Author: Nick Mulgrew

The #textbookrevolution hits Twitter!

 

"Twitter" by Flickr user Andreas Eldh. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Licence
“Twitter” by Flickr user Andreas Eldh. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Licence

Over the first two weeks of March 2014, Paperight hosted two LIVE Twitter debates for students, publishers, teachers, lecturers, booksellers and all interested parties to share their views on the subject of textbook availability and high prices. With the help of Kelsey Wiens and Eve Gray from UCT, the #textbookrevolution gathered a fantastic cross section of opinions and criticisms to help us move the campaign forward.

Our first debate, held on the 6th of March 2014, attracted mainly industry players who steered the debate towards how prices can be cut and what restraints exist that are preventing this becoming common practice. We also welcomed teachers, a smattering of students and a variety of student welfare organisations to the mix. The following points were raised and debated:

  • The need for more SA academics to chip in and write textbooks for their students rather than relying on expensive foreign equivalents
  • When SA lecturers write textbooks, there is a tendency to prescribe the same textbook even long after it is out of date which needs to be addressed
  • Digital or paper resources? On this point, the opinions were equally divided with most conceding to fall into the middle ground that both need to exist to be most effective
  • The high cost of the supply chain (printing, storage, transport and waste)
  • How students manage when they can’t afford to buy their prescribed textbooks

The success of the first debate necessitated a second one, held on the 13th of March 2014. This time around we pushed for more students to take part and we were not disappointed! Particularly by University of Pretoria students who chipped in en masse to share their personal experiences of buying their textbooks. The Tuks SRC started the debate with a bang sharing a photo of a textbook that costs R1035.95 and asking students to comment – shew! What a kicker to get students talking about downloading .pdf’s of textbooks, paying extortionate prices, sharing textbooks with friends, dealing with library short loans and even relying on student loans that don’t actually cover the cost of their textbooks. Even Van Schaik’s weighed in to explain the bookseller/publisher side to the students. Having them involved kept the debate moving along, and meant that the results are multi-faceted and really illuminating.

Tweets flew in thick and fast over the hour of the debate – so fast in fact that we struggled to keep up and even managed to get the hashtag #textbookrevolution to trend in South Africa! Amid all the tweets about Oscar Pistorius, South Africans were also debating a better future for school and university students. This is not the last of the #textbookrevolution. You can get involved too: simply log into Twitter, search for the #textbookrevolution, and have your say.

So keep tweeting about it, share the petition and sow the seeds of debate among those you know because every #textbookrevolution supporter carries this campaign even closer to success. As a collective of individuals eager for a better option, we can help countless future South Africans achieve their full potential. Viva la #textbookrevolution!

The #textbookrevolution hits UCT!

As the third week of Paperight’s #textbookrevolution draws to a close, we have a lot to be proud of, and a lot of people to thank. All in all, we managed to gather over 400 signatures from Stellenbosch University students and over 600 signatures from students from the University of Cape Town – that’s over 1000 students who love what Paperight is doing for them.

On Monday 17 February, the Paperight team visited UCT’s Upper Campus to speak to students about the campaign. We had a lot of smiles and thumbs up. We handed out #textbookrevolution drinks coasters and found out what cheaper textbooks would really mean to students.

Overwhelmingly, students insisted that they would buy all their textbooks if they could only afford them. Most students get by with either borrowing from friends who have the book they need, or by photocopying sections that they need at different intervals of the year. Some buy second-hand books – if the previous year’s edition is still prescribed, that is. And who can blame them when the prices are so high? We spoke to a 5th year medical student who has to buy a R2800 textbook, and a future chemical engineer who will be forced to fork out R3000 for one of her 6 prescribed textbooks for their first semester alone.

It’s helped us to hear that students agree with the #textbookrevolution campaign, and acutely feel the problems it hopes to solve. Students are desperate for some kind of alternative.

Of course, not all the feedback was positive off the bat. Some students expressed a concern for the future of bookshops – we were happy to explain to them that bookstores have nothing to fear from Paperight. (Bookstores can use Paperight too!) Similarly, some Law students were curious about the legality of the Paperight model – in the end they were convinced by the simplicity of the idea.

In the end, everybody wins with Paperight. More supporters are joining the ranks of the #textbookrevolution every day. But don’t just take our word for it! Watch our campaign video to see for yourself.

Put an end to unaffordable textbooks. Join the #textbookrevolution. Show your support by liking us on Facebook and Twitter, signing our petition, and using the #textbookrevolution hashtag.

Paperight loves SHAWCO

Students, lecturers, university administrators, media outlets and publishers are all getting on board with the #textbookrevolution. We’re thrilled to announce that SHAWCO from the University of Cape Town is one of our most recent converts.

