Irish schools make switch to ebooks; Textbooks go hi-tech as students learn on iPads and tablets (Gabrielle Monaghian... - 0 views

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  #1 Tracy Tan on 29 Feb 12

   

  Access to the site is by subscription, so I am including the article here:
  T'S a sad day for doodlers. The dog-eared textbook is on its final chapter in Ireland as schools switch to ebooks. More than 50 schools have made the digital switchover, with students reading their course work on Apple iPads and other tablet devices.
  
  
  
  The Educational Company of Ireland (Edco), one of the market leaders, has sold digital textbooks to 30 schools nationwide. It expects to agree deals with more than 100 by September, according to Julie Glennon, the publisher's sales and marketing manager.
  
  
  
  The 100-year-old Dublinbased publisher has converted 80 of its textbooks for secondary schools into ebooks, costing an average of 35% less than regular books if schools buy them in bulk. If the text needs to be changed, the publisher sends out updates to students' tablets.
  
  
  
  Gill & Macmillan, one of Edco's main rivals, has sold digital textbooks to about 20 schools, including 13 Vocational Education Committees in Co Galway that bought netbooks for their 1,000 students. It now has 60 titles in digital flipbook form, according to Dermot O'Dwyer, the firm's chief executive. In this format, students can rent textbooks for €8 a year instead of €25 for the traditional equivalent.
  
  
  
  The educational digital market is expected to rise to 5% of all textbooks worldwide this year.
  
  O'Dwyer attributed Irish growth to iPads and other devices becoming a bigger part of the high-technology arsenal of schools that introduced interactive whiteboards last year.
  "The secondary schools were given grants last year to install a whiteboard and screen, so that has accelerated demand," O'Dwyer said. "Now that they have the whiteboards, schools want to use them, so publishers are making a big push to sell digital content."
  Two of the schools have switched over to digital learning in the past month. Ballinode community college in Sligo will be providing iPads to its first-years in September, as will Colaiste Treasa in Kanturk, Co Cork.
  First-years at St Kevin's College in Crumlin have been using iPads since last September, with the help of a grant from the Department of Education. Blake Hodkinson, the Dublin school's principal, estimates St Kevin's is saving 40% a year on books as a result. Parents pay the school €150 a year to rent ebooks and an iPad for their children.
  "There are now between 40,000 and 50,000 educational apps," he said. "I'm a geography teacher, so I might use an app to chart the volcanoes around the world for the students. They light up as red dots around the globe. When the earthquake in Japan happened last year, I could show students the strength of the faultlines."
  Hodkinson expects his teachers will soon be writing their own interactive digital textbooks, thanks to a new iBook platform. This enables teachers to store any Power-Point presentation, pictures and sounds into a file and pass the result on to students. The only downside Hodkinson has encountered is the cost of repairing broken iPad screens.
  Joshua Magee, a 13-year-old student at St Kevin's, is nonchalant about swapping textbooks for the iPad. In his free time, he browses the iPad for free games apps.
  "It's the exact same as using books at school, but you don't have to carry them around all the time," he said. "But they do break. The cover of mine is cracked already."
  
  In South Korea and some parts of California, handheld devices have completely replaced printed textbooks. Some educationalists remain sceptical that Ireland can match such growth because of poor broadband connections for rural schools, a lack of government strategy on which devices schools should use, and funding cutbacks. Some schools, such as St Colman's College in Co Mayo, have agreements with local credit unions and Apple to enable parents to get cheaper loans for iPads.
  Jackie O'Callaghan, spokeswoman for the National Parents Council Post-Primary, said that the development of digital learning will be unequal in Ireland because of patchy broadband coverage.
  "The department has made huge strides in getting broadband into schools, but there are still so many pockets of blackspots," she said. "Before publishers go down the road of an ebook war, we have to get broadband sorted first."
  Gareth Cuddy, chief executive of ePub Direct, a new Corkbased company that converts books into digital form, said the government had "no real appetite" to encourage the spread of digital textbooks.
  "South Korea spent a couple of billion on e-textbooks and in the United States all school textbooks must be available in digital format," he said.
  Cuddy believes Irish libraries need to take a leaf out of their American counterparts' book and increase lending of digital textbooks to schools.

