I would like to thank the Ontario Business Educator’s Association for organizing an excellent conference last week in Toronto. I spoke to a number of teachers at the Croecko Publishing vendor booth and was pleased with the number of teachers who chose to attend my workshop. For teachers who took away an inspection copy of the student text but who didn’t attend the workshop, I would like to share some information to help you make the case for purchasing the text for your students for next year:
1. The value proposition
– The books are very affordable at $17 per copy. As a teacher myself, I have priced my books in this way to encourage schools to purchase what they might otherwise photocopy. In my opinion, the best way to discourage photocopying is to offer the book at a price that is less than the cost of a photocopy.
– The fact that the book contains exercises means that schools ordering and using them will enjoy lower photocopy costs as they will not need to copy as many worksheets for students.
– If board policies do not allow course fees, it is possible to make student purchase optional by making 5 or 10 copies available for loan from the school library.
2. Critical Response
– Over 3000 copies of Workbook for the New I.B. Economics are being used by students on every continent. The feedback from students and teachers using the book was put to use when developing Economics for Canadians.
– The book’s proofreader, the head tutor for first year economics at Queen’s University, commented that students using the book in high school they would be well-prepared for university-level economics.
– Curriculum Services Canada, the agency that reviews materials for possible inclusion on the Ontario Trillium List, noted in their review of the book that “the resource’s evaluators stressed that the textbook is of excellent quality, overall.”
– Teachers using the resource have reported that students like the fact that they can write in the book and that it serves as both their textbook and their notebook. For their part, teachers like that the lessons in the book are well-sequenced and that the book’s format allows them to spend class time more effectively engaged in supporting student learning.
Overall, the book meets the needs of teachers interested in delivering a current, engaging and affordable economics program to their students.
Click on the link below to see a photo taken during my workshop:
http://obea.ca/photo_albums/spring_conf_2013/index.html#IMG_5212.JPG
