Textbook Cost

Posted Wed Oct 28, 2009 in

On one of the mailing lists I read (Mac OS X LaTeX) an off-topic message came across the interwebs late yesterday afternoon. The thread was about the cost (and declining quality) of textbooks used in higher education. One poster lamented the fact that textbooks that cost $25 in 1975 were now over $100. A number of comments in the thread were about the challenges of producing a text and the process, and how LaTeX might fit into the process.

That started me thinking about the cost of things (and the quality). I did a quick calculation. I assume that the average rate of inflation of US$ was about five percent per year over the period between 1975 and now. I also assume that the period is about 30 years. (That’s close enough for this game.)

So, the multiplier is (1.05)30=4.3 (more or less). That means a $25 textbook from 1975 would cost about $108 in today’s money. That’s probably about what they cost.

Other things cost like that too. Remember in the early 70s you could buy a car for $5K? Well, that car is $20-30K now, isn’t it?

The decline in the quality of textbooks is also evident. But, I think part of that is the number of textbooks produced during this period of time. I think there were fewer textbooks produced 30-years ago than there are now. As an example, when I was in graduate school there were basically two texts for open channel hydraulics — Chow’s 1959 text and Henderson’s 1964 (?) text. Much of their content was the same — after all, basic physics is basic physics no matter how you roll it.

However, they differed in some of the advanced material. This was good because both were (are) good texts and the differences in approach was actually a strength because that offered additional insight that might not be gained with only one source.

I remember the excitement of buying a copy of French’s open channels text, only followed with bitter disappointment that it was really a knock-off of Chow’s excellent text, only not executed as well as Chow’s. I wonder if McGraw-Hill saw a need to offer a fresh look at open channel hydraulics, given the improvements in computer technology of the time, but didn’t execute the effort well for whatever reasons. In the end, I abandoned French’s book and stayed with my copy of Chow with supplemental material from other sources for my teaching of open channels. I also recommend Henderson’s book as a supporting book, if you can find a copy. I managed to find a reprint (softbound), but it will do.

A similar situation exists for textbooks treating hydrology. There are several decent textbooks on hydrology, but there are also a lot of textbooks that aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on. It was a challenge to find good books for my students. I expect that trend to continue for the foreseeable future.

I’m still interested in the notion of e-books and e-readers. Barnes & Noble is released a new reader and service in November. I’m looking forward to seeing it and handling it. There is potential there. But, to date, I think it’s unrealized as far as university texts are concerned.

But, that’s just my opinion…

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Headed Home

Posted Sat May 16, 2009 in

Thursday TargetIt’s been a week! I spent the week here in Lubbock, Texas, working with my colleagues on the research projects we have active, plus planning for proposals for a few more.

The week started hard, with us late into town because we didn’t make the miles over the last weekend. We rolled into town about 1000 Monday and totally forgot we had a 1000 appointment, thinking it was 1100. What an inauspicious beginning! We made a part of the appointment, though, and moved on.

Monday afternoon was the first set of meetings. We reviewed the state of the work, gave direction to our student help, and then broke.

I met with the second group, anticipating the next couple of days of intense intellectual activity. We started running a bunch of statistical analyses, displaying the results through the projector, and the free association began. We broke for supper and went to a favorite place, Orlando’s. The Mafia Queso is to die for and I think it’s the best queso I’ve ever had. It is one of the things I miss about Lubbock.

Tuesday and Wednesday went by quickly, with us presenting various components of our work, critiquing each other (can only be done well in a trusting, respectful environment), and giving direction so additional work can be done.

A bit of lagniappe was the tour of the new flume. It’s operational and has a working hydraulic model in-place. They are beginning the data collection phase of that work and it’s a true miracle it was pulled off. I’m proud of Ted for that accomplishment.

One of us left at noon on Wednesday — the remainder worked part of Wednesday afternoon, tidying up and making plans for the next assault.

We hit it again Thursday morning. Unfortunately, one of the notebooks died and the statistical analysis we need is on that machine. I’m hopeful that Apple will turn it around quickly so we can snag the code, form up the graphics, and include them in our next deliverable. Will is a super hacker and a talented statistician. He’s also directly responsible for my use of the R-project program for statistics work.

We broke about noon Thursday, dispersed, and regrouped for a 1530 range session. There is little 9mm ammunition to be found in Lubbock and I could find no CCI Mini-Mags for the .22LR conversion. Fortunately, Rick at Patriot Range had some (expensive) 9mm and .22 Velociter ammunition. It was an expensive afternoon, but the focus I find at the range was rejuvenating.

There is a Zen-like state on the range, at least for me. There is a link between me, the sidearm, the eyes, and the target. I shot the Glock 19, both with and without the conversion. Young Son and I took turns, swapping out targets. He’s coming along nicely and his groups will tighten up as he gains experience.

