Governor Schwarzenegger has issued a call to developers
Schwarzenegger looks to replace textbooks with e-books
/v3-uk/news/1948294/schwarzenegger-looks-replace-textbooks-books
10 Jun 2009, Iain Thomson , V3
California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has outlined a plan to replace paper textbooks with electronic books as a way to save money.
Schwarzenegger said in an article in the San José Mercury News that replacing paper books with electronic versions would save money and allow students to get more up-to-date information. He has called on developers to build e-books for the classroom.
"California has put out an initial call to content developers, asking that they submit high school maths and science digital texts for our review," he wrote.
"We hope the floodgates are open. We'll ensure the digital texts meet and exceed California's rigorous academic standards, and we'll post the results of our review online as a reference for high school districts to use in time for fall 2009."
Schwarzenegger gave the example of textbooks that still refer to CRT monitors with no mention of more advanced technology like LCD or OLED screens.
The use of electronics to deliver classroom texts is increasing in the US and worldwide. The Missouri School of Journalism already requires students to own an iPhone or an iPod Touch to access class materials.
Schwarzenegger's move offers opportunities for developers to build textbooks that can be personalised for individual school districts, and allow information to be kept up to date.
With Apple announcing an e-book reader for the iPhone, and Amazon's Kindle aiming at the education market, the days of the traditional textbook may be numbered.
"There are those who ardently defend the status quo, claiming that our vision of providing learning materials to students for free would risk a high-quality education," said Schwarzenegger.
"That's nonsense. As the music and newspaper industries will attest, those who adapt quickly to changing consumer and business demands will thrive in our increasingly digital society and worldwide economy.
"Digital textbooks can help us achieve those goals and ensure that California's students continue to thrive in the global marketplace."
© Incisive Media Investments Limited 2010, Published by Incisive Financial Publishing Limited, Haymarket House, 28-29 Haymarket, London SW1Y 4RX, are companies registered in England and Wales with company registration numbers 04252091 & 04252093
Do you agree?
Is this a green thing to do?
I'm wondering if this is a green thing to do. Books don't need electricity to work (granted that the production and distribution does).
Posted by Simon, 11 Jun 2009
Environmental issues
The power draw of an ebook reader that uses e-ink (as does the Sony Reader, the Kindle, and all the new models that are on drawing board) is extremely low, because it only uses power for the screen when you change pages. It probably uses less power than a phone.
In terms of manufacturing, I'm sure making an ebook reader uses far more resources than a normal book, but if you count that against the cost of however many textbooks it's replacing, it's a harder question. It probably depends
But in terms of savings, bypassing the printing costs and moving to ebooks is a massive win. Given how broke California is right now, that's not a minor consideration.
And really, being able to update the textbooks and publish errata on the fly might be even more important than the cost.
Posted by AN, 07 Jul 2009