The issue my OpEd will be addressing is: Should colleges upload an online edition to make textbooks cheaper for students, and easier for some teachers to access during class? The big question my OpEd will be answering is What exists? BYU is an elite school where students have the opportunity to learn from the best and be taught from the best. The school has provided teachers and students with only the best. By now our world has developed to a point were technology runs the lectures in our classrooms and is one of the most helpful tools our teachers can use. I plan to help readers, especially my audience, realize how technology has been running our education lately, so why shouldn't we be able to access our text books online? In coming high school students, or college freshman, are all graduating with enough computer skills to be able to download a college text book. The new generation is growing up with electronics, such as smart phones, tablets and computers small enough to fit into a purse, I find it very convenient to carry around a couple of books just on my cell phone that fits right into my pocket, or a small purse pocket. I hope to convince, and inform others of the goodness this could bring students and teachers, in and out of the classroom. One of the big counter arguments that I plan to use is the fact that teachers have learned how to teach and instruct their students through hard copies of text. Mainly, math, religion, and english teachers. I know my mom, as a spanish teacher, now uses a smart board in her classroom, once her board was installed she had to transfer all her lessons to fit the smart board. Ever since then she has really loved it, but I see that as a good example to help the administration understand that certain things can be accomplished, it only takes time. I want to use the counter argument as a strength mostly and show them that maybe not having a hard copy may be in the students best interest, and it can become a easier note taking process for students, and for teachers to transfer some notes to them as well.
I wish I was able to somehow test this out and actually have a class where all the students had an online edition of their textbooks and see how much the cost went down for each student, and how many students actually read the reading assignments, instead of those students who really don't have the money to go buy textbooks and hope that they can get by through the semester without one.
I want to show my audience that most Universities and Colleges are using the online way and they are giving out most of their information online where students can access it easier, faster and it may be even more efficient for the College to do things that way.
Over all I am all for having online textbooks, and I think it is a thing we should all realize that it is a good thing that we can use to our advantages.