I ran the target out to ten yards and just worked on trigger control for awhile. I always shoot both hands (alternating with strong and weak running the trigger), then one-handed (strong and weak). I wasn’t working on speed; just working on sight picture, trigger control, follow-through, and recovery. The target above is the one I used the entire session. There were probably about 50 rounds of 9mm and another 50 of .22LR.

For my last string, I pulled the target back to five yards and ran the gun for a fire, recover/reset, and fire drill as the gun came back on target. It’s interesting to watch the pistol come into recoil, then return to the target. If you do it right, the sights line up back on the target as the gun recovers from recoil. It requires only a small adjustment to re-align the sights and begin the next press on the trigger. Really good shooters can do follow-up shots in a fraction of a second. They are so well-trained that it’s only a confirmation that the sights are in alignment and a quick trigger press from the reset.

I should push my times a bit and think I’ll set up a drill that requires me to fire five shots in 2.5 or 3 seconds, with combat accuracy. The shot-timer is an excellent tool for putting on some pressure.

Tired, but refreshed, we left the range and went to supper. It was good. I like Cattle Baron (another favorite place in Lubbock).

Friday was a wrap-up day. I woke really early and read through the materials I needed for my first meeting. That went well and we gave the student help good direction. I worked for a bit longer then left for another appointment. We met with an old friend and student for lunch and there is nothing like good Texas BBQ. We have some good places in Lubbock.

Friday afternoon was spent decompressing with my friends. We’re still planning for additional project work and have a new project (and I hope more) coming on-line this summer.

I’ll be on the road by the time this posts. Now I need some breakfast.

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WA-Squared

Posted Thu May 7, 2009 in

Wife sent me the obituary for Dr. William Andrews. He taught me how to design concrete and steel structures. He was the most positive teacher I’ve ever known.

He initialed materials WA2. He was a true engineer and a marvelous teacher of both civil engineering and life. I remember him walking the halls as he recovered from MS. He refused to give up and maintained a positive mental attitude.

You could say he was one of my heroes. You would be correct.

Goodbye, sir!

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Good Notes

Posted Sat Feb 7, 2009 in

A recent thread in the “LaTeX on OS X” mailing list I follow was about the Beamer system for creating presentations. Beamer is something I’m going to have to check out because one of my tasks is developing and making presentations and my preferred format is PDF. An example of a real talk prepared using Beamer is here.

I’m currently using Apple’s Keynote to prepare my talks and then exporting a PDF. I’m not always allowed to use my MacBook Pro for presenting, but Acrobat Reader is ubiquitous. So, I can do things the way I want with Keynote and then present using the full-screen mode of Acrobat Reader.

But, I digress.

During the discussion of Beamer on the list, the topic turned to making presentations. Many list participants are faculty and lecturing is a challenging affair. I never used a Powerpoint presentation in all of my years of teaching. I used a few overhead slides where my personal ability to draw on the board failed. But, my derivations were all done hot (with notes) and my presentation focused on a combined presentation of board (either chalk in the early days or whiteboard in the latter) and voice.

I expected my students to make notes, but never required them to take notes. I expected my students to make notes because my personal belief (and observation) is that the mechanic for internalizing information and creating knowledge is through our sensory systems. Individuals vary in their learning mode. Some learn by listening, some by seeing, some by touching; most learn by some combination of these senses. My particular mode is visual-tactile.

Therefore, my approach to material presentation was constructed such that each learner-type had a fighting chance of getting the material — if they did their part of the job. I spoke what I was doing, I wrote it on the board, and I expected my students to take good notes. A part of that interaction was facing the class, looking at eyeballs, making an assessment of how successful I was at communicating, and asking and taking questions.

Good note-taking skills are learned. The fundamentals are pretty simple. Listen and watch, and get the material down that seems to be important. The more lectures you sit, the easier it is to determine what is important. If you’re fortunate, the lecturer will be good enough to reinforce important points so they are captured in the notes.

It isn’t important to write everything you see or hear. It is important to get enough material so that reconstruction of the information is possible at a later time. Note review is an important part of the learning process. Reinforcement of short-term memory is what creates long-term memory. Good notes, then, comprise those notes that facilitate creation of long-term memory. Good notes, then, are relative, depending on the individual note-taker to define what is needed to catch the information, record enough of it to serve as a memory tool or clue, and then recapture the information later (in review) for processing and creating knowledge in the individual.

Good notes, therefore, are in the eye of the beholder. My “good notes” might not be your “good notes,” and vice versa. That’s interesting, at least to me.

After twenty years of sitting lectures, giving lectures, sitting talks, and making talks, I’ve decided to all but abandon the use of text on slides. Textual slides only serve to encourage the audience to read them. Graphics slides give an opportunity for the presenter to point out the important parts of the slide. I’m going to move my talks to graphics only and talk about the pictures. Wish me luck.