SHAWCO is one of the country’s largest student volunteer organisations. They run health and welfare projects across low-income areas in Cape Town – and we’re thrilled to be associated with such a wonderful organisation. SHAWCO have lent their logo to our cause by putting it on the #textbookrevolution website. They’ve also partnered with us to put an impressive splash page on the home page of Vula, UCT’s main student web portal.

We have a growing supporters bar on the #textbookrevolution website and every company, institution or organisation that joins us brings the entire campaign one step closer to making our aim a reality. If you would like to add your logo to the list, click here. Your support can make a huge difference.

Have you signed our online petition yet? If not, do it here. Leave a comment too so that we know what this campaign really means to you.

The #textbookrevolution hits Stellenbosch!

Two #textbookrevolution supporters get their hands on great T-shirts!

Paperight has officially launched the #textbookrevolution and supporters are flying in thick and fast. We now have #textbookrevolution partner copy shops across 10 universities in South Africa – and this is only the beginning. Publishers, students and lecturers have also been coming on board, joining an initiative that intends to blow apart the existing monopolies that drive textbook prices sky high.

This week the Paperight team took the long drive out to Stellenbosch to chat to students face-to-face and hear their concerns. Sporting #textbookrevolution t-shirts, we hooked them with a batch of limited edition Paperight drinks coasters emblazoned with the tagline “Cheaper Textbooks. More Beer”. Then we got down to business. We asked them to sign a petition calling for publishers to give them a cheap and legal alternative to buy their set works. Students, many of whom were on bursaries, were enthusiastic with the prospect of saving cash for other important expenses. One student we spoke to said that she had a textbook that cost her R1300 and another lamented the fact that she had to buy 8 books for her final year of Law; none of them cost less than R900.

As we walked around town we had students coming up to us as their friends had told them what we’re up to and we heard snatches of enthusiastic conversations about “those textbook revolution guys”. The #textbookrevolution hashtag has propagated across Facebook and Twitter with energetic commentary. It seems a no-brainer that students would love the idea and now we are well on our way to gathering the testimonies, signatures and demand that will help us initiate a significant change on their behalf.

Do you love the #textbookrevolution? Then join us! It’s as easy as doing any of the following:

  • Share the #textbookrevolution video (see www.textbookrevolution.co.za)

  • Publish the #textbookrevolution manifesto in your varsity newspaper or speak about the it on your varsity radio.

  • Ask your lecturers why your textbooks aren’t available on Paperight – they can influence the publishers.

  • Sign the #textbookrevolution petition on the campaign website.

  • Send us your logo to be added to our supporters’ bar on the campaign website.

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If you want a cool #textbookrevolution poster to stick up at your school, residence, outlet or anywhere, get in touch with us at team@paperight.com.

Getting to know CAPS

The lowdown on CAPSStarting this year, public schools and some private schools in South Africa have fully switched to the CAPS curriculum, with the first batch of CAPS-educated learners matriculating at the end of the 2014 school year.

With all of the changes to the South African national curriculum in the past decade or so, CAPS might seem like just another confusing acronym for parents and teachers to remember, and another annoying policy shift that requires everyone to buy new textbooks and start over. CAPS really isn’t that complicated, though, but it’s important to understand what it’s all about.

CAPS stands for Curriculum Assessment Policy Statements. Simply, it is a revision of the current National Curriculum Statement (NCS), and introduces more streamlined and comprehensive sets of guidelines and assessment criteria for each subject in each grade. The purpose of this is to make teachers’ jobs easier, giving them clear guidance on what to do. It also makes learners’ lives easier, by establishing clearly what it is they are to learn in fine detail and how their work will be assessed.

Overcomplicated terminology is also out the window, making it so much easier for parents, guardians and learners themselves to understand exactly what they’re doing: for example, the old terms “Learning Outcomes” and “Assessment Standards” are done away with, and have been replaced with “Content” and “Skills”. Even better, primary school learners will no longer study “Literacy” and “Numeracy”; they will now do “Language” and “Mathematics” instead.

The upshot of all this – the new terminology, the week-by-week planning for classrooms to follow – is that everyone needs new textbooks that are completely aligned with the new curriculum. Luckily, Paperight has a great selection of CAPS textbooks available at any of our outlets nationwide.

X-kit Achieve!

The X-Kit Achieve! series from Pearson has been developed based on meticulous research and feedback from learners and teachers. These study guides offer exercises which cover understanding, application and problem-solving skills. They also include concise explanations, plenty of practice and sample test and exam papers with answers. Available for Grade 10 and Grade 11 students.

Study & Master Study Guides

Cambridge University Press’s Study & Master series have been specially developed by experienced author teams to meet all the requirements of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS). These new and easy-to-use courses not only help learners to master essential content and skills, but also gives them the best possible foundation on which to build their knowledge in each subject. Guides for seven subjects are available through Paperight for Grade 12 students.

