My Textbook is Broken
If you’re a parent working from home with school-age kids doing distance learning, you may be cracking open a textbook for the first time in a long time. Of course, the book you’re cracking open requires a user name, password, an understanding of the subject to navigate the table of contents, and the assignment from the teacher in an email or Google Classroom. And, you’ll need serious patience as you navigate the online textbook to find the information, which can be frustratingly hard to locate. At a certain point, you may throw up your hands and just type the question into Google, hoping there’s an entry on Wikipedia or Kahn Academy. But if you are lucky enough to find the answer in the textbook, you’ll then experience a feature that will make your head explode — the inability to copy and paste text from the book into the assignment. The first time I tried to copy and paste from one of these online textbooks, I asked my daughter, “Why is this textbook is broken?”
Why wouldn’t a kid be allowed to copy the text out of the online textbook and paste it into an assignment? There’s a simple, yet unsatisfying answer. The publishing company spent a lot of time and money to create content that meets state standards, and they don’t want bad actors coming in, copying the text, and making it open to the public. That would ruin their business model, bankrupt them, put them out of business. If that were to happen, no one would be making content that meets the rigorous and unified standards we expect from our schools. There is a significant impact on insisting on this way of staying in business, however. If you’re a student who struggles with reading, tracking, or the dexterity required for typing, you’re at an automatic disadvantage in this world of online distance learning. The disjointed experience of searching for answers inside a poor user interface amplifies challenges for students with learning differences such as ADHD, dyslexia, and impairments in visual tracking.
Let’s be honest. Students and parents are thinking the same thing. Why wouldn’t I just look up the answer on Google? Bonus points if you can copy and paste the text into the assignment, saving an agonizing 15 minutes of using a broken textbook. The reality is that many students are already skipping the textbook to complete homework assignments. Especially students with ADHD who are still developing their organizational skills and typically have weaker short-term memory. Publishing companies, and the experts who write the state standards, should be very concerned. Their product is already being replaced by a solution that is easier for their customers to use, even if the quality hasn’t been vetted by experts. It’s only a matter of time before parents and students ask if they need to pay for annual access to the textbook they won’t really use.
Let’s return to that business model. It assumes that bad actors would copy and paste the entire text to the Internet, removing the need for anyone to purchase the textbook. Let’s assume that already happened, and there were no longer any textbooks. Students still need standardized content. It doesn’t change the requirement that our kids need access to verified, state standards for the material they are learning to receive their degree. Here’s an idea. What if, instead of paying experts to write textbooks, experts pay publishers to review and certify that their material meets state requirements?
In this model, a subject matter expert can apply for verification that their content material meets certain requirements. They would be given a digital certificate that would allow their content to appear at or near the top of search results as “Verified as meeting your state’s education standards.” It should be easy for Google to customize search results based on location for a student in Colorado versus a student in Florida. The experts would pay publishers annually to review and verify their material. Experts with verification decide how they want to monetize their content, whether it’s through advertising, subscription model, or something more creative. The best content should lead to high standardized test scores. Schools would pay for access to high performing content with a proven track record of student success. And, state education spending would invest in content with verified, quantifiable results. The publishers stay in business as the experts who understand the regulations and provide certification, plus any additional services experts might need to support this ecosystem like web hosting, measuring student engagement, performance analysis, or more.
Are you a parent who is frustrated by the online textbooks you’re trying to use with your child? Does the online textbook industry seem broken to you? Do you expect more from publishing companies when it comes to ease of use, the ability to find information, and the access to the material? I’d like to hear your story if you’ve had a frustrating moment like this with your kids. More importantly, I want textbook publishing companies to know their product is not meeting the needs of our students, and we are finally waking up to it!
