September 14th, 2009
Well it certainly wins the inflammatory headline of the day award. This silly article in the Boston Herald would be OK with me if it said “printed books threatened,” or something approaching that line of thought. But we are not yet referring to the woolly mammoth.
Among the choice quotes:
1. ““If you look at a textbook it’s very static. It’s very convoluted,” said Hopkinton High math teacher Carla Crisafulli…”
2. “Students do not currently like to read textbooks,” said John Madis, business manager for Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center. “It’s not just in their normal lifestyle to read from a book.”
3. Hopkinton High senior Marisa Clark, 16, is enrolled in an online journalism class this fall. She said online courses are more work than teacher-led classes. “I really like all the online courses and I would take more if I could,” she said.
I’m all for the introduction of online teaching aids in education. I question the future of the printed textbook. But I’m not yet willing to send them to the death camps, and I know that very few schools are ready either.