Jan

28

Digital Textbook Initiative, Phase Two: The Books We Are Pursuing

January 28, 2010 |  Tagged , | 3 Comments

Now that phase two of the Digital Textbook Initiative has been announced, I’d like to share those textbooks CLRN is pursuing for review. As before, we’ve scoured a variety of sites including Textbook Revolution, CaltechBOOKS, Connexions, and The Assayer to find open source books that address the courses included in the initiative. Most of the books reviewed in phase one were those we had chased down. We’ve already contacted the college professors listed below, and we’re hoping they will participate in this innovative program. The CLRN Digital Textbook Initiative, Phase Two page may be found here. If you know of other high-quality, open source textbooks in these areas, we’d love to hear from you.

History-social science

Outline of U.S. History
This book, recently updated by Alonzo L. Hamby, Distinguished Professor of History at Ohio University, is a U.S. State Department resource listed at Textbook Revolution.

A Comprehensive Outline of World History
Written by Dr. Jack Maxfield, this book was found, unpublished, by his son after his death.

An Introduction to Economic Reasoning
Written by David Gordon and published by the Ludwig von Mises Institute

Introduction to Economic Analysis
Written by R. Preston McAfee, a professor at Caltech

Mathematics

Calculus

Calculus I
Written by Jerrold Marsden, from Caltech and Alan Weinstein from U.C. Berkeley. This version is hosted at CaltechBooks

First Year Calculus
Written by WWL Chen from Macquarie University, Australia

Advanced Calculus
Written by Lynn Loomis and Shlomo Sternberg from Harvard

Calculus 1
Written by Paul Dawkins from Lamar University

Linear Algebra

A First Course in Linear Algebra
Written by Robert Beezer, from the University of Puget Sound

Linear Algebra
Written by Jim Hefferon from Saint Michael’s College

Elementary Linear Algebra
Written by Keith Matthews from the University of Queensland.

Linear Algebra
Written by WWL Chen from Macquarie University, Australia

Linear Algebra
Written by Paul Dawkins from Lamar University

Probability and Statistics

Collaborative Statistics
Written by Barbara Illowsky and Susan Dean, faculty members at De Anza College in Cupertino, California. This version is hosted at Connexions.

Introduction to Probability
Written by Charles Grinstead from Swarthmore and J. Laurie Snell from Dartmouth.

Probability and Statistics
Written by CK-12

Trigonometry

Trigonometry
By Michael Corrall from Schoolcraft College

Science

Physics

Calculus-Based Physics
Written by Dr. Jeffrey Schnick from Saint Anslem College and found at Science Books Online.

Comprehensive Physics
Written by David Raymond from New Mexico Tech and found on Merlot.

Physics
Written/found at Free High School Science Texts

A Radically Modern Approach to Introductory Physics
Written by New Mexico Tech professor, David Raymond and found at the Orange Grove

Motion Mountain: The Adventure of Physics
Written by Dr. Christoph Schiller.

Chemistry

Chemical Principals
Written by CalTech professors Richard Dickerson and Harry Gray, we found this at both Textbook Revolution and CalTechBOOKS.

Chemistry
Written/found at Free High School Science Texts

Jan

26

Digital Textbook Initiative: Phase Two Announcement

January 26, 2010 |  Tagged | 2 Comments

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has announced phase two of the Digital Textbook Initiative, a project to provide a list of standards aligned free or open source digital textbooks for high schools that cover course content in history-social science, mathematics, and science.

“Resources like digital textbooks play a critical role in our 21st century educational landscape, and expanding my first-in-the-nation initiative will provide local school districts additional high-quality free resources to help prepare California’s students to compete in the global marketplace,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “I urge content developers to jump on board this second phase and submit social science and advanced math material to help ensure California’s shift to a more advanced and cost-effective education system continues.”

The California Learning Resource Network (CLRN) is responsible for reviewing these materials to verify that they are aligned to the California content standards. Because CLRN also fully funds this initiative, we also face some limitations based on our current budget situation. Phase two expands upon CLRN’s work last summer and I’ve included a complete list of the phase two courses below. All digital textbooks must approach or equal a full course of study and must be downloadable as a PDF or as an ePub file. Content must be frozen for two years, although re-review for new content is allowable. The complete review parameters may be found here. Phase one included a hard deadline both for content developers to submit books for review  and for CLRN to publish review results. Phase two will be continuous, depending on funding, and will extend throughout the 2009/2010 school year. Review results will be published as they’re completed.

