. They need to invest in them that allows them to take ownership for their academic success and their futures. Looking forward to your follow up on Genesis Works.
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Robert H. Scarlett says:
July 28, 2013 at 7:40 am
Joe – It was a “second opinion” that sent me to the Mayo Clinic and may have saved my life. I have been a cancer survivor for more than ten-years now; – so, I am a believer.
I also am a “believer” in the great “youth-empowering/educational” potential you describe in your article. Our small foundation supports “Youth Social Entrepreneurship” programming for school-age your in low-income communities. These programs often motivate young people to make the most of the educational opportunities that are available in their schools.
All the best,
Rob
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Thomas Armstrong says:
July 28, 2013 at 9:46 am
Loved this message! I was in shop class in 7th grade and couldn’t plane a piece of wood straight while other kids I thought were dumb were making incredible inlaid chessboards. The teacher took me aside one day and said, ”you know, even though you’re not so good at this, you are good at the things that are important for being a success in life.” It’s interesting that I’ve been spending a good portion of my career as an educator advocating for the kids in shop class who made the great chessboards!
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You’re arguing form over substance. This shallow marketing strategy is NOT a reading strategy. Children read because they are interested in the topic- not whether it’s in e-format or on paper. Children improve reading by reading often, having choices of books they find interesting, and reading at their ability level- whatever that level may be for the individual child.
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No JC, I’d describing the experience of teachers and the principal at at one inner city middle school. I didn’t generalize to all schools or all students.
Are you a teacher or administrator at an inner city middle school? Have you used both digital and “hard copy books?
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I taught a summer class online this semester. The students did not have to spend a dime on any books because I found plenty of material on line for free to use in the class. Probably not the best for every situation, but it worked out well for this class.
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Teachers spend thousands of dollars of their own money to stock classroom libraries so students do not have to spend a dime.
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Even better, teachers would not have to spend their own money.
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You can’t find free YAL books on line. I don’t teach what you teach.
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You are saying that everything free is appropriate for class instruction? It is not a question of “Free” vs “cost” it is cost effectivenesss for the purpose of education and cost effectiveness is not the same as cost avoidance. Educators need a primer on economics such as Henry Levin would write or for that matter Michael Scriven who understand how to evaluate these programs and technologies. Testimony that students are entertained, excited, is not the only quality for evaluating a program or tool. See Scriven’s checklst for evaluation.
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For this class I used a variety of publications and working papers from international organizations, some archived articles from JSTOR, and assigned a handful of TED talks. When I was a student I had to buy the very same publications from the international organization that now distributes them freely.
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Thanks for the listing in your response; I agree with you there are some excellent sources that are “free”. We need to continue to share all of those among teachers (that is the definition of a teacher I think; get the maximum resource to the right place for the best price in Benthamite terms where your students are.) One difficulty is that we haven’t fully educated parents and students as to how to locate materials. The “first thing” found is usually what they turn in; the glitzy glamour stuff if they are left on their own . So you are doing one of the most important jobs of the teacher to find, locate, make available in quantity or to “each” what is needed. I am disappointed in my local library now because they have people who tell the parent go home and look it up ; it is on your own computer (the library has thrown out everything called reference). I volunteer for friends of the library and these are exact words. When I go to a school with a parent the teacher says “that has been on the computer since last September” and I ask the teacher do the students who are not your best know how to find it ? Do the parents in your lower economic district know how to locate it? I commend you for your work in teaching and have great respect for what you are doing. I just realize there are great inequities among and between schools and districts.
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Neuroscience and cognitive research shows that people read screens differently than pages. On a screen, for example, the eyes skim and dart around more, and the reading is superficial and less attentive than on a page.
The Shallows by Nicholas Carr discusses this well.
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Yes, my kids that use devices to read, I politely ask that they close out all other apps, so they can concentrate on the book. Otherwise they are bombarded with texts, emails, bells and whistles and they don’t build up their stamina. They comply and learn to shut out all the distractions.
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good point; when we give the QRI for example in measuring reading comprehension one of the strategies is “look back” . If I were doing this on a computer it would be impossible. That is the purpose of a book sometimes in a class or homework assignment to look back…. that is less frustrating in a book. Each tool at the right time for the right purpose. The book (as in written language) was the FIRST TECHNOLOGY…. I can’t make an either/or out of book/technology.
