The 2011 edition of the Horizon Report has a section that focused on the use of electronic books and how they are changing how people read books. This change is happening because the readers experience is enhanced through the use of audiovisual, interactive, and social elements that are now being brought into electronic reading materials. After reading this article it made me realize that I am witnessing a cultural change that is moving from analog text to digital media in my classroom everyday.
When I began using the history eText in class earlier this year my initial impressions were that it was a regular textbook that had been transferred into an electronic format and then posted on the the internet. As I continued to explore the initial offering of the eText I became even more skeptical of eTexts in general. My view is rapidly changing since the release of the new Pearson eText app. Although some bugs still need to be worked out of the app it is a vast improvement over what I was initially given.
One of the major improvements has to do with the layout of the eText. Like many web based text books that I had seen before the old eText relied on scroll bars to move the reader through the text. The new app allows readers to flip through the pages as if it were a real text book. Another improvement is the ability to download the book and save it on a mobile device, in my case this is an iPad. This makes life much easier in the classroom environment where bandwidth is at a premium. I am still looking forward to seeing the rest of the bugs worked out the the eText.
According to the Horizon report Electronic Books should be fully adopted in one year or less. To this point I have to say that eBooks are here and being used in educational environments and well as by consumers. The real trick in my mind is which electronic reader or mobile device will be used.
Speaking of mobile devices I noted earlier that iPads are being used in my classroom to view the eText. The Horizon Report also stated that mobile devices including the iPad should be adopted in one year or less. Even though society has been using Smart Phones for several years now their use in learning and educational environments has been limited. As eBooks continue to gain relevance in the classroom mobile devices will have to become accepted parts of classes. In other words no iPad, no eText.
To say that mobile devices like the iPad enrich the classroom environment is an understatement. Most people who use Smart Phone use them for many of the functions that they formerly used a computer for. With the addition of the iPads in my classroom my students now have a their own mini computer (almost) right in front of them. If they ask a question that I don’t know the answer to I simply tell them to look it up and then we discuss the value of the resource they used to obtain the information.
The downside to the iPads is that many of the webpages that I like to use in class require Flash or Java. Neither of these play nice with iPads. This can cause some problems, but the benefits are worth the frustration.
In closing The Horizon articles that discussed Electronic Books and Mobile Devices are very much on target. Both of these technologies are ready for full implementation in todays classrooms. When the two are used together teachers and students are given an extraordinary tool to enhance educational opportunities. In the next three to five I expect to see some type of light weight mobile device on most classrooms and students using these devices not only for the consumption of material, but research and creation as well.
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