Marc Prensky, in his article in the Chronicle, created a vision of a future institution which fascinated me in a way that surprised me. He suggests that U.S. institutions should consider going fully electronic where students do their readings and homework on digital readers (kindles, nooks, ipads, etc.) just as South Korea is planning to do with its elementary and secondary schools by 2015.
I find that I like the thought.
Now, I am certainly not a person that jumps into that kind of thing quickly. I need other people to pioneer that frontier before I step over that line, but I am finding that especially as I experience the world of being a student again, that it really is a different world than when I was in my master’s program. Honestly, my master’s program was the first time I used email, so the ipad I have now is light years from where I was in the mid 90’s.
Mr. Prensky takes his idea to the extreme to say that a campus that takes this step should ban all non-electronic books. The institution should confiscate any book that is not in electronic format and replace it electronically, giving the hard copy version to others who need it. Faculty too would be given time to convert their personal libraries, but would also be held to the book-free standard.
He addresses the concern that inevitably comes from this sort of book banning ideology, which is; why mess with peoples’ freedoms. He says it is important to push technology forward, and therefore it justifies it.
Here’s where I hesitate. I enjoy the idea of only carrying my ipad and having everything on there for what I need, books and all. However, I haven’t eased into it yet. I am still transitioning from my other ways of keeping lists, reading books, emailing, skyping, etc. I will get to that someday, but not yet. I like the vision of an electronic book-only campus, but I don’t think we should force it on a campus that does not have some prep that it will happen, to give students and staff the chance to opt out if they choose.
I understand that Mr. Prensky is talking mostly hypothetically, but then I wonder, does censorship include the media by which we experience learning? So, yes, I am reading MacBeth for a class. If I read it on a hard copy as opposed to e-copy, am I punished? I don’t want to read a version of it that also has a link to youtube and a scene from a British stage version of Lady MacBeth’s soliloquy. Is my grade affected?
Again, I think this author’s intent is to get us thinking about what e-book only campuses would look like, and I enjoy that it got me thinking about censorship in a new way. As Americans we have freedom of expression, if the venue of the expression is stifled but the content unchanged, is it still a violation of our First Amendment rights? I wonder…
Does Marc Pensky own stock in Apple? :) I think he has an interesting idea, but he's missing three points (in my opinion).
ReplyDelete1. One of the values of requiring that we buy books is that we begin to create our own library. I understand the same thing is (in it's own way) happening with buying electronic books, but it isn't the same access and visability. You know, when you're talking to a mentor and they pull a book off the shelf and say, "you should read this over break, I think you'll really like it."
2. Every year, professors print workbooks that students can buy for $10-30 at the bookstore that contain notes, handouts, worksheets, powerpoints, etc. We know that some learning styles need to physically write something to learn it. Maybe you can get at the same thing by typing notes.
3. Have you ever been to a library and checked out or examine a really old book? I got to examine a Bible that was one of the oldest manuscripts in record. You get to see the writing in the margins done by the scribes, see the greek/latin lettering, and the intricate lettering. I know we don't sell 1200 year old books in the bookstore, but what would we do with parts of history that many of our libraries contain?
Mel, thanks for bringing this topic up. I really don't know how to respond to this because I am torn between taking the plunge to using textbooks on my Nook or doing what my family has done and buying an ipad and using that. I understand that for just a quick read, it is easy to download a dozen books, bring a small device on a plane or in a car without having to lug around 30 pounds in books. Remember cruising around campus with a huge backpack?! However, I have a very hard time using the ipad or Nook when using it as a text book style because I write notes, flip back and forth very frequently, and can visualize where ideas were said in a hardcopy where on a computer, everything looks the same. As Beau points out, it is exciting to be able to see how other people respond to what is being said in the margins, where you won't see that on your OWN machine. Think about this class. If it were just our thoughts, it would not enable us to expand on others ideas and grow from it. Because of this, I have a really hard time with teacher requiring products to be used in class. I think it is a very cool idea, but not everyone learns in that fashion....
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