   

  <div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Access to the site is by subscription, so I am including the article here: <br /> T'S a sad day for doodlers. The dog-eared textbook is on its final chapter in Ireland as schools switch to ebooks. More than 50 schools have made the digital switchover, with students reading their course work on Apple iPads and other tablet devices. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> The Educational Company of Ireland (Edco), one of the market leaders, has sold digital textbooks to 30 schools nationwide. It expects to agree deals with more than 100 by September, according to Julie Glennon, the publisher's sales and marketing manager. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> The 100-year-old Dublinbased publisher has converted 80 of its textbooks for secondary schools into ebooks, costing an average of 35% less than regular books if schools buy them in bulk. If the text needs to be changed, the publisher sends out updates to students' tablets. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Gill & Macmillan, one of Edco's main rivals, has sold digital textbooks to about 20 schools, including 13 Vocational Education Committees in Co Galway that bought netbooks for their 1,000 students. It now has 60 titles in digital flipbook form, according to Dermot O'Dwyer, the firm's chief executive. In this format, students can rent textbooks for €8 a year instead of €25 for the traditional equivalent. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> The educational digital market is expected to rise to 5% of all textbooks worldwide this year. <br /> <br /> O'Dwyer attributed Irish growth to iPads and other devices becoming a bigger part of the high-technology arsenal of schools that introduced interactive whiteboards last year. <br /> "The secondary schools were given grants last year to install a whiteboard and screen, so that has accelerated demand," O'Dwyer said. "Now that they have the whiteboards, schools want to use them, so publishers are making a big push to sell digital content." <br /> Two of the schools have switched over to digital learning in the past month. Ballinode community college in Sligo will be providing iPads to its first-years in September, as will Colaiste Treasa in Kanturk, Co Cork. <br /> First-years at St Kevin's College in Crumlin have been using iPads since last September, with the help of a grant from the Department of Education. Blake Hodkinson, the Dublin school's principal, estimates St Kevin's is saving 40% a year on books as a result. Parents pay the school €150 a year to rent ebooks and an iPad for their children. <br /> "There are now between 40,000 and 50,000 educational apps," he said. "I'm a geography teacher, so I might use an app to chart the volcanoes around the world for the students. They light up as red dots around the globe. When the earthquake in Japan happened last year, I could show students the strength of the faultlines." <br /> Hodkinson expects his teachers will soon be writing their own interactive digital textbooks, thanks to a new iBook platform. This enables teachers to store any Power-Point presentation, pictures and sounds into a file and pass the result on to students. The only downside Hodkinson has encountered is the cost of repairing broken iPad screens. <br /> Joshua Magee, a 13-year-old student at St Kevin's, is nonchalant about swapping textbooks for the iPad. In his free time, he browses the iPad for free games apps. <br /> "It's the exact same as using books at school, but you don't have to carry them around all the time," he said. "But they do break. The cover of mine is cracked already." <br /> <br /> In South Korea and some parts of California, handheld devices have completely replaced printed textbooks. Some educationalists remain sceptical that Ireland can match such growth because of poor broadband connections for rural schools, a lack of government strategy on which devices schools should use, and funding cutbacks. Some schools, such as St Colman's College in Co Mayo, have agreements with local credit unions and Apple to enable parents to get cheaper loans for iPads. <br /> Jackie O'Callaghan, spokeswoman for the National Parents Council Post-Primary, said that the development of digital learning will be unequal in Ireland because of patchy broadband coverage. <br /> "The department has made huge strides in getting broadband into schools, but there are still so many pockets of blackspots," she said. "Before publishers go down the road of an ebook war, we have to get broadband sorted first." <br /> Gareth Cuddy, chief executive of ePub Direct, a new Corkbased company that converts books into digital form, said the government had "no real appetite" to encourage the spread of digital textbooks. <br /> "South Korea spent a couple of billion on e-textbooks and in the United States all school textbooks must be available in digital format," he said. <br /> Cuddy believes Irish libraries need to take a leaf out of their American counterparts' book and increase lending of digital textbooks to schools.</div>

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