Flexbooks in Virginia21St Century Physics :Flexbooks in Virginia21St Century Physics Jim Batterson: Senior Advisor to the Commonwealth for STEM initiatives Lan Neugent: Assistant Supt. Technology and Career Ed, Virginia Dept of Ed.


Flexbooks: Background :Flexbooks: Background 2007: Under direction of the Commonwealth’s Secretary of Education, two panels of practicing scientists and engineers conducted a gap analysis of Virginia physics and chemistry SOL’s (Standards of Learning) to help inform the State Board of Education’s 2010 science SOL review.


Panels’ Recommendations :Panels’ Recommendations SOL’s are well written and easy to understand, BUT… Dated compared to current science and engineering practice SOL’s should contain significant contemporary and emerging science SOL’s should include industry state- of-the-practice technologies Open-source software should be available to teachers to create, share and develop science content in a timely way


Flexbooks: Definition :Flexbooks: Definition A Flexbook is simply a flexible or adaptive textbook that resides in cyberspace and can be printed at will Developed by Palo Alto-based Non-profit CK-12 Foundation (Aneesh Chopra contact) Written under creative commons BY/SA License Rip, mash, burn! And it is yours (at little to no cost!)


Flexbook Physics Pilot :Flexbook Physics Pilot CK-12 provides software platform and technical support Volunteer content contributors in response to Secretary of Technology’s Request for Collaboration Creative commons attribution-share alike license K-12 collaborators made every effort to use and evaluate Flexbook material in their physics courses All collaborators participated in peer review process Project duration: October 29, 2008 –March 16,2009


Physics Flexbooks Goals :Physics Flexbooks Goals Some valuable contemporary and emerging physics content that supplements current physics SOL and that would be immediately available resource if Board changed SOL in 2010. Content is readily available to ALL of Virginia’s physics teachers at a single web-based source. Feedback to CK-12 helps them improve their Flexbook software/address any web 2.0 needs Provide concrete examples of the physics panel’s recommendations for State Board. Estimation of the value of Flexbooks replacing some textbook purchases in this & other disciplines


Flexbook Review Process :Flexbook Review Process Technical Review by Prof David Armstrong (W&M Physics Dept) Peer review by three other authors (journal peer review process) Student review by 10th grade high school student, W&M freshman, CK-12 interns Public review Resulting Flexbook is somewhere between individual web-search and traditional printed, rigorously reviewed textbook


Physics Flexbook Contents :Physics Flexbook Contents Toward Understanding Gravitation Nuclear Energy Particle Physics: The Standard Model Particle Physics: Beyond the Standard Model Modern Physics Nanoscience Biophysics (Medical Imaging) Kinematics: Motion, Work, and Energy Laboratory Activities Modeling and Simulation


Physics Flexbook :Physics Flexbook


Physics Flexbook :Physics Flexbook


Physics Flexbook :Physics Flexbook


Physics Flexbook :Physics Flexbook


Changing Learning: Flexbooks :Changing Learning: Flexbooks Textbooks generally mirror the dominant form of instruction – direct instruction/lecture. Significant time lag and expense to make textbooks “current” Students have an expectation that instruction should be more interactive Flexbooks provide the opportunity to support diverse pedagogy and learning styles Many teachers recognize that reaching all students requires using multiple teaching strategies. Learning needs to be relevant, engaging and authentic.


Restructuring Textbooks :Restructuring Textbooks Students can be motivated to learn better if they have the chance to interact with content. Flexbooks should reflect teaching and learning styles. Flexbooks can be restructured to provide such things as student readings of basic materials, writing assignments, discussion groups, internet research, virtual laboratories, simulations and games, A/V Clips, collaborative team projects/presentations, interactive graphs, question and answer sessions, virtual field trips, meetings online with noted content experts, group problem solving exercises, etc.


Lessons Learned :Lessons Learned Technical edits were excellent, but writing styles and reading levels need to be addressed Seven to twelve months would be practical for a core textbook It is possible to continue six-year review cycle and fill in content gaps using the Flexbook model Credible authors are willing to contribute content Significant $ savings are possible


Derailing Flexbooks :Derailing Flexbooks Need for a high-level champion and a project manager Policies, processes and procedures that support traditional textbooks Intensive content, style and reading level reviews Sole educator ownership of “textbook” creation process Equipment and bandwidth limitations Copyright limitations/issues Funding issues: procurement and hard costs


Next Steps :Next Steps Update Physics Flexbook 1.0 with additional content CK-12 develop “Comment” capability (PLoS) Creation of a core content Physics Flexbook Book will address teaching and learning style issues Physics Flexbook submitted for official State Board of Education science text review in 2010 Develop ancillary/core Flexbook in another content area Work with emerging local district efforts to create Flexbooks and digital learning repositories


In Conclusion :In Conclusion Flexbooks can reflect new ways to teach and learn, save material and funding resources and provide a way to dynamically create and distribute content in a timely manner. Questions? Discussion?