Textbooks vs. Technology

We're two weeks into the autumn quarter and I can't help but feel a little overwhelmed by technology and underwhelmed by textbooks. Let me first just put it out there--I don't like textbooks. They're expensive, heavy, and reading them is often like wading through a pool of thick mud (something that I have actually done and therefore feel qualified to make that comparison). And when I'm done with the textbook, I either sell it back or donate it because the new edition is coming out and no one wants to give me $5 for my expensive, already out-of-date textbook. Can you tell I'm a little jaded?

Don't get me wrong, not all textbooks are created equal.  Some are actually quite engaging.  These typically come in the form of a compilation of delightful or poignant short stories rather than one or two persons' long philosophical droning for 500 pages. The funny thing is, I get more out of those short, yet insightful, stories than I get out of reading 40 pages of dry text.  I remember the stories. I learn valuable lessons. Most importantly, I get inspired by the stories.*

The reason why I don't feel the need to keep many of my textbooks is that so much of the relevant information in the book is available on-line...for free.  And if I wanted to read about someone's philosophy on a topic, there are countless blogs, articles, tweets, and journals on-line from which to peruse.  In fact, there is so much available to us through the web, literally at our fingertips, that it does get overwhelming.  Its a good thing that we're learning about on-line organizing tools in our tech class.  In fact, I can't wait to put down the textbooks and start playing around with these new-to-me tools.

A final note about textbooks. The more and more I am exposed to amazing Internet tools and apps that puts interactive learning at our fingertips, the more archaic traditional textbook reading feels. I see in the not-so-far future a new type of interactive textbook. I see students, young and old, not only reading textbooks on-line but also interacting with it as well.  They could be having discussions about a certain text with their peers, highlighting and annotating important sections, doing exercises and assessments right on the website, creating projects and collaborating with peers, creating links to other relevant websites and ideas, etc.  Plus, think of all the paper we'd save from not having to buy edition after edition of textbooks every year. 

*I will have more to say about learning from stories in an upcoming post.