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sorry Qualitative Reading Inventory (it is a strategy that should be practiced in reading comprehension classes). It is also a measure of how the student profits from instruction (i.e., having a teacher to guide the reading assignment for comprehension of explicit and implicit questions/inferences. Sorry a computerized book ALONE is not sufficient.
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The QRI was the BEST!!! Boston did away with it years ago, unfortunately, bc it really was probably the most worthy resource for which ELA teachers could assess students and from which, they could drive instruction.
Thanks for reminding me about the QRI…just another thing to add to this nightmare’s victim list.
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Your comments on libraries agree with my experience. In my former suburban community the cause was not a lack of funds. A multi – million dollar new library was built with a community center, small theater, multi – media of all kinds, and 30 percent fewer books.
The Internet cannot replace reference works. Instead an academic variant of Gresham’s Law seems to be taking place in which biased information replaces knowledge, advocacy research replaces scientific investigation, and data replaces understanding.
I have been a Kindle user since the Kindle 2 and now have some 15 family Kindles sharing a common library of over 7400 books. I am also assisting a municipal public library in Mexico use electronic books and readers to make thousands of books – especially from sources such as Guttenberg, Kindle, and other providers of free classics and out of copyright books available in electronic formats.
However, since Apple entered the ebook market I have noted a steady increase in the price of ebook from all providers. Recently, it has become impossible in Mexico to obtain many free and out of copyright books which were previously available.
Changes in international copyright laws are being used to price books out of reach of the average Mexican. Charging US prices in a land where the minimum wage is $8.00 a day perpetuates illiteracy. This is especially true of children’s books.
There are two bookstores in the municipality, one government and the other private. The managers of each are concerned with the difficulty, if not impossibility, of making books available to everyone.
Last night I was assisting my granddaughter prepare for her junior semester in college. Without exception, the text books she required were more expensive in the electronic than in the printed edition.
I have no personal information as to the causes of the current trends that are making books – regardless of formats – less available to the poor. But the tendency is real and the results will be tragic.
I would be very interested in learning of the experiences of your readers – and of any successes they have in promoting literacy and access to books – regardless of format.
Sent from my Galaxy S®III
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Moderation in all things. There are pros and cons to both technology and paper. I am just a tad biased towards paper. Seeing a young child holding a picture book open and touching the pages is just beautiful. I read every day for pleasure and only books.
I have seen changes over the last decade in young children who have become increasingly frustrated by real time situations and constraints Their over exposure to technology seems to make them unhappy when asked to be patient, take their turns, stand in line, and follow instructions. It is understandable but it makes coming to school a challenge because they no longer can control their circumstances or their teachers – there is no technology available for the students to convert the teacher into something else..
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Thanks for your comment; I know my library tossed out one book that was actually in the art museum in Russia for the art work. Of course it was a paper copy and maybe a parent at home could find that art work on the computer but here it was at the child’s eye level in the library . Thank you for all you do.
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If you look into CAI and instructional technology history you will note that MECC Minnesota Educational center was one of the first to create the licensing structure as an equitable, fair, process based on what school districts could afford. Minnesota MECC licensing agreements provided the use of their computer software (on discs) that could be used in curriculum /courses based on the size of the student body population (and the discs were in the school and the license to copy new ones if the discs wore out as they do). A special “Copy ” disc was provided with the licensing agreement to make unlimited numbers of copies. Other states affiliated with MECC Minnesota (called a Lighthouse district by the federal government) to access all of the discs in individual schools or regions (for example, we offered the Minnesota license to a region of 35 school districts for any school district that was able to pay the price at a reasonable, fair, equitable rate. Since that time the corporations have entered and they do not have the same value system/understanding of what is fair, equitable, that we had in the public school sector. (Just as an aside one BOCES in NY was sued for distributing commercial “stuff” via technology into school districts). The corporate definitions of how this should be marketed are compleThe main point here is that a “marketing” corporate model is not appropriate for the educational sector when these huge fees are part of the structure. As a parallel, read Clive Davis’ autobiography. I understand full well that musicians and talented people need to have property\
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Jean, glad you remember MECC (Minnesota Education Computer Consortium). I was an (unpaid member) of the Board for a number of years, and yes, the administration (not the board) did come up with the idea of unlimited site licenses.