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Another Defense Done

Posted Tue Oct 21, 2008 in

Monday was yet another busy day. I had a breakfast meeting (with a friend), then a working meeting, then work resulting from that meeting, missed lunch, a thesis defense, and another meeting. Yipes!

The work done mid-morning was good. The previous meeting helped me to define much of what needed to be done. The few pages I generated for that project came fairly easily.

The afternoon defense was a presentation of a Master’s thesis. I read the thesis Sunday (took me a few hours) and marked it up. The work was good, but the writing needed some tidying up, which is not unusual. My mark-up will provide sufficient guidance for the student to edit the thesis.

The presentation went pretty well. The student knew the material well and the presentation was professional. The questions were answered adequately.

What struck me was the juxtaposition of the Ph.D. and M.S. presentations. Because they were so close in time, the differences were really apparent between a graduate student working at the Master’s level and a graduate student working at the Ph.D. level. Of course there are other variables (and many of them), but the depth of the work is different and the experience of working independently (if that’s the correct word) has a significant impact as well. At least, so it seems to me.

I believe, and have for many years, that the formal presentation of the thesis (or dissertation) should be a learning experience. Sometimes, students need to be taught they don’t know it all, just because they’re finishing graduate school. (In the case of the two students just defended, neither needed this lesson. But, I sat defenses before where they needed such instruction! That can be hard on the student, but is a necessary lesson.) I remember my defenses clearly as well. I learned a lot about myself by going through the process. Sometimes students need to be taught they know a lot, and I’ve helped do this too.

After the defense, I called Wife in response to a text message. It’s hard being home alone. I wish she’d come with us.

After the call, I dealt with my final meeting of the day and believe progress was made with that student too. When I was a graduate student, it was always good for me to meet with my advisor. He had a way of finding encouragement when things were tough. Sometimes that amounted to a kick in the pants when it was necessary. It was necessary, for me, a few times. Sometimes a softer approach is needed, but there always needs to be a little pressure to push forward, no matter how challenging it is. Humans respond to forward motion, to progress, and it’s self-reinforcing because it’s a good thing. I know how much I hate it when I’m dead-centered. I also know how big a struggle it can be to generate forward motion. But, it’s necessary. The effort is worth it.

A colleague and I went to supper after all of that. It was good to sit with a beer and a steak after a long, intense day. I was really hungry too, having skipped lunch (inadvertently).

All in all, it was a good day. It was a hard, busy day, but good nonetheless. I accomplished at least two more of the things I came to do. That would be my forward motion. I like that.

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Last Ph.D.

Posted Sat Oct 18, 2008 in

U.S. 380Yesterday I accomplished another milestone1 — and saw a student complete a significant milestone. She successfully defended her Ph.D. dissertation. She is the second, and last, of my Ph.D. students. It was a watershed event for both of us.

She was prepared and did an excellent job presenting her work. She handled questions well and took note of the final changes the other readers found in her dissertation.

I am so proud to be part of that process. She earned her degree and she knows how to conduct independent research. She is well-trained and will now go on to do good work. I’m pleased to have been a part of that.

That makes about 30 graduate students I guided through the process. My productivity is largely measured by this group of individuals. Most of them are now lost to me, because I don’t know what they’re doing or where they are. I run into one of them now and again, and sometimes hear from one of them. They are a bit like quail when you stumble into the center of a covey — the fly all sorts of different directions and you never know where they light.

But, I’m confident they will do well, whatever pursuit they choose.

N.B. The image is just for me.

1 Milestone: noun: a stone set up beside a road to mark the distance in miles to a particular place. Figurative: an action or event marking a significant change or stage in development.

Comment [3]

Distance Education

Posted Sat Dec 15, 2007 in

I’ve never been fond of the idea of distance education the way it is normally considered — tape- or disk-recorded lectures delivered asynchronously to “students” located away from campus. The reason is that I believe much of the education process involves interaction between the educator and the student. My entire teaching philosophy revolves around my interaction with the student.

Without that interaction, the student should exercise self-education and spend time reading, studying, and working through materials of interest. I know this process well because I’ve done it for decades1.

So, given that I need to interact with the students, I’ve been researching video-teleconferencing solutions. What I want to do is to enable the students to see and hear me, plus a virtual whiteboard where I can display notes from my personal notes. It would be good if the students could download those (PDF, perhaps) for later review. I think I have on-line resources that will enable that process.

One thing I’ll do differently than in a live classroom is to save and email PDF’s of my notes to the students. Then, I’ll require them to hand- or machine-copy them to a class notebook to be turned in. I need to see that they’ve created ownership of the material and the only way I know to accomplish that is for them to hand-copy my notes to their notebooks.

So, I think we can make a go of this experiment. It will be interesting to see that happens.

1 Over the span of my life, I spent countless hours reading and working through things that interest me. I know enough physics, chemistry and mathematics to handle most technical material, given enough time. I know the process works.

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