CLRN Digital Textbook Initiative, Phase Two page

History-Social Science (NEW)
World History, Culture, and Geography: Grade 10
U.S. History & Geography: Grade 11
Principals of American Democracy: Grade 12
Principals of Economics: Grade 12

Mathematics
Algebra II
Calculus
Geometry
Linear Algebra (NEW)
Probability and Statistics (NEW)
Trigonometry

Science
Biology/Life Sciences
Chemistry
Earth Science
Physics

Jan

25

What Would YOU say to the White House CTO and DOE Director of Ed. Tech?

January 25, 2010 | | 2 Comments

Dear Readers,

I write today seeking your input and ideas for my response to a COSN keynote on March 1st.

I’ve been invited to deliver a three-minute response to Aneesh Chopra’s keynote at COSN’s CTO Forum on March 1st. Mr. Chopra is the White House Chief Technology Officer and former Secretary of Technology for Virginia. Moderating the session, and I presume also speaking, is Karen Cator, Director of Education Technology for the U.S. Department of Education.

While the session is entitled, Kicking the Tires of Education Technology: What are the Obstacles and Promises of Driving Value in the Here and Now?, we’re expecting Mr. Chopra to talk about the essential building blocks necessary to modernize our classrooms and create powerful 21st century learning, share his views on how technology could modernize our education system, and speak about the pivotal role that education technology leaders must play to transform education.

Or not.

I don’t have access to Chopra’s and Cator’s speeches, but given these themes, I’m hoping to respond thoughtfully, if not critically, in order to begin an audience discussion.

What I’d like to say is, “Dear Washington, Please send money…preferably lots of it.” That’s not going to happen, though. Currently, I’m reading through Mr. Chopra’s Senate testimony and listening to his speeches to acquire a sense of his focus and values. In the meantime, I ask you this: Given an opportunity to respond to the White House CTO and the Department of Education Director of Technology, what would you say regarding the themes listed above?

I’m looking forward to your comments.

Brian

Jan

15

An Open Letter to Google

January 15, 2010 |  Tagged , | 2 Comments

Dear Mr. & Ms. Google,

As an educator, I’ve been a devoted Google fan from the beginning, quickly abandoning Altavista when I found your sleek and thorough search engine. MapQuest was left in the dust when Google Maps came out. Despite being a Mac devotee, Picasa and Picasaweb are my preferred photo programs and Google Calendar is my primary calendar. I do appreciate the ability to link to colleagues’ calendars and documents as well as sharing mine. I and countless other educators sing your praises because you offer us valuable resources and information.

But that’s not why I’m writing. I have a favor to ask.

Please save Jamendo.

We educators love Google for so many reasons, but the primary ones are that you offer rich, value-laden, open-licensed resources for free, perfect for underfunded educators. One thing that is lacking from Google’s portfolio, though, is a free music service. Jamendo not only would fit the bill, but it’s ripe for picking.

Jamendo.com is both a community and a repository of free, Creative-Common’s licensed music. With more than 29,000 albums and nearly 700,000 members, I can attest that a quarter of the music on my iPod comes from Jamendo. Some of the albums are that good. More importantly, though, is the value Jamendo brings to education. Creative-Commons-licensed music fits perfectly in education and allows students and educators to integrate music in podcasts, multi-media presentations, and web sites outside the four walls. With educators striving to create authentic, project-based assignments that are published to a real audience, Jamendo provides a variety of music genres that then can be edited and mashed into student work.

But, Jamendo is in trouble. Their business model has not brought in the income they were expecting and we expect them to close within the next month. This would be most unfortunate for the open-source community and for education. I’m certain that with your expertise and creativity, Google could easily turn Jamendo into profit-making venture while retaining its open-source content. You could also treat Jamendo like Picasa and treat it as one more reason customers should come to Google for resources.

So, please, do me a favor and check them out. I hear you can buy them for a song.

Sincerely,

Brian Bridges

Director, California Learning Resource Network

Jan

14

Comments from Assembly Member Torlakson’s Education and Technology Informal Hearing

January 14, 2010 |  Tagged , | 1 Comment

I’m Brian Bridges. Besides being President of the Board of Directors for Computer Using Educators, I’m director of CLRN, the California Learning Resource Network, a state-funded technology project that reviews electronic learning resources including digital textbooks, data assessment tools, and free web resources.

First, I’d like to recognize Assembly Member Torlakson’s contribution to education technology. Through a variety of bills, including one that reauthorized CTAP/SETS, he’s demonstrated his commitment to K-12 education and professional development. As such, CUE recognized him last spring with our Legislator of the Year award.

All is not well in the education tech community, though. Despite Assembly Member Torlakson’s contributions, K-12 education suffers from a lack of vision from our leaders. Education Week’s annual report, Education Counts, gave California a D+ regarding our students’ Use of Technology, while it graded our Capacity to Use Technology with a B+.  This clear discrepancy between performance and ability requires a technology IEP, or Individual Education Plan.