Everything Maths

Siyavula’s Everything Maths textbook for Grade 10 students is not just a Mathematics textbook. It has everything you expect from your regular printed school textbook, but also comes with online video lessons and explanations which help bring concepts to life. Summary presentations at the end of every chapter offer an overview of the content covered, with key points highlighted for easy revision. All the exercises inside the book link to a service where you can get more practice, see the full solution or test your skills level on mobile and PC.

Paperight schools taste matric success

Last week saw the release of matric results for 2013 in the Western Cape. Two schools in the Western Cape that used Paperight’s past matric exam papers as part of their teaching this year saw huge improvements in their pass rates and the quality of their passes.

Pelican Park High School’s principal, Mr. Cader Tregonning, made it his mission to pull his school’s socks up. When he heard about Paperight matric exam past papers, he encouraged all students to buy them at the beginning of the school year. It was clear to see that those that had bought them were sailing ahead in marks and confidence by the middle of the year. Pelican Park High School ultimately achieved a pass rate of 93.5% (up from 80% in 2012), and had 5 subjects with a 100% pass rate: English, Afrikaans, History, Life Orientation, Mathematical Literacy.

Silverstream Secondary School had the unfortunate distinction of being the school in the Western Cape with the lowest pass rate in 2012. Minuteman Press Cape Town stepped in to help them out by donating Paperight materials to their students. Despite enormous adversity – including gangsterism in the surrounding areas – the staff and students worked hard in 2013 and their hard work shows in their final results. Silverstream Secondary School achieved a pass rate of 69.1% (up from 34.2% in 2012). That means that their pass rate almost doubled. Even better, the number of students who achieved Diploma passes went from 9.2% to 38.2%, meaning that more matriculants from the school can look forward to tertiary education.

So there we have it! Proof that Paperight materials are essential in the classroom. At such affordable rates, we can make sure that more classrooms are better equipped to ensure that their students have the best possible chance of success. Why not head down to your local high school/s and introduce yourself with a copy of Paperight’s catalogue? You’ll find a copy here for download.

If you would like to get involved by sponsoring a school by supplying them with much-needed educational supplements, or would just like to find out more about our programme and what it takes, please contact us at team@paperight.com or 021 671 1278.

New additions to our poster archive!

Our design team has prepared new marketing materials for the coming year.

Five new designs have been added to our poster archive for your convenience. These posters feature healthcare textbooks, children’s books, IT textbooks, teaching guides and the super-popular Manga Shakespeare series. Click here to see them.
Simply print the posters out in any size up to A1, write your own prices into the bubbles provided and display in-store. If you would like your logo to be added to any of our posters, just email us. We’re here to help you make a splash in your neighbourhood.

Designers: enter our cover art competition!

cover-art-competition_uct-poster_20131125At Paperight, we have hundreds of great classic books that we have redesigned ourselves to put in our print-on-demand library. Now we’re offering designers an opportunity to get their artwork featured on our book covers for 33 classic books.

All of the best covers will be accepted for use through Paperight and the designer’s name will be included on the book’s imprint page. The best 3 designers will receive personalised Paperight copies of the books that they designed covers for!

Choose from the following books to design for:

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dracula, Frankenstein, Great Expectations, Hamlet, Heart of Darkness, Jane Eyre, Macbeth, Mansfield Park, Mhudi (Sol Plaatje), Middlemarch Vol. 1, Middlemarch Vol. 2, Middlemarch Vol. 3, Mrs Dalloway, Othello, Paradise Lost, Pride and Prejudice, Robinson Crusoe, Romeo & Juliet, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Canterbury Tales, The Great Gatsby, The Last of the Mohicans, The Republic, The Scarlet Letter, The Secret Agent, To the Lighthouse, Ulysses, Vanity Fair, Villette, Walden, Wuthering Heights

This competition falls under the awesome spirit of World Design Capital Cape Town 2014, the competition is open to all.

Other terms and conditions:

  1. Entries must be emailed to team@paperight.com, as a high res .jpeg or as a PDF.

  2. Cover designs must include the name of the book and the author’s name. The designer’s name must not appear in the design.

  3. Winning designers will be asked to sign a simple, non-exclusive license agreement to use their cover design indefinitely on Paperight books and marketing.

  4. Queries should be sent to team@paperight.com, or call 021 671 1278.

  5. Competition closes on the 25th of April 2014.

  6. The winning designers will be contacted by the 9th of May 2014.

New sponsor’s and schools guides!

paperight-schools-guide_20131106paperight-sponsors-guide_20131113

Help sell your Paperight services to schools – and attract sponsors for bulk donations of books – with our new sponsor’s and schools guides. Our guides are quick-and-easy summaries of the benefits that Paperight outlets can bring, whether it’s helping schools get easier, cheaper and more immediate access to books, or helping a business spend their social-responsibility budget on a sponsorship that can make a huge difference to people’s lives.

You can find the online version for schools here and sponsors here, and the printed guides version for schools here and for sponsors here.