Blog Post #14

Teacher Knows

CourseSmart is a tool being used by Texas A&M teachers that let the teachers know whether the students are reading their textbooks. The teachers know what pages are skipped, whether something gets highlighted, or whether it just sits on a shelf and does nothing at all. CourseSmart is being experimented by other schools as well. It allows teachers to track the work and progress of students.

As a Teacher

As a teacher, I would personally reap the benefits of CourseSmart, but only to an extent. It wouldn't be a grade but to determine whether my students are studying or not. For example, if a student failed a test and they wanted to know why or there parents wanted to know why, then I could look back to show that the book was never opened or studied enough. But then again, how would I know that the book just wasn't left open and no studying was done? I guess like everything, it has it's pro's and con's.

As a Student

As a student, I would not like CourseSmart at all. Textbooks are already ridiculously expensive, now I would have to pay for an electronic textbook? No way. Secondly, most of the time, professors don't even use the required books for the course. Many times I have purchased a textbook for $100 or more and not even had to use it. Thirdly, just because I may not use the textbook, doesn't mean I don't know the material. If I do my work and make the grades I deserve, I don't see the reason in this book determining my grade or making me change my study technique in any way.

Questions

I would ask the Mr. Guardia from the article these questions:

-Isn't the point of college to get students to be held accountable for their own grades?
-Don't you think, in a way, this sounds like another way for the textbook industry to make more profit off students?
-Do you really think this is a reliable and trustworthy way to determine the studying habits of a student?
-Would this be something you would actually use to grade a student on?

Conclusion

In conclusion, I think most textbooks in general are a waste of money.Now they are wanting to track your studying methods and judge you by this electronic textbook. If anything, a textbook should be a guide for a teacher to plan their lesson. It shouldn't be required that students purchase them. I believe they can be helpful and informative. But necessary? I don't think so.