Last year, we brought together more than twenty content experts and leaders amongst the EdTech community for an open conversation about the future of digital resources. . . This year, we plan to start right where we left off. Forum participants will explore the past and present of digital curriculum, and then collaborate to ideate what the future ought to be.(Full Disclosure: While I am not getting paid to attend, Discovery is paying all my travel expenses.)
We have split the event into two days. The first, Wednesday March 27th, will be spent in small group conversations with teams from Discovery Education. While optional, there are many people within the company that would love to tap into your collective brainpower. We know that you each bring a unique perspective to the table and hope you will share your knowledge with our teams.
The main event will take place on Thursday March 28th. It will involve in-depth conversations and brainstorms identifying ideas that aren't just theoretical, but actionable. We have handpicked a forum representing all grade levels, subject areas and roles within the education space.
You can read Dean's post (and the links) for more on last year's event, or check out Steve Dembo's delicious bookmarks. (You can also follow this year's forum at the twitter hashtag #beyondtextbooks, although you'll also find lots of other folks thinking about this topic at that hashtag). I imagine this year will be similar in some respects, but very different in other respects. For example, Discovery just announced they will be producing a Math Tech Book in 2014, and the attendees of this year's forum have a definite math tint to them, so I imagine we'll be talking about possibilities in the mathematics arena a bit more.
I have my own ideas, of course, but I would love for some of you to share some of your own ideas in the comments. What does the future of "digital resources" look like? What does the next generation digital "textbook" look like (and "textbook" is used very loosely here)? Specifically, I'd love to hear from math folks (and others) what would a "Mathematics Tech Book" include?
As you think about this, keep your options wide open. Certainly Discovery is looking for ways to package something that not only adds value for our students, but that they can actually package, sell and monetize. But don't limit your own thinking to what you think they could "produce" and "sell," but really think about what kind of digital resource(s) you would want to support your classroom (math or otherwise).
I'll share any comments you leave with the Forum on March 27th and 28th.
