Alang (2010)
believes this shift in human thought and processing is not necessarily a bad
thing. He argues that this change in thought patterns may be necessary – and even
beneficial – for the complex, multi-layered world in which we live. He further
suggests that our world is so interconnected that we need to be able to
navigate through the web of information, and linear thinking just won't serve
that purpose.
Okay, so
where does that take us in terms of accessing and evaluating quality information?
Obviously, the web puts a plethora of information at our fingertips. Some of it
is excellent, but quite a bit is garbage. I think I can address the issue of
quality and put it in the context of changing thought patterns, and tie it all
back to this week's reading. Hear me out, because I'm going to jump around a
bit.
Let me first
start with the issue of eBooks and changing thought patterns. Electronic
publishing is on the rise, and much of the impetus is provided by textbook
publishers (Miller, 2010b; Young, 2009). It only makes sense; publishers can
cut costs and increase revenues by selling more eBooks. That's not the only
incentive, however. As Miller notes, some education entities – California, for
example – are establishing mandates to move to eBooks, citing in part reduced
costs for students. From a student perspective, I can see additional advantages
beyond cost savings. Modern eBooks aren't just electronic copies of the paper
text; many are interactive, media infused learning experiences that function in
the non-linear fashion that more of us tend to think. Students can bookmark,
highlight, notate, and even share comments. They may be able to access a linked
podcast or simulation, or possibly even an interactive assessment. So publishers
are responding to the "new way of thinking" by creating non-linear,
cross-connected electronic texts (Young, 2009).
That brings
us to finding and consuming valid, reliable, high quality information. Another
movement that has been afoot for a while and continues to grow is open source,
or open access, digital publishing. This refers to collections of texts,
journals, multimedia, and learning objects that have been developed by knowledgeable
professionals and, in most cases, vetted by a panel of experts via peer review.
The technology infusion of these resources may vary, but they offer a valid and
reliable alternative to both expensive commercial products and non-peer
reviewed resources. Many good examples are available from the Open Educational Resources Center for California, which was set up
to support legislation in California that requires textbooks to be available in
electronic form by 2020 (Miller, 2010a; Miller, 2010b).
As always, I
want to leave you with a couple of videos to consider. This week, I have two.
The first, from Money Talks News (1:24 mins), addresses the high cost of college textbooks
by suggesting a few ways students can locate cheap or free resources. The other
is from Texas Curriculum (1:36 mins) and addresses legislation that establishes
a foundation for adopting open source textbooks in primary and secondary
education. I think this second one is particularly important, because we often
think of open source publishing in terms of higher education (I do, anyway). With the
budgetary challenges faced by the nation's primary and secondary schools – both
public and private – open source materials may provide one way to stretch
finances further without compromising instructional integrity.
What are your
thoughts or experiences with open source materials? What about your thought
processes? Has the internet changed the way you find and use information?
References
Miller, M.H. (2010a, February 9). New
web site lists free online textbooks. The
Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/blogPost/New-Web-Site-Lists-Free-Online/21165/?sid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en
Alang, N.
(2010, June 15). For better and worse, the web is changing how we think. Techi. Retrieved from http://www.techi.com/2010/06/for-better-and-worse-the-web-is-changing-how-we-think/
Carr, N.
(2008, July/August) Is Google making us stupid? The Atlantic Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/is-google-making-us-stupid/6868/
Miller, M. H. (2010b, January 14). California
law encourages digital textbooks by 2020. The
Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/blogPost/California-Law-Requires/20526/?sid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en