MECC ultimately was sold at the request of the legislature to help fund additional work in Minnesota, which was an unfortunate leg decision.
Companies vary in the kinds of “site license” they offer. I like what MECC did.
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to finish the thoughts we are on “sticky ground” here when it comes to intellectual property and market/merchandising. Scaling up programs (practices/products) that involve intellectual property has not been fully vetted and the market is experimenting with costs which is what markets do . The fact that greed and corruption enter into the dynamics needs to be fully discussed. Sticky/tricky ground can set traps and we need to be vigilant as stewards of the public funds. This future vision cannot be left up to the corporate field. I wasn’t kidding about the Clive Davis book it is quite interesting but not all the parallels are going to be the same in the public sector even though he got fired and sued a lot. To rank the teacher preparation schools Kate Walsh had to obtain syllabi which are categorized as “intellectual property” and the FOIA was used to beat up on the professors.
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It’s a proven fact that students (and adults as well) read faster and retain much more information from real books, not virtual books. Moreover, digital books will never replace the feel and smell of real books.
E books also eliminate the joy and excitement of browsing through real books on the shelf. When a reader goes into a library or a Barnes & Noble seeking a certain title they are invariably thrilled and stimulated by seeing numerous other fascinating opuses they never even knew existed. These discoveries expand learning and knowledge.
The high school library I work in used to subscribe to over 150 magazines. Now we subscribe to ZERO perodicals as our principal says that the kids can read all the magazines they want on the internet.
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I believe that digital books, etc. have their place in education, but they are only one tool and should not be used exclusively. I have a well stocked class library and my first graders love to read. I am well aware that some of them read digitally at home, but not a one of my students in recent years has asked me about digital reading at school. I can relate to an earlier comment about the need to limit time on computers due to health issues….I get really bad headaches if I stay on the computer for a long amount of time. I also worry about the effects of too much technology on children’s and even adults attention spans.
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Hi Lee,
I was once your neighbor, teaching down the road in the Boston, where I once was a student myself for 6 years at Boston Latin School, and where I still live.
In April I resigned from a school that was in it’s 4th year as a K-8 school, after an elementary school in one of Boston’s most failing neighborhoods – the Humbolt/Warren section of Roxbury – moved into the neighboring Middle school I’d been teaching at. We were exempt from the strict regulations of most of the other schools in the city who remain unchanged, meaning we weren’t really being “identified” or “labeled” in any way based on our scores for the first 3 years post-transition. In other words, our school was very much “failing”, & failing miserably in real life, but wasn’t being identified as such to the community or parents.
We got TONS of money. The admin used to talk maniacally about it at teachers meetings. $20,000…$80,0000…brand new Mac labs…
We had no paper. Oh, yes we did, the AP hoarded it in the cabinet behind his desk in the main office, and made teachers buy their own.
There were 3 geography books for 36 7th graders. Worst part of that one is, 2 years prior was my 1st year teaching social studies, & in September of that year there were 9 geography books, and I put the order in repeatedly for a new set.
Our “library”, scant as is was, was dismantled slowly at first, then 2yrs ago was torn down and all evidence destroyed with near-fury. It was replaced with a massive, sunlit, freshly painted, newly & impressively decorated, leather and cherry furnished, extremely high-tech “anchor” of the 2nd floor. The year after we had our proudly and loudly donated Mac Lab from a local corporation, it was moved, and during the move, lost half the computers (ie, half a class’s worth), as well as ALL printers (i think there were 3-5). Most of them were moved into this “special” place.
“Special” positions were created for “special” people to fill; they filled these “special” places.
It’s a place to bring potential donors and focus on fundraising efforts from politicians and businesspeople and corporations in the community. There is a push to become an Innovation School, or some other catchy-named Privatized K8 model of excellence in the neediest of neighborhoods.
