Britannica

An end of an era.....

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/upshot/encyclopaedia-britannica-ends-print-run-005141357.html

We had a set of these growing up - my mom making the investment when I was around 10, I think. I started with the A's and worked my way through - reading everything I could get my hands on. I'm not claiming I read the entire set cover to cover - but I read a lot of it. Used it often for reference and research. They were proudly stored in the built in book case in our home - and like most things she purchased for us, I'm positive she made monthly payments every month for a very long time -

I still remember how they smelled and how the pages turned...I was so in awe of all that information in one place. I could have never imagined that 40 years later, we'd have the power of having so many amazing resources available at the touch of a keypad. Fascinates me.

And speaking of 'at our fingertips', if you saw 60 Minutes on Sunday, you've probably already checked out the site. If not, please do. www.khanacademy.org

We are working on updating our district's technology standards - and it's amazing to think that Khan Academy may be delivering education in a totally new way that seems so 'right' for this generation. They want things fast and quickly - and they want a way to know where to go back when they need assistance - and there's no teacher around. Or parent. It's amazing what topics the site covers. I could watch it all day - and have been a fair amount today as I enjoy a rainy day at home doing a bunch of stuff - and doing a bunch of nothing - at the same time.

I'm reasonably sure text book publishers will not be printing paper texts much in the future. Our state has frozen new text book adoptions for years as an answer to the budget crisis - so the publishers stopped printing them. They print if you order - so acquiring the products takes forever. And we don't have much available money to purchase new curriculum - or update the existing curriculum. Will we purchase Kindle-like devices for every student? Or iPads? Or laptops? It's a mind-boggling decision to make - because once we go that route, we will be on that path for a very long time - and maintaining those items as a 'standard' will be very expensive. I'm always the money person biting my one sacrificial fingernail down to a nub worrying about 'where will we find the kind of money THAT will take'? It's a tough job and I am losing a fair amount of sleep these days...still, it's exciting. Kids of this generation may not know the joy of holding a huge encyclopedia volume and thumbing through the vast pages to find the topic you are interested in [I remember reading about aardvarks and thinking they were the most interesting animal I'd ever 'encountered' - even though it was just in print] - but they will know about the power of Google - and how information is at your fingertips in an instant. Amazing....

Washer is done - time to move towels into the dryer. Attempting to help The Laundry King - since I went to get a clean bath towel this morning and there weren't any. It's a cold, wet, dreary day but pleasant. We need the rain and it's nice to just be 'home' on a rainy day - puttering and reading. And taking a nap shortly. I need it -

Damn time change.