My thoughts on the updated Pearson e-Text

In this post I would like to give a critique of the new Pearson e-Text.  I will start off by saying that the updated app is far superior to the original online textbook.  I am impressed that Pearson used the initial feedback that was given, and I would like to see them continue to use the feedback that is presented to them to help make textbooks relevant in the electronic age.

I have found a great deal of value in the maps that are in the e-Text.  I try to use them in class when appropriate.  The zoom function on the iPad allows students to examine maps more closely than they would have in a traditional textbook.  As I taught a unit on World War II my students really got into looking at all of the islands in the Pacific Ocean.  When I began to teach the concept of “Island Hopping” the kids began to understand the difficulties that were faced by the troops had to fight in that theater.

The main use I have for the e-Text is the time that a student enters the classroom, sits down and looks at the board to see what to do.  In my classroom I call this “warm up” time.  During this time I assign students specific page numbers in the e-Text to work on. 

One of my favorite sections in the e-Text to use for warm up time is the SOL Test Practice sections and the Document-Based Questions.  I have found that these sections are quite useful in teaching student how to approach higher level thinking questions.  The one that I used yesterday in class was a Document-Based Question that students had to examine a picture showing the destructive power of the atomic bombs dropped in Japan.  Next they had to read an excerpt from a speech the Harry Truman made defending the use of Atomic weapons in Japan.  Ultimately the students had either support or criticize the decision to use the bomb.

These two aspects of the e-Text show that it does have potential as a teaching tool.  Although I am finding ways to use the e-Text in my class it is not my main mode of instruction.  I think that the e-Text could, and does, grow in relevance the more it is used in class, but in order for it to truly be the book of the future some work still needs to be done.

First and foremost the e-Text needs to read to the person using it if they so desire.  I deal with many students who are good readers, but are not reading at the level that most textbooks are written.  I also teach students who are reluctant to read because they have learning disabilities.  It is my belief that if the e-Text read to them they would follow along and possibly learn much more than history from the book. 

The glossary section of the e-Text needs to be expanded.  As the class teacher I would like the ability to add words to the glossary of the e-Text.  Because the glossary section of the e-Text is easy to use I believe it could be a much more powerful tool for both teachers and students than it currently is.

Overall Pearson is moving in a positive direction.  Last year I probably used my textbooks six times or less (probably less).  Since the introduction of the new e-Text app I have used it at least 3 times a week.  I really believe that Pearson has an opportunity to take something that was moving out of classrooms and place it back in the hands of students.