Funding would help. Not since the Digital High School program ended eight years ago has California funded technology at the school level. They’ve only passed on federal funding to districts.  Still, there’s no substitute for leadership and vision and it’s unfortunate that California stands still while Florida, Texas, and many other states promote innovative initiatives.

One area where California has started to show leadership is the Digital Textbook Initiative. Last summer, CLRN reviewed 20 open source math and science textbooks for their alignment to content standards. Widely touted as a means to save money and criticized for being impossible because districts don’t have hardware, the initiative was actually about two separate revolutions that are taking place worldwide.

Open Source Textbooks

The first is open source textbooks. Across the county, an increasing number of college professors are creating their own textbooks and releasing them with an open source license. This in response to out-of-control price increases from textbook publishers. These resources are easily found in repositories like Rice University’s Connexions, the private foundation CK-12, and CalTECH Books. The majority of resources CLRN reviewed for the Digital Textbook Initiative came from college professors.

Last year, two California bills aided the momentum: SB 247 allows districts to use textbook funds to purchase electronic textbooks; and AB1398, allows districts to use textbook funds to pay for electronic devices needed for these resources.

Texas leadership, though, went further. H.B. 2488 and 4294, both which are now law, encompassed California’s legislation and added several features to fuel the revolution’s momentum: districts may use textbook funds to purchase subscription-based textbooks and the equipment to access them; and K-12 open-source textbooks may be created by state colleges or organized by state education officials. Where is California’s leadership?

Texas State Representative, Scott Hochberg said, “We’re due to spend about $225 M to replace Grade 6-12 literature books. We can buy the content for under $20M.” That’s a cost savings.

I’d recommend legislation that would promote open source textbooks, allow the state to assemble and adopt them, and authorize districts to use them.

Textbook Transition

The second revolution is one actively embraced by the textbook industry, namely a transition from printed textbooks to comprehensive, online resources. This is a trend we’ve tracked at CLRN for several years.  While the resources we review average 27 standards per program, half of our work deals with resources that contain more than 100 content standards. By comparison, Algebra I has only 31 standards.  These programs are quite popular for tutoring, home and charter schools, and remediation. Both McGraw Hill and Pearson are actively creating the next generation of textbooks, which won’t be paper-based. Instead, they’ll be online, interactive, subscription-based resources with text, video, “live” links, and assessments. An example is Discovery Science, which was just adopted by the Oregon State Board of Education.

Rather than listening to those who criticize this movement, consider what critics might have said when Kodak created a one-megapixel camera in 1991 for $13,000. It would be easy to ignore. You might consider it a fad. But, you’d never imagine that someday everyone would own a digital camera and that Kodak would stop selling film. You do and they did. Disruptive Innovations work like that.

Once invented, they take time to evolve, mature, and gain critical mass. They don’t go away though. Taking the initiative, however, is one, inexpensive way for California to demonstrate leadership.

Peter Cohen, US CEO of Pearson Education recently said, “We are now in a transformational period. Everything we have has to be of two worlds: print and digital. The future of learning is going to be high-quality online material and, to a lesser extent, textbooks.’’ Houghton Mifflin’s senior vice president, Wendy Colby commented, “The textbook is no longer the center of the educational universe.”

Where is legislation that would allow districts to use textbook funds to subscribe to these resources?

eLearning

Finally, we’d like to address the eLearning revolution. This movement is not new, but data continues to show that eLearning resources increase in popularity each year. According to a Center for Digital Education survey of 44 state policy makers, online education is a path to reform and 21st century learning. Being a disruptive innovation, these online learning experiences are still immature, but they have attracted a following with non-traditional consumers, particularly credit recovery, tutoring, rural schools that don’t have a critical mass of students to support a subject or qualified teachers to teach them, and home schools. eSchool News reports that at least 25 states now lead statewide online-learning initiatives, including Florida’s Virtual School which is ranked at the top. The Florida Virtual School boasts 125,000 students, a 25% increase over last year.

California is one of only 12 states that have no online learning program or plans to offer one.  Louisiana, Idaho, and Arkansas are all in the top 10. What is our vision?  When will California once again assume the role of innovator by creating a state-led online school?

Virtual or Online Schools have many advantages: 1) they offer courses that schools do not or can not provide; 2) they allow students to earn credit toward academic advancement; 3) students participate for credit recovery; 4) they offer access for students with disabilities; 5) they address teacher shortages or over crowded classrooms; and 6) they make it possible for rural schools to find qualified teachers, allowing students to take courses they are unable to access.

With or without California, online learning will continue expand its reach as it matures and as students and educators grow comfortable with these new education tools. Clayton Christensen, in his book Disrupting Class, predicts that by 2019, half of all high school courses will be taught online. Will California students be among them, or will we still be using 20th century tools to teach 21st century students? The decision is yours.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide input.

