The technology that I think has emerged in the past few years is the electronic book.
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/kindle-store-ebooks-newspapers-blogs/b?ie=UTF8&node=133141011
The problems that I think are associated with this technology are cost, accessibility and training. There are many cost elements involved with the electronic book, the first is the unit (be it kindle or nook) and the next is the book. In the long run, the unit and ebooks will be a savings to the district that chooses to fully adopt these books for their student's learning. In the future, students can access all their school books on one small electronic device. Cost will also come into play for students who lose their electronic book unit. The accessibility factor comes into play with books and course documents. I think the electronic book is an emerging technology but I am surprise how little educational texts are available in ebook format. School districts are going to be reluctant to spend money on a device that does not give them access to all their texts. I am often VERY frustrated as a student that I cannot find ebooks for my Kindle that I can read for my Walden classes, especially given the subject matter that we are studying, we should be the guinea pigs. Lastly, training is always an issue. Even though I feel that most of these electronic book units are pretty easy to navigate, they are only going to get more intricate and by the time that schools adopt them there will most defiantly be a learning curve.
The society needs are that students are nomadic after school and need a portable device that can help them be successful while they are waiting on the bench, at dance class or hanging out after Hebrew school. These devices allow students to be learners on the go and that is a natural fit with their lifestyle. I also think that soon electronic books are going to have a social network aspect to them. Kids will be connected on the device and be able to leave notes in the text that others can view and comment on. I think this will be a huge boost for learning and I can't wait to see the effects that it is going to have on kids socially.
The big issue with this technology that could help it be adopted faster is if it comes down in price. I think the books are not going to change in price but the ebook units need to have multiple versions that offer an array of options, including different pricing.
Kat,
ReplyDeleteI love the ebooks for personal and professional use. I have a student with visual difficulties who is also a very good reader. We have explored obtaining a Kindle for him through assistive technology for reading class. It definitely has both advantages and disadvantages for him (more than for myself).In schools, I think the initial cost of the Kindel as well as the down-loadable books would be far less than purchasing multiple copies of traditional books for kids.I think they are a very motivating technological tool for learners to use for reading. i am excited to see more of your work on this.
Sandy
Kat,
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with how useful the kindle or other eBook readers are but I personally couldn't give up the ability of a full powered tablet to adopt the eReader. However, I think that these two pieces of technology are moving towards eachother and will soon have the benefits of both, with out the problems of readability or cost of the product.
Hello Kat,
ReplyDeleteMy Walden colleague is encouraging me to purchase a Kindle. She has been able to find some resources from her Walden courses and is impressed with the ability to highlight and note take directly on the Kindle. As Richard has pointed out, I am also hoping the small notebooks will integrate the Kindle soon and will go from my very large laptop to a powerful notebook that I can carry to meetings(with Kindle capabilities). Of course, the ultimate would be when our school gets cloud computing and the small notebook will be all I need.
I know a lot of people who like their Kindles, but it seems with the cost and availability of tablets that a person would just get their books using them. Anyway, I do see the value of using a Kindle type device in schools. Even with the possibility of loss or abuse the savings versus paperback textbook purchasing would be big.
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