the past and future of textbooks from euclid's elements to neal stephenson's diamond age

From Elements to The Diamond AgeThe past, present and future of textbooks

!Stuart Gannes

Maker Faire Rome October 4, 2014

Euclid’s Elements: The first textbook?

Although many of the results in Elements originated with earlier mathematicians, one of Euclid's accomplishments was to present them in a single, logically coherent framework, making it easy to use and easy to reference, including a system of rigorous mathematical proofs that remains the basis of mathematics 23 centuries later.[16]

The print era beginnings1482, Venice 1847, New York

Euclid's Elements has been referred to as the most successful[5][6] and influential[7] textbook ever written. Being first set in type in Venice in 1482, it is one of the very earliest mathematical works to be printed after the invention of the printing press and was estimated by Carl Benjamin Boyer to be second only to the Bible in the number of editions published,[7] with the number reaching well over one thousand.[8] For centuries, when the quadrivium was included in the curriculum of all university students, knowledge of at least part of Euclid's Elements was required of all students. Not until the 20th century, by which time its content was universally taught through other school textbooks, did it cease to be considered something all educated people had read.[9]

16th-20th Century: Rise of classrooms

Classrooms and teachers

Researchers knew what was missing

• Interactivity

• Communication

• Collaboration

• Adaptability

• Feedback

20th Century experiments“Multimedia;” Filmstrips, TV programmed for education

Televisions on wheels

Computer labsThe purpose is to provide a microcomputer institutional-

related service to students while on campus. Huh?

https://student.uj.ac.za/docs/THE%20PURPOSE%20AND%20LOCATION%20OF%20GENERAL%20MICROCOMPUTER%20LABORATORIES.pdf

1987: A learning breakthrough “Before the Web did anything, Hypercard did everything.”

- Ars Technica

The Diamond Age…“The Illustrated Primer is an extremely general an powerful system capable of more externes self-reconfiguration than most. Remember that a fundamental part of its job is to respond to its environment. If the owner were to take up a pen and write on a blank page, this input would be thrown into the hopper along with everything else, so to speak.”

-Neal Stephenson , 1995

It was addressed to you,

Online courses: Early busts

• Repurposed content

• Lack of interactivity

• Not collaborative

• No good creation tools

Researchers know what’s missing V2

• Interactivity

• Communication

• Collaboration

• Adaptability

• Feedback

21st Century learning skills

http://www.nhcs.net/technology/instructional/21stcenturyskills.htm

1996: Online tutoringNet Tutor - Live help

2006: ’Flipped’ ClassroomKhan Academy

https://www.khanacademy.org/economics-finance-domain/core-finance/money-and-banking/bitcoin/v/bitcoin-what-is-it

2008: Adaptive LearningDynamic content presentation

http://doraemonyoung.blogspot.it/ !https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LldxxVRj4FU

2012: MOOCSMassively Open Online Courses

http://www.wiredacademic.com/2013/02/infographic-rise-of-the-moocs/

2014: Software-enabled contentUse computers for what they are designed for

Ideas for the future: interactivity put teacher in the textbook: Inquire: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-NDXWyDy3c#t=39

Siri for text books? Textbooks with AI reasoning systems

SRI Project Inquire

SRI Inquire project https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-NDXWyDy3c#t=39

21st Century: Report Card• Era of experimentation

• Some progress

• Limits of online learning

Promising innovations:

Stay tuned! !

Stuart Gannes sgannes@gmail.com