Information Broker for Digital Textbooks

As teachers, we are constantly 

on the lookout for new books, electronic texts, media resources, simulations, Web sites, etc., that we piece together to build upon what our textbooks do not offer. Our curriculum needs to be more individualized for our learners to think that one textbook provider can offer enough of a variety of resources to meet the learning needs of our students.

With so much discussion on the potential of ebooks, whether to be consumed on one’s laptop, digital ebook reader, slate, or smartphone, I wonder where the educational resource providers (i.e., textbook publishers, online encyclopedias, library databases, Discovery Channel, etc.) are in allowing teachers to mix and match from multiple sources to build out their digital textbooks for their students.

For many of us, we create WebQuests and what I call Learning Pursuit sites (tasks and resource links but not the project creation of WebQuests) to house links to resources while providing downloadable reading materials. But is it even better if all the information could be combined into a digital unit of study (textbook chapters) to replace the often one-dimensional and lacking in-depth study that electronic textbooks currently provide in their one-size-fits-all approach?

I would love to be able to approach what might be called an “information broker” who could pull information from textbooks, ebooks, and online encyclopedias, code for interactive simulations, video and images from media providers, etc., to create chapters of study in my students’ very own electronic textbook that they can then use on whichever device they choose. I would work with the broker to design each chapter to offer the depth and variety of information needed and to meet further the individual needs of my GATE, ELL, etc., students, offering them choices and pathways to follow as they interact with each chapter.

I understand that educational online providers like K12.com provide digital curricula packaged for homeschoolers and some school districts. Are they also moving into the electronic textbook market while offering teachers the possibility of designing their electronic textbooks?

This type of service may already exist. I remember back in 2000 when Henrico County in Virginia was doing their laptop rollout program. I was doing an internship with them as part of my graduate program. They, in part, paid for the laptops by not buying new textbooks and having teachers contracted out to write their textbooks. They also used Beyond Books, an innovator providing online curriculum to meet some of their textbook needs via the Web.

So where are we now? Can schools and individual teachers hire providers to move beyond online curriculum/resource support to develop electronic textbooks, as I am describing? I would like to hear from readers about their experiences with this topic. 🙂

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