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Monday, June 2, 2014

10 reasons it's time to move beyond the textbook

1). Paper is getting more and more expensive and textbooks frankly aren't very environmentally friendly.

2). Because the typical history book has just a few pages on the Civil War and when I google the 'Civil War' I get 870,000,000 results in .047 seconds.

3). I have never seen a textbook that wasn't written with bias or written free of errors. So all the folks who believe that textbooks are 'reliable' and 'unbiased' resources, are sadly mistaken.

4). Textbooks can't be adapted and can't be updated once they are printed.

5). There are so many relevant and up-to-date resources that are available for free or for very low cost. When it comes to personalizing and differentiating instruction, textbooks aren't the best choice because they offer a one-size fits all approach.

6). Let's be honest, kids aren't going home and 'reading' textbooks. Also, if kids are doing worksheets and answering questions from a textbook, it's time to reevaluate your instructional practices.

7). Textbooks are quite expensive when compared to similar resources and instructional materials, and when school budgets are being stretched, the money should be spent elsewhere.

8). Textbooks are heavy, bulky, taste good to dogs, and lead to student back problems... I'm not seeing much positive here!

9). Real life doesn't come with a textbook, so why are we so focused on believing that kids need a textbook to learn...?

10). 1,000 different textbooks on 1,000 different topics can be replaced by one single device with access to the internet... enough said.