It even had it’s own stairwell and entrance, just outside the also newly-refurbished main office. You could access this area without ever setting foot, really, within the “school” itself. The stairwell was painted a happy yellow last summer, with plants added on the landings. Plants!!
The only other room in the vicinity of this special place was once the Speech/OT room. With an autistic program also running K-8 in the building, you can imagine the services delivered at the school. They are now conducting therapy outside their former rooms, in the hallway, sitting in primary desks, no less. When that gets too crowded they find another hallway area to try to make work, dragging boxes and bags from place to place with their materials.
The former Itinerant Area is another “special” room.
And yet the teachers continue to tolerate it, and it just becomes more and more maddening and truly outrageous year after year.
I did not function well in that kind of environment. One that is run by people so driven by corporate-driven “goals” that they have completely lost sight of the reality of teaching and learning themselves, and embraced a plan whose vision is not in the best interests of the students. Those are people who people like me butt heads with. They don’t like people who speak up about what’s right, and speak out against what’s wrong. People who call them on it get disciplined. Trust me, I know. But I like to call it “punished”.
I got out of it in April; I could take no more. What’s happening is a disgrace – it’s unfair, and it pisses me off. So upon resigning I got involved with different groups, started testifying about bills at The State House, & created my alter-ego, The Indignant Teacher (theindignantteacher.wordpress.com). I’m currently working on an online resource to educate voters in Boston about ed reform and all it entails, that will include a Q & A section profiling each candidate’s views on ed reform and the future of the Boston Public Schools.
Yours was a great story, Lee…I just wish more people were willing to read it!! :}
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Article: Publc and School Libraries in Decline: When We Need Them
Click to access CC0211Presidents.pdf
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It seems like there are many people who see technology as revolutionary, as a way to enhance learning and teaching (or, replace it), yet these same people appear blind to the appropriateness of such technology.
A more appropriate question is not whether technology can enhance teaching and learning, but whether it can hinder teaching and learning, and other important components of education, such as pencil to paper and turning pages of a book that’s just been learned to read.
Perhaps two research studies can guide our thinking regarding the appropriateness of technology — i.e., Apple’s iPad Textbooks.
The first study by Mangen et al., (2013) examined comprehension of text read on traditional paper versus a computer screen. The findings of the study suggested that children who read text on paper had significantly greater comprehension than the children who read text on a digital computer screen. Implications are especially significant for struggling readers given digital technology as part of a literacy intervention.
Click to access ReadingComprehensionTextvsComputer.Mangen.pdf
The second study by James and Engelhardt (2012) examined the effects of handwriting, typing, and tracing on the development of emergent readers literacy skills. fMRI scans of children’s brains revealed that both handwriting (pencil paper) and reading or learning to read activated the same part of the brain, whereas tracing and typing activated a different part of the brain.
Click to access 1-s2.0-S2211949312000038-main.pdf
I’m not saying technology is bad, but what I am saying is that technology in a broad sense can misguide teaching and learning if not used appropriately, especially in cases where children are viewed as miniature adults without consideration for the impeding factors such as development and individual learning and social skill needs.
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Endorsed by Professor Linda Darling Hammond, here’s a e-book that may interest some people: http://howyouthlearn.org/educator_resources_motivationequation.html
Linda comments as follows: “The student and teacher voices in this strikingly original book bring the principles of learning alive in practice. This kind of teaching empowers kids to reach eagerly toward mastery. Every educator will want to read this book.” —Linda Darling-Hammond, Stanford University – See more at:
http://howyouthlearn.org/educator_resources_motivationequation.html#sthash.nFKvUg6E.dpuf
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Joe, thank you for posting. I saved on my iPad and just watched Ned’s talk. The eight tips are right on and I love how they had nothing to do with test prep, testing or choosing the correct bubble, and the recommendations were entirely devoted to authentic teaching and learning with student engagement and ownership. Professionals who work directly with children every day will be nodding along. Great short video. 🙂
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Dear Retired Librarian,
You have stirred up many interesting comments and insights.
All of the reference books have been removed from the shelves because “people can get that at home.”
