Initially prompted by the thought of selecting possible textbooks for several courses I’m teaching this term, and in partial response to the recent redesign of the print version of the Globe & Mail, it worth puzzling over the whole concept of the Textbook as a tool for learning.
Of course, even the term: “text-book” is interesting. It’s really a redundant label at best. All printed books are composed (literally) of text. Indeed most modern textbooks, if they’re worth their salt, are made up of much more than simple text. They typically include diagrams, photographs, illustrations and other additional features that are meant to enliven the inevitable monotony of page upon page of textual material.
There was a time in the history of learning when the textbook played an important and pivotal role in communicating information, insight and instruction. In those distant days before the explosion of information technology tools, the textbook could serve as a foundational publication for any number of disciplines. I remember with great fondness my Canadian history textbooks from public school with their emblematic illustrations of explorers and the exploited. These books were invaluable as the primary focus of learning in the classroom and were, indeed, referred to as “primers” which set the pace for our learning.
Now, however, the conventional textbook may be increasingly viewed as an endangered species. With the availability of tools that drive forward Information Literacy at warp speed, it is hard to justify the early technology lethargy of the textbook preparation, production and publication process. Having written several textbooks myself, this may be seen as a form of intellectual betrayal. But with the growing immediacy of online capacity for assembling learning resources across the broadest possible canvas, things like BLS/OWL (or “Moodle”), it’s very difficult to justify the continued existence of the textbook as a viable learning tool.
Next time you pick up a textbook examine its coverage, content and currency and think: Am I getting good value for money from this resource? Are there not better, faster, more refined ways to capturing the information that I need as a learner in this area of study?
Textbook royalty cheques notwithstanding, I know it’s more engaging for me as a lecturer/instructor to build anew with every course, rather than rest on the laurels of an existing textbook, no matter how fine it may be!
From the viewpoint of having finished my MLIS in the spring of 2010, I certainly found it far more engaging to read recent articles or studies published in information management/library literature than to consult outdated textbooks.
Luckily I think most courses at SIM have adapted well to this model, with few professors requiring students to purchase textbooks. Even better was when my fellow students would post applicable links to online resources via BLS discussion boards and that sort of thing, since many of us come across relevant discussions and news articles in our daily perusal of the web.
With dynamic applications such as Flipboard (social media magazine based on your own specific individual feeds) and Print.li (your selected Twitter feeds presented as a daily newspaper), I can see a time when MLIS students will start out with a blank ipad app or website that fills out over the course of a term as everyone adds relevant content. It’ll be more dynamic than a BLS discussion list, and far more engaging.
Every compiled electronic “textbook” will be unique for that course, for that term, with the specific group of students who have contributed to building it.
Lara makes some excellent points and the added dimension of the student input through the BLS, aka OWL, is one that extends well beyond what any textbook could possibly achieve.
There’s great recent article in the Globe & Mail that touches on these precise themes:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/your-business/business-categories/biz-categories-technology/toronto-startup-cracks-the-electronic-textbook/article1738648/
From a pedagogical, ecological, philosophical and collaborative perspective building course resources, references and links as you go is challenging for all engaged in the learning process, but far richer when it involves the “dynamic applications” that Lara Killian talks about in her post.
Still, all those embarking on a truly academic enterprise cannot allow ease of access and the compelling immediacy of certain kinds of media to become a substitute for substance. We do need to pause to absorb and contemplate the deeper elements of those things we are tasked to study. This sets up a rather interesting tension that students and teachers alike must address in ways that allow them to not only “…go long” but “go deep” when assimilating knowledge.
I agree with Lara that the “textbook” model is becoming outmoded in the field of information management. Much of the Information management content I read is that posted on Twitter feeds or on Facebook by my classmates, and most relevant articles can be found on online news media or accessed through the Dal libraries.
However, I do think that our field particularly is more dynamic than most. Other fields may find textbooks more appropriate than the newest online content. While I’ve submitted myself to reading most of my information management materials online, I would feel a lot differently about readings for my English degrees.
I think the main thing is to be adaptable, and I’m really intrigued about Lara’s mention of Flipboard. I think one of the greatest things about our field is to be aware and adaptable to new options and opportunities.
Taking things to an interesting degree of immediacy, intensity and individuality there is a movement in place to go well beyond the somewhat artificial and static virtues of the conventional “text-book” toward “The Human Library” as evidenced shortly at Acadia University and the Annapolis Valley Regional Library — see the link: http://library.acadiau.ca/news/humanLibrary.html
This is a remarkably inventive approach that steps forward by going back to the pre-text era of the oral tradition with some promising expansion of notion of borrowing ideas!
Amy talks about the dynamic nature of the field of information management. The “Human Library” stretches all kinds of convention boundaries and introduces a powerful new dimension to Information Literacy.