Big advantages in schoolbooks going digital» Corpus Christi Caller-Times:
"Digital textbooks are on the way to Texas public schools, perhaps as soon as next fall. As reported by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in our Nov. 23 edition, the state Legislature has already passed two bills allowing the Texas Education Agency to create a repository of online textbook content. The agency is seeking bids from both online and traditional publishers and planning to have the first open-source textbooks available to students in the fall of 2010.
With California, Virginia and now Texas in the process of going digital, it’s unlikely that the rest of the nation will be far behind. The advantages of digital textbooks are, after all, numerous. For legislators and taxpayers, the chief one is the likely cost savings. In 2007, Texas schools spent $375 million on textbooks. During the 2008-2009 school year, thousands of books were replaced, costing $264 million. By using online, open-source material, like California, Texas plans to develop its own curriculum, and cheaply at that. The open-source material would be purchased — presumably at a reasonable cost — by the state, which could then edit and copy it online to fit its own uses. School districts could then buy from a state-approved list, if they choose to do so."
"Digital textbooks are on the way to Texas public schools, perhaps as soon as next fall. As reported by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in our Nov. 23 edition, the state Legislature has already passed two bills allowing the Texas Education Agency to create a repository of online textbook content. The agency is seeking bids from both online and traditional publishers and planning to have the first open-source textbooks available to students in the fall of 2010.
With California, Virginia and now Texas in the process of going digital, it’s unlikely that the rest of the nation will be far behind. The advantages of digital textbooks are, after all, numerous. For legislators and taxpayers, the chief one is the likely cost savings. In 2007, Texas schools spent $375 million on textbooks. During the 2008-2009 school year, thousands of books were replaced, costing $264 million. By using online, open-source material, like California, Texas plans to develop its own curriculum, and cheaply at that. The open-source material would be purchased — presumably at a reasonable cost — by the state, which could then edit and copy it online to fit its own uses. School districts could then buy from a state-approved list, if they choose to do so."