I, too, have concerns about our public libraries. My three year old grandson brought me three picture books for me to read to him from his public library. Neither the stories nor the illustrations delighted me. I checked the author and the publishing house. All three were published in Singapore by the Pearson Company. Another day I went to his public library to look for books by well known US authors and illustrators. Of course I couldn’t find the well known classics that I loved. My thought was, “Wow! This must be a community of avid readers of good literature. All the great books are out. ” I went back several times only to find a limited number of Caldecott books and other classics. At another time I went to a book sale at our own public library. I was amazed at all the classics on sale. The help said that they needed to make room for new books. The library was getting rid of multiple copies and books that are not popular.
I also noticed sets of encyclopedias on sale. My thought was: Too bad they can’t be placed in a community center created for a safe haven for children to come and read. Special playgrounds have been created by church organizations – church property fenced off for a safe playground in the inner city, why not create an indoor area for reading?
I am wondering if our public libraries are receiving grants and what strings are attached.
Lee also stated, : “I have watched the dismantling of the public library in my district. The newest “schemes” provide some kind of digital “books.” Many comments were made about digital books. Robert Skeels talks about the availability of books in digital formate. Tracy stated, ” … digital books will never replace the feel and smell of real books.”
I totally agree; however, there is a place for electronic books. Some children and adults can’t leave the house without their iPad – their Linus Blanket. They have their apps for books, stories, games etc. To me electronic books serve as great surrogate caregivers.
When adults do not have the time to read or cannot read to their children, they can use their iPad or computer and earphones and have their children listen to great stories. Members of Screen Actors’ Guild e.g., read stories to children; there are countless more. It is not a substitute for their teacher or parent. I have a collection of sites for electronic books, audio/talking books, read alongs and UTubes which I placed on my “Electronic Books” page of my web site:
http://maryidefalco.com/reading%20site%20reconnected/reading__language_arts_primary_teachers_2/10.Electronic_Books.html
Not all homes have computers but their neighborhood library does.
Alabama teacher says: “I believe that digital books, etc. have their place in education, but they are only one tool and should not be used exclusively. I have a well stocked class library and my first graders love to read. I am well aware that some of them read digitally at home, but not a one of my students in recent years has asked me about digital reading at school. I can relate to an earlier comment about the need to limit time on computers due to health issues….I get really bad headaches if I stay on the computer for a long amount of time. I also worry about the effects of too much technology on children’s and even adults attention spans.” Jean stated, ” … a computerized book ALONE is not sufficient.
I totally agree with both the Alabama teacher and Jean. For the primary grades, a hard copy is essential for guided reading – the scaffolding we use to model the constructing of meaning. The iPad is a great tool to help develop new vocabulary. I was reading a story to my three year old grandson and we came across the word viaduct. I knew he didn’t know what a viaduct was so we went to Google images and typed in viaduct. The entire screen was filled with images of viaducts. I asked him which one he thought we were reading about. He pointed to the correct one telling me he understood the story. The iPad along with the LCD/projector is an invaluable tool to help children understand new vocabulary such as geographical terms as ravine, cliff, mountains etc. It’s a great way to develop the background of a story such as needed to read “A Hole in the Dike.” The iPad & LCD/projector are a great tool to teach higher order thinking skills via flashing graphic organizers onto the white board to stimulate/develop student’s thinking skills. The process is quick and saves time. However, to put students on the computer during their reading instruction time is not teaching needed skills especially higher order thinking skills. It is only testing comprehension – not developing comprehension skills. Learning is social and so much valuable time is lost when students just read and take a follow-up quiz.
Contrary to Common Core’s reading standards for primary grades, I have stated the Constructivists’ approach on my web site:
“Guided Reading Strategies/Comprehension…”
http://maryidefalco.com/reading%20site%20reconnected/reading__language_arts_primary_teachers_2/16.Guided_Rdg__At-Risk.html
At the age of two my grandchildren could navigate their way though to their apps for very rich educational experiences. But technology cannot replace the teacher or parent; it can only supplement the teacher. The iPad is a great tool for reinforcing various skills independently but it nor the computer can take the place of guided reading with the teacher at the helm. Too bad Bill Gates and other billionaires don’t realize that technology can never replace the teacher but only serve as a tool for the teacher.
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