Mobile Device, E-Textbook Use Growing in Schools

Roger_Dooley · 08-21-2012, 09:36 AM

More schools are requiring mobile devices and moving to electronic course materials, according to an article by Laurie Sullivan of MediaPost. Sullivan leads with one California school's approach:

Quote:

Mater Dei officials now require students and faculty for the 2012 and 2013 school year to use Apple's iPad 2 as part of the "iBuild The Future" curriculum.

The mandate from one of California's top Catholic educators requires each student to rent the device from the school for $350 yearly.

Article: MediaPost Publications Mobile Devices, Textbooks Gain Traction In Schools 08/21/2012

Making students access things like reading lists and homework assignments online can clearly save schools a few dollars, but the big spending is for textbooks. Ebooks have the potential to be vastly cheaper than print books, but will the textbook publishers pass these savings on or try to maintain their previous profit margins.

It will be interesting to see how this evolves. I'd anticipate that either free public domain textbooks or inexpensive ebooks from alternative sources will emerge as winners if the big publishers try to gouge buyers.

A better pricing model will need to emerge for devices, too. $350 per year to rent an iPad doesn't seem like much of a bargain.

OHMighty · 08-21-2012, 03:14 PM

2 thousand views no comments lol...

elf4EVA · 08-21-2012, 08:38 PM

My school requires all freshman to buy iPads. If it works out well, it'll go school-wide next year. Personally, I hate not having a hard copy of the class textbook. (I have the online text for Chemistry and History, and it's a total pain to have to scroll up and down instead of turning the pages.) I hope I won't have to use an iPad for textbooks next year, but even so, textbooks will probably be all electronic by the time I'm in college....

MaineLonghorn · 08-21-2012, 08:42 PM

In Maine, every 7th and 8th grader gets a laptop to use during the school year. But the program is not funded at the high school level (although a few schools are paying for them individually). So you have all these kids going into 9th grade who are used to taking notes and doing everything else on a computer and suddenly don't have that resource. My daughter is one of them. She decided it was worth using her savings to buy a laptop (our business has been very slow so we could only contribute a little). It will be interesting to see if many of her friends come to school with a laptop!

ellemenope · 08-21-2012, 10:51 PM

$350 a year to rent an iPad? Must be one with a more storage than I've got.

Jman13325 · 08-26-2012, 08:28 AM

Last year my school started issuing iPads to all students. Isnt that great

evitaperon · 08-26-2012, 03:24 PM

The school didn't get bulk pricing?

sciencenerd · 08-26-2012, 06:07 PM

I have to wonder if this electronic way of teaching is really much better than the old way. Does anyone have any studies done on this?

TheAtlantic · 08-26-2012, 07:43 PM

My school does BYOT. It works somewhat, but it gets confusing.
With all the teachers tying to get you to submit work online

BCEagle91 · 08-27-2012, 11:55 AM

My daughter took a trip recently and wanted to go through several chapters of calculus 2 while on her trip. She asked me to photocopy one of our books at home. Instead, I pointed her to Gilbert Strang's Calculus textbook online and she just downloaded several chapters to her phone for self-study.

I love the idea of electronic textbooks for the convenience - I don't care that much about the costs though I'd prefer to own rather than rent.

SunnySally · 08-27-2012, 03:23 PM

It makes total sense for the schools to move more forcefully in this area, no one needs to have to deal in all those heavy textbooks.

CSIHSIS · 08-27-2012, 04:03 PM

Forcing students to pay for it? If they already have the textbooks, they should use them. I don't know anyone who carries textbooks to and from school, it's nbd.

littlemisschic · 09-20-2012, 05:29 PM

We went through the same, our sons school required tablet rental. We though it was too much to pay for renting one, and just bought him his own refurbished tablet to use. It was roughly the same price as a years rental and he enjoyed having one of his own he could use. In my opinion it's much better than using school books and alot easier to carry around for students with all their work in one place Android Tablets | PC Tablets
I would check the prices to buy a tablet computer rather than renting. You can get a tablet reasonably cheaper than it would cost to rent one from the schools.

CE527M · 09-20-2012, 07:37 PM

We apparently have iPads, because teachers had to go for a training, but I have yet to see them at the high school...I saw them at the elementary school. I personally prefer the real deal, but if the school board spent money on them, I`d personally like to use them

Descuff · 09-20-2012, 09:57 PM

My school made a move toward more technologies during my freshman year (3-4 years ago).
But my school still is against the use of mobile devices in school but pretty much everyone broke that one room that states: Cell phones must be turned off and kept in your locker. Lmao. But this year they actually have like teacher notification which is like reminder for upcoming deadline and such. I like this idea. But no move towards Ipads or cell phone is school happening anytime soon but I bet it may happen in the next 2-3 years as Technology continue to advance.