I plan on aggressively applying some of the new technologies concerning online documents and publications. As an in class and out of class medium (due to the increased penetration of internet access) this is, in my opinion, the wave of the future. What we see in news publications (the death of their print formats) will only stretch to "shelf books." Well, maybe it won't be that dramatic--even I cannot study without a pile of books strewn about. And libraries are still sanctums. But it will be somewhere in between. I am not the only one to make this prediction. Publishers are seeing this down the road as well as major text publishers join authors and publishers of other venues in exploring the medium--intensely. Articles on this explosion are legion but a good one debating the growing medium supply (both from a platform position, Kindles, Laptops, etc. and the side of supply of the etextbooks themselves) can be found at Inside Higher Ed for those interested in a good discussion. If one follows links around in the article they find that some major publishers already supply 95% of their textbooks in an electronic format. This is astonishing! It should also be noted that these publishers are the leading publishers for High Schools, Junior Highs, heck, all levels of education. (McGraw-Hill is the 95% noted but I have dug around and found that virtually all major text are found in this format, even in smaller niche publications like Veritas Press.) This is a logical complement as distance learning and online teaching forums continues to compete with "brick and mortar" schooling. I expect both avenues to grow extensively as there is also a sense in which such schooling and publications allow for increased democratization, cheaper education and better competition in education. Nice. Something that no matter where you stand culturally or socially that ought to sound appealing.
But is all of this far off for the in-class, right now teacher? No. Not at all. Consider a small comparative review of three services every teacher should know about and use at least one:
Google Books:
Google Books already offers an incredibly wide range of books... did I say wide range? I meant to say an awesome, mind boggling, dizzying range of books. All available at least in limited preview and many with full view rights. Did you know that these can be inserted independent of going to Google Books? This allows for their posting as static texts on school/class web pages, even eliminating text book reliance for free! Furthermore, the whole "go find a book in Google Books, oceans and oceans of pages is now easy. If you find what you want your students to use. Give them only that book. This can be done simply by following the directions here. While all studies have contemporary demands, and texts, the use of past texts is true across the spectrum of studies. Want it for free? Here's a link to a dummy proof way (there are actually three ways to display) of adding it to your website, and a here's a preview:
Scribd:
Other sources with more of a social spring can be implemented with more dazzle but less breadth. That is not to say you can't cross some of these over. (You could download the Google Book and then upload it to the next example: Scribd. I already use this in my class in conjunction with Box.net, a useful file depository and disseminator. To see its versatility, interaction with Scribd, and classroom use check out my student resource site: BCS History Sources. (Box.net isn't the only one out there, I also like Dropbox as well.) Here's a nice demonstration of how Scribd can be used (any type of document can be uploaded. Yup, even homework, lectures, etc.)
Advice for Egyptian Students 0001
Issuu:
Finally, the newest service that has me swimming in drool is a service named: Issuu. It takes much of the above in Scribd and makes it look even better. Best of all it has better service both in tools but also in presentation. Its most amazing feature is that it will search your website and "automagically" load any document it interacts with into the new reading format. "Striking" doesn't even begin to explain it. Try it out:
But is all of this far off for the in-class, right now teacher? No. Not at all. Consider a small comparative review of three services every teacher should know about and use at least one:
Google Books:
Google Books already offers an incredibly wide range of books... did I say wide range? I meant to say an awesome, mind boggling, dizzying range of books. All available at least in limited preview and many with full view rights. Did you know that these can be inserted independent of going to Google Books? This allows for their posting as static texts on school/class web pages, even eliminating text book reliance for free! Furthermore, the whole "go find a book in Google Books, oceans and oceans of pages is now easy. If you find what you want your students to use. Give them only that book. This can be done simply by following the directions here. While all studies have contemporary demands, and texts, the use of past texts is true across the spectrum of studies. Want it for free? Here's a link to a dummy proof way (there are actually three ways to display) of adding it to your website, and a here's a preview:
Scribd:
Other sources with more of a social spring can be implemented with more dazzle but less breadth. That is not to say you can't cross some of these over. (You could download the Google Book and then upload it to the next example: Scribd. I already use this in my class in conjunction with Box.net, a useful file depository and disseminator. To see its versatility, interaction with Scribd, and classroom use check out my student resource site: BCS History Sources. (Box.net isn't the only one out there, I also like Dropbox as well.) Here's a nice demonstration of how Scribd can be used (any type of document can be uploaded. Yup, even homework, lectures, etc.)
Advice for Egyptian Students 0001
Issuu:
Finally, the newest service that has me swimming in drool is a service named: Issuu. It takes much of the above in Scribd and makes it look even better. Best of all it has better service both in tools but also in presentation. Its most amazing feature is that it will search your website and "automagically" load any document it interacts with into the new reading format. "Striking" doesn't even begin to explain it. Try it out:
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