Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Digital Text

I could not have said this any better... Here is a repost:
I totally agree with David Warlick. If we look at the mobile technology available today, there is absolutely no reason students cannot have all their books and content on a laptop, Kindle-like device or iPhone/Touch... Textbook publishers have a great opportunity to truly impact education...


September 2, 2009

The Answer for Textbook Publishers

Filed under: education, textbooks, warlick
Tags: , , , , — David Warlick @ 9:35 am with (6) Comments

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Flickr Photo by Judy Baxter

We all know how much our students love technology. They spend so much time on their mobile phones reading and typing, conversing, Googling, playing, working, and living — it’s a given that our students live in their pockets.

So, if we want to continue to be relevant to our students lives and their future, and the textbook industry wants to be a part of this reinvention of teaching and learning,

Then they must make their textbooks smaller.

It is obvious that for our children, the optimum size for instructional delivery is about 2 x 3 inches, the size of my iPhone display. Think of the trees that could be saved. Think of the reduced load on the vertebra of our little darlings. You can even fit the little books with Velcro so that they could be attached to our students phones. They could hold their tech-of-choice while engaging in the night’s reading.

Not to fear. For those of us older than 39, the teachers edition would have to remain the standard 9×12 inches and 12.23 pounds — and textbook companies could continue charge their just fees.

If we are going to truly address the needs of today’s children, we must be able to do it where they are — from their pockets.