One of my(Pooja) favourite, and most used, apps on my smartphone is Flipboard. If you don’t have it, download it now! It’s free, it’s fun, and Jeff Utecht (educator, blogger, and author) believes it could revolutionize the textbook. Utecht calls Flipboard’s magazine a “game changer” in the classroom because the students can easily help contribute to content:

I want students to have the ability to add content to their “textbook” as well. Content that we can discuss in the classroom, that can spark conversation…the real reason we come together…to be social. What if we could have all the students in a class adding to the “textbook” have them find things that interest them on a given topic and allow them to “flip” that into our “textbook” as well. Flipboard allows that too…where you can invite others to add to your Flipboard magazine.

 Utecht also explained how when using Flipboard along with social media a real time “class magazine” could be created:

…The class magazine (aka textbook) becomes part of that but so does other things that interest them. Also…..because you can search a twitter hashtag and add that to your Flipboard. A class hashtag now becomes part of the conversation. Where kids can tweet something, hashtag it with something like #engp1ju (English Period 1 Jeff Utecht) and have all that content in their new “textbook” as well.

 I think this a wonderful way to re-imagine the textbook. I will attempt to co-create a Flipboard magazine with my class and report back! Happy “flipping!”

Read more here:

http://www.thethinkingstick.com/flipboard-as-a-textbook-replacement/