Are your textbooks dated?

Printed journalism textbooks for high schools, because of the slow publishing and approval process in many states, can frequently be out-of-date by the time they get to the classroom.  As many states move to follow the Common Core State Standards, textbooks on many subjects are in a state of transition.

Two of the most popular and highly regarded scholastic journalism textbooks are High School Journalism, by Homer L. Hall and Logan H. Aimone (2009 edition) and Scholastic Journalism by C. Dow Tate and Sherri A. Taylor (2013 edition).

Ask students to scan the web sites for those books, then answer one of these batches of questions:

Flashlight: What textbook do you use? What year was it published? Does it discuss online journalism, social media and other topics relevant to the current media landscape? Through an online bookseller like Amazon, Barnes & Noble or a college bookstore, can you find a basic journalism textbook that’s more up to date? Are all of them available as e-books?

Spotlight: Review the content in these Best Practices Booklets offered by the AEJMC. Can you find online resources that might be useful to supplement a textbook for high school students?

Searchlight: What are the issues with schools moving away from printed books to eBooks? Do you prefer using e-books over print books for academic reading? Find more research on learning outcomes with eBooks. What about MOOCs (massive open online courses)? What does research show about their effectiveness? Why do some faculty oppose their use? If schools don't stay up to date, will students look elsewhere for their education?