If you've been watching the news lately, you've heard about the MI Open Book project coming under fire. I'm not here to name names or point fingers, but I'm here to defend the process and vision of MI Open Book.
Last year, Dave Johnson, an amazing social studies consultant for much (all??) of lower Northern Michigan, asked me to take part in the process of helping to write a digital 8th grade social studies text. At first, I hesitated...me? Write a textbook....uhhh, lemme think about that. But after I turned it over in my mind I realized something...
I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO HELP DESIGN AN AMAZING TEXTBOOK FOR MY STUDENTS AND STUDENTS AROUND THE STATE OF MICHIGAN THAT WAS UNLIKE ANY OTHER TEXTBOOK THAT CURRENTLY EXISTS.
So I said heck yeah! Obviously.
Let me tell you a bit of what we've done thus far.
We all got together for a few days in August. We met up with our 'author teams'. I don't think that my group is unique when I say that I am working with some amazing educators and practitioners. We started by breaking down our state content standards and coming up with some really great questions that pushed students to think deeply, make connections and synthesize and apply information...not simply recall facts from the chapter.
Right now, we're independently working on outlines for our 'chapters'. I just happened to luck out and get the Civil War. I've snagged so many books from my local library and uncovered a wealth of online resources and information.
Are we textbook authors? Not so much.
But you know what's better? I'm working along with people who are in the classroom day in and day out. I'm working with people who know their students and where their students excel and where they get confused.
We are teachers dedicated to this process and dreaming about how we can create a textbook that is unlike any other that will work to engage our students, push our students, and encourage our students to become active citizens. I assure you we don't take our roles lightly.
And while I believe the aforementioned is the most important part, there's two other aspects to this project: savings for schools and the fact that the text is digital.
The textbooks I currently use in my classroom were published in 2008. Because there is another 8th grade social studies teacher in the district, we have half a classroom set. Now, I'm fortunate that the content we learn about in 8th grade (essentially American History from the American Revolution through Reconstruction) doesn't require the latest and greatest, but I certainly wouldn't complain about a new book. With school finances right now, though, that doesn't appear to be happening anytime soon. It's the same for most districts.
Additionally, the errors that are in the text are easily fixed/edited and then updated in student textbooks. Lemme see your printed text book do that. And what a great lesson for our students about the fact that everyone makes mistakes and we're all learning and growing.
These books are a powerful resource for Michigan social studies teachers. I'm proud of the work we're doing and the work that was done last year.
Last year, Dave Johnson, an amazing social studies consultant for much (all??) of lower Northern Michigan, asked me to take part in the process of helping to write a digital 8th grade social studies text. At first, I hesitated...me? Write a textbook....uhhh, lemme think about that. But after I turned it over in my mind I realized something...
I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO HELP DESIGN AN AMAZING TEXTBOOK FOR MY STUDENTS AND STUDENTS AROUND THE STATE OF MICHIGAN THAT WAS UNLIKE ANY OTHER TEXTBOOK THAT CURRENTLY EXISTS.
So I said heck yeah! Obviously.
Let me tell you a bit of what we've done thus far.
We all got together for a few days in August. We met up with our 'author teams'. I don't think that my group is unique when I say that I am working with some amazing educators and practitioners. We started by breaking down our state content standards and coming up with some really great questions that pushed students to think deeply, make connections and synthesize and apply information...not simply recall facts from the chapter.
Right now, we're independently working on outlines for our 'chapters'. I just happened to luck out and get the Civil War. I've snagged so many books from my local library and uncovered a wealth of online resources and information.
Are we textbook authors? Not so much.
But you know what's better? I'm working along with people who are in the classroom day in and day out. I'm working with people who know their students and where their students excel and where they get confused.
We are teachers dedicated to this process and dreaming about how we can create a textbook that is unlike any other that will work to engage our students, push our students, and encourage our students to become active citizens. I assure you we don't take our roles lightly.
And while I believe the aforementioned is the most important part, there's two other aspects to this project: savings for schools and the fact that the text is digital.
The textbooks I currently use in my classroom were published in 2008. Because there is another 8th grade social studies teacher in the district, we have half a classroom set. Now, I'm fortunate that the content we learn about in 8th grade (essentially American History from the American Revolution through Reconstruction) doesn't require the latest and greatest, but I certainly wouldn't complain about a new book. With school finances right now, though, that doesn't appear to be happening anytime soon. It's the same for most districts.
Additionally, the errors that are in the text are easily fixed/edited and then updated in student textbooks. Lemme see your printed text book do that. And what a great lesson for our students about the fact that everyone makes mistakes and we're all learning and growing.
These books are a powerful resource for Michigan social studies teachers. I'm proud of the work we're doing and the work that was done last year.
Excellent response, Erin! Can't wait to keep writing with you and churn out an amazing resource for the State of Michigan and our students! See you in December!
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