The publishing industry is changing. Techology is changing. Books are different, they are digital. Ebooks are coming enhanced.
Do I think paper will go away? no.
Do I think my daughter will graduate high school with some sort of tablet for her text books? Yep. (although I'm not sure if the school system will pay for it or it will be a cost for parents to eat)
True fact (verses fake fact--like most of the things I say) this past Christmas six out of my sixty GT students recieved e-readers for Christmas. We were in the middle of reading October Sky at the time and I had one student GIVE BACK the paper copy because he had the book on his Kindle.
Kathleen Ortiz has been posting some pretty amazing things on her blog and two of these clips come directly from her.
Text 2.0
This is a program that watches your eye and helps you to read. My first thought was it's great for my students who struggle with reading. That's pretty great, although it doesn't TEACH them how to read better. So I have my concerns.
This clip is the future of reading, how reading on an e-reader can be more interactive, and blur the lines between fiction and reality. IT will also make research easier.
The Future of the Book. from IDEO on Vimeo.
But my favorite one is this one. Mostly because it's the first thing I've seen that I INSTANTLY wanted to buy. And for a few more reasons which when I can, I'll blog about it more.
So will reading become more interactive? Has the same skill we've been doing for 500 years change in the next five years?
Let me know what you think about this?
I'm too comfortable with how we've BEEN reading-- I mean, it took me awhile to cross over to the e-reading revolution. I don't know if I'm ready for interaction. Maybe if I have kids and I'm reading children's books to them, then I can see interactive reading being necessary. But if I just want to enjoy a novel or something, I'll take a regular ol' book-- please & thank you :D
ReplyDeleteI think for kids our kid's ages, the interactive books are freaking awesome. And it makes me want to buy an ipad just for that specific purpose.
ReplyDeleteBut for me? I don't want my book full of extra stuff. I just want to read it. In ebook or paper form, I don't care, I read both, but don't screw with my content. ;)
I definitely want an ipad. badly.
ReplyDeletebut that dream will have to wait.
I think it could be fun with kids, and also an opportunity for added grownup content would be cool. I probably wouldn't be interested in every case, but something I was nuts over-- it could be neat.
I can say that when Dvds have extra features I rarely check them out.
At the same time, I'd love to publish my insect book with a virtual version of Bea's insect collection. That would be so cool.
I agree with everyone else--interactive reading is great for younger kids since they have such short attention spans. I can even see it being successful with teens with reading issues--whether it's because of a disability or simply because they're reluctant readers. I just got an eReader for Christmas and while I love it, I'm never giving up the traditional book. :)
ReplyDeleteMy cousin (she's 14) says she can't read "real" books, she'd rather read digital ones. She doesn't read often, thought. I'm just glad she wants to read something. As for me, I don't have an ereader, I use my Ipod. But if I buy the ebook version of a book, it still doesn't feel like I read the book because I don't have it, really.
ReplyDeleteInteresting! I liked the Alice concept of being able to read a story from a variety of angles. I also had concerns about the tracking program. It seems like it would be good for students who have problems with tracking because their brains are not processing "normally", but for students who do not have that issue, I wonder if the program will have a negative impact. Kind of like if you don't use that area of the brain, will the student lose the ability to focus and track.
ReplyDeleteI hope that one day college text books will be on ereaders with links to research sites and additional information on topics. That would be very cool!
ReplyDeleteJeff's friend designed the Fables app.
ReplyDeleteIt amazes me how quickly this technology has boomed! My husband was given a first generation Kindle and I remember people peering at the contraption with confused looks on their faces. Now it seems like over half of my friends have some sort of eReader!
ReplyDeleteI really would have LOVED it if I had an eReader for my textbooks in high school and college. It would have saved so much space!
Yay for WildFables!
As for the textbook tablets, as long as we can use the same one each year, it wouldn't be that big a deal. Plus, it's an added bonus if we can use it in college and maybe colleges will give us the e-textbooks for free (maybe? please?). As for e-readers, though, for me, nothing will ever replace the feel of a book in my hand.
ReplyDeleteBut if ebooks were cheaper than print books, I might consider buying a Nook. Unless the prices go down dramatically, though, I can't see myself ever getting one. I love the library too much.
And that's the other thing - it would be wonderful if they had something, maybe through Amazon or something like that, that was a library-type thing and you could download the book for maybe a week and then it went away, that would be good...
I tried to leave a comment a couple days ago, but it's totally not here now :( maybe Blogger hates me?
ReplyDeleteIn any case, thanks for featuring Wild Fables! I've been checking out other interactive story apps over the last few days, and there are a lot of good ones out there -- it's a great time to be a kid with (a parent who has) an iPad :)