Saturday, October 25, 1997
State studying idea
By JONATHAN KRYDER / Staff Writer
Are state officials really considering swapping textbooks for
powerbooks in the classroom?
Bet your bottom megabyte they are.
The idea to put a computer on every Texas student's desktop
came from an offhanded comment by State Board of Education Chairman
Jack Christie during a September meeting, said Debbie Graves Ratcliffe,
senior director for communication at the Texas Education Agency.
Christie suggested the idea of laptops in lieu of textbooks
after Education Commissioner Mike Moses voiced his concern over
the sizable textbook expenditures the state will face over the
next six years.
From there, the idea grew into a feasibility study and plans
for further discussion during the next board meeting Nov. 6-7.
"Nothing has been decided at this point," Ratcliffe
said. "We need to see if it's feasible both from an educational
standpoint and a financial standpoint."
The November meeting will be open to the public, but Ratcliffe
said she is unaware of any presentations currently scheduled by
computer companies.
Apple Computer's John Santoro, manager of education public
relations, said his company has what students need. Apple's eMate
300 is specifically designed to withstand the rough and tumble
lives of youngsters, he said.
Using Apple's Newton operating system, the eMate is a stand-alone
computer with a word processor, spread sheets, a graphing calculator,
and PC Windows and Microsoft Word compatibility. The four-pound
unit features a 24-hour battery life and an extra-durable casing
and circuit board that can withstand a drop from tabletop height
-- unprecedented among laptop computers.
"It acts more the way a child does," Santoro said.
The unit includes a touch-sensitive screen and a free-hand drawing
program.
Dan McCormack, Apple's education technology consultant for
Texas, said his company could equip the state with eMates for
$700 a student. He estimated staff training would cost another
$50 a student. With next year's projected state enrollment at
3,591,652, that's a start-up cost of roughly $2.7 billion.
Textbooks on the other hand cost about $200 per student, and
school officials are already raising eyebrows at the projected
$1.8 billion necessary for purchases over the next six years.
An estimated $602 million is necessary in the next two years
to pay for books in English, U.S. history, science, health, math
and world history. With textbook revenues averaging $300 million
a year, the state would break even if it sticks with textbooks.
Texas spent $325 million on textbooks last year.
Santoro said Apple is considering pitching the idea that parents
share the cost of computer purchases with schools. Parents would
purchase the computer with a school subsidy when the child reaches
middle-school age. The child would continue with the same computer
throughout high school.
McCormack said the eMate carries a 10-year lifespan.
Instead of parents making a sizable one-time purchase, Santoro
said Apple may offer them a lease option in which they would pay
$32 a month for 24 months.
Janis Carter, director of the House Appropriations Committee,
said that figure says nothing about the cost to service the computer
and keep pace with technological changes during the student's
school years.
"What about when kids go off line or damage (their computers)
in the rain? Who insures them?" Carter added.
McCormack admitted durability and security are issues to consider,
and the technology industry must meet the challenge.
Computers do, however, offer some lucrative capabilities, he
said.
In a changing world, textbooks have a short lifespan before
they become obsolete. Computers like the eMate offer immediate
access to new and improved information.
With Internet access, teachers could download updated material
to a desktop computer and send it to students via cable. They
also could distribute a storage card, similar in size to a credit
card, containing subject material to each student who in turn
would insert it into a slot on the eMate for instant access.
A third alternative -- infrared delivery -- is presently in
the works. In the coming months, the technology industry will
make available a relay hub to stand in the center of a classroom
and transport infrared information between student computers.
The eMates currently have infrared capabilities but only at
a distance of one meter or less.
Also, as schools seek new teaching techniques, McCormack said
computers become a more viable alternative to textbooks.
"There's no question printed material will always exist,
but in terms of supplying instructional material for schools,
textbooks have a limited life," he said.
McCormack said Christie's comments at September's board meeting
"raised the bar" on the computer vs. textbook issue
and served to challenge three entities:
-- The technology industry to produce machines that cater to
specific needs at a fraction of current prices.
-- The textbook industry to evolve by creating electronic delivery
of instructional materials.
-- The educational system to prepare for the coming age of
electronics in the classroom.
The consultant said he does not expect the shift to computers
to leave the textbook industry behind. Instead, it will work with
the computer industry in supplying digital information to the
classroom.
In other business, the state, the largest textbook purchaser
in Texas, is investigating alternatives to the way it purchases
textbooks from publishers. Texas currently spreads purchases of
same-subject material over a period of several years. For example,
10th-graders may have received new English literature books this
year, while 11th-graders will receive them next year.
In an attempt to create more continuity between grade curriculums,
the state may begin purchasing all same-subject books the same
year.
Currently, textbook purchases require participation between
three state bodies: the SBE, which develops the list of purchases;
the TEA, which oversees purchases and distribution; and the Legislature,
which secures the funding.
Ratcliffe said a sweeping change from textbooks to computers
would require close coordination between the three.
"It's still a 'wouldn't that be great if we could' idea,"
she said. "The key to this is getting the funding."
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Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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