Jan

5

Electronic Instructional Materials and the Williams Settlement’s Sufficiency Requirements

January 5, 2010 |  Tagged | 1 Comment

One of the frequent questions CLRN received after completing phase one the Free Digital Textbook Initiative was how the Williams Settlement applied when districts choose to purchase or utilize open source digital textbooks. Secretary of Education, Glen Thomas, has just released this guidance for districts who choose electronic instructional materials in lieu of printed textbooks.

Electronic Instructional Materials and the

Williams Settlement’s Sufficiency Requirements

School districts and county offices of education are required to provide sufficient textbooks or instructional materials to all students.  Education Code Section 60119, as amended by the Williams Settlement legislation, defines “sufficient textbooks or instructional materials” to mean that “each pupil, including English learners, has a standards-aligned textbook or instructional materials, or both, to use in class and to take home.  This paragraph does not require two sets of textbooks or instructional materials for each pupil.  Sufficient textbooks or instructional materials, as defined does not include photocopied sheets from only a portion of a textbook or instructional materials copied to address a shortage.” Through at least 2012-13, “sufficiency” also means that all pupils within the local education agency who are enrolled in the same course shall have standards-aligned textbooks or instructional materials from the same adoption, consistent with Education Code Sections 60119 and 60422.

Accordingly, if a district provides students with standards-aligned electronic textbooks, each student must have the electronic equipment necessary to access the materials in class and at home in order to meet the sufficiency standard.  If a district provides students with standards-aligned web-based instructional materials, each student must have the electronic equipment necessary to access the materials and an active Internet connection in class and at home.

If any students cannot access the electronic instructional materials at home because they do not have the necessary electronic equipment and/or an active Internet connection, the district may still meet the sufficiency standard if those students receive printed instructional materials that are identical in content to the electronic or web-based instructional materials.   Alternatively, school districts may meet the sufficiency standard by providing those students with the electronic equipment and/or active Internet connections they need at home to access the materials, but they cannot require students or their parents/guardians to pay for the electronic equipment and/or Internet connections.

Dec

1

Digital Textbook Reviews: What’s Popular

December 1, 2009 |  Tagged | Leave a Comment

During this prelude to the Digital Textbook Initiative, Phase Two announcement, I’d like to share web site data that shows which titles are more frequently read. This data comes from our Google Analytics account that reports how often each resource is accessed. Our data includes both reviews within our Electronic Learning Resources and our Web Information links, since we cross-posted reviews to both areas. We combined October and November data for this report.

The most popular digital textbook review the past two months is Advanced Algebra II by Connexions, which is not a surprise.  While meeting 26 of 27 standards, this review is also the first you see (it’s on the top) when you access our Digital Textbook Reviews page. It’s also the first textbook review you see when you browse the Free Textbook section of our web links.

Coming in a distant second was CK-12 Geometry, by the CK-12 Foundation, which snapped up six of the top nine spots. Rounding out the bottom of our popularity contest is Introduction to Climate Dynamics and Climate Modeling, which suffers the opposite condition, namely that the book is listed next to the bottom on our review page. I’ve included the complete popularity list, which details popularity as compared to their place on the review list.

Still, the combined visits to all our textbook reviews still pale to our most popular resource the past several months. The most accessed CLRN review in November was Math Magician, which was 3,000% more popular than Advanced Algebra II.

Popularity/Placement Title Publisher
1/1 Advanced Algebra II (CA Textbook) Connexions
2/6 CK-12 Geometry (CA Textbook) CK-12 Foundation
3/10 Biology Textbook (CA Textbook) Pearson Education
4/11 CK-12 Chemistry (CA Textbook) CK-12 Foundation
5/13 CK-12 Earth Science (CA Textbook) CK-12 Foundation
6/8 CK-12 Biology (CA Textbook) CK-12 Foundation
7/16 Light and Matter (CA Textbook) Benjamin Crowell
8/2 CK-12 Single Variable Calculus (CA Textbook) CK-12 Foundation
9/7 CK-12 Trigonometry (CA Textbook) CK-12 Foundation
10/3 Elementary Calculus: An Infinitesimal Approach (CA Textbook) H Jerome Keisler
11/5 Calculus (CA Textbook) Wellesley-Cambridge Press
12/12 Open Source Chemistry Course (CA Textbook) Curriki
13/4 Calculus (CA Textbook) David Guichard
14/9 CK-12 Life Science (CA Textbook) CK-12 Foundation
15/14 Earth Systems, an Earth Science Course (CA Textbook) Curriki
16/15 Introduction to Climate Dynamics and Climate Modeling (CA Textbook) Hugues Goosse