Flexible display gettting closer to school

Flexible screens appear to be one step closer to being in the schools. The video above shows a demo of a small version of a flexible screen. Of course, one of the things I noticed was that the display can written on, as well.

I think one of the main benefits for a display being flexible is not so much that it can be rolled up, but because it is probably going to be able to resist the physical punishment of being carried in a heavy book bag or crammed beneath a desk top.

Ebooks have always had promise of being replacements for paper textbooks, but this new invention would also allow students to do homework and take tests on the hardware. The possibilities are truly exciting.

T

Kindle Two Arrives Today -- what it means to you

Amazon's new Kindle is launching today. The first model was a big success and the second model has been getting even better reviews.

It's $350 price is not so bad if one considers the lifetime wireless connection and the savings of e-books over paper books. The unit could pay for itself in less than a year. My hope is that Amazon can get the school textbook publishers to convert their text books to Kindle-ready formats. Not only would it save a huge amount of weight on our students' developing backs, but content could be updated on the fly. The Kindle and those that will follow will be our future. The only question is whether the publishers will participate fully or be dragged into the 21st century.

T

Scribus: Open Source Publishing

Most people get stuck buying an operating system they did not want because some program they had to have was only on that platform. Desktop publishing is one of those pieces of software that can determine the computer and operating system one purchases. Scribus is an open source desktop publishing application that works on all the major operating systems. It also claims to be lighter on the hardware requirements. Of course, it is less feature rich at this point in its development but that should not be an issue for a school computer lab or school newspaper.

People frequently claim that students need to learn on the systems used in the public. I find that this is often a unwarranted requirement because it's the task and procedures that are important. The menus and shortcuts are always changing even within a single product. Take MS Word, for example. Compare Word 2000 with the new Word 2007. Not much being transferred between those two versions. So, unless you are teaching graphic arts to soon-to-be professionals, make your decision on other factors.

T

Citing Google Books

The Chronicle has a good article on how to reference information found on Google books. This information can also be applied to all forms of online materials. This is an increasingly more common issue -- and most reference books don't provide information on the subject because the need is a recent one.

T

Wikipedia CD-ROM for Schools

A selection of educational articles found on Wikipedia can now be obtained on a CD-ROM. This article describes the project that put together the CD-ROM and provides a link to downloading it.

This prepared CD-ROM is great for schools with a need for an online encyclopedia. Because the articles are selected by volunteers, you can be sure that the articles are truly educational and of good quality. This is a real benefit for younger students.

Another benefit of having a CD-ROM is that it can be used locally. Searching off a CD-ROM or from a local hard drive is going to be much faster than it would the same search over an Internet connection. You can also make copies to send home with students. The CD-ROM is free of charge. All you need to do is to down load it and burn it to a CD-ROM.

T

Sony Reader

Gizmodo is reporting that the new Sony ebook reader will be coming to market in October priced at approximately $300.

While I'm sure this not going to be the final form factor for ebook devices, this Sony device is good enough to make some applications feasible. For example, certain textbooks would do well on these readers. If a book already costs $100 plus, having a $300 reader for a bunch of textbooks could make economic sense and it would greatly reduce the weight students would have to haul around. I'm waiting to see textbook publishers start to include update options so that the textbook can be updated over time.

Another nice feature with the device is that it accepts RSS feeds and standard file formats. This make an entire world of content available that the first generation ebook readers restricted. This is a very wise decision on Sony's part. The market killed the first generation devices -- apparently Sony learned from this experience.

T

Flexible e-Books

I'm a big fan of eBooks. The only thing that is really holding eBooks back is the display. The attempts to make standard PDAs into eBooks have all failed. The screen resolution and form-factors were just not equal to that of a printed book. The newer eBook displays, however, have reproduced the size and resolution of the printed page, but they too have issues with form factors. The new LG display is now flexible. This form factor allows the user to hold the device in much the same way a person would hold a magazine. It's only a matter of time until these devices replace the huge load of text books now being strapped to little kids' backs.

Information on the device.

T

Hands on with ARINC's iLiad-based eFlyBook

Here is an interesting review of one of the new ebook readers. The time will come where these devices will play a major role in the school -- perhaps even eliminate the serious problem with too-heavy backpacks.

T

Hands on with ARINC's iLiad-based eFlyBook

Free Books: manybooks.net

There are a number of locations for free books. Manybooks takes books from a number of sources and puts them into formats that a number of devices can use.

First of all, let's not get hung up on the issue of eBooks. eBooks would have been a good idea if the publishers had realized that the medium was best suited for textbooks -- instead of replacements for first edition fiction. eBook readers have had a number of significant problems. They can be heavy and awkward. Their expense definitely makes them something you would not want to drop in the bath tub or take to the beach.

What people often overlook with eBooks is that it allows you to have books available to your class at a moment's notice. If you want to assign a section out of A Tale of Two Cities to a class or 30 students, you can do so without concern if they can find the book. And you don't have to have an eBook reader. A regular computer usually works or you can print out the parts you want to use without having to break the spine of your book.

There are a number of eBook formats. eBook formats are actually interesting for class writing projects and other lengthy writing projects because they are specifically designed for books. The web is great for skimming information but it is not very good for reading a book.

T

manybooks.net - Free eBooks for your PDA: "Thousands of free ebooks, pre-formatted for reading on your PDA - eReader, PDF, Plucker, iSilo, Doc, or zTXT eBooks for your Palm, Pocket PC, Zaurus or Rocketbook!"

Wikijunior Books:

"The idea behind Wikijunior is to produce a series of full-color glossy booklets (48 pp.; 8 ½ x 11) for a young audience (ages 8-11) on a variety of topics that interest kids. This can include Astronomy, Animals, Dinosaurs, Countries of the World, Science, History, and virtually anything else we can think of. The books will not be comprehensive. Instead, they can form various subseries, such as African Mammals, Jurassic Carnivores, South America, the French Revolution, etc.

The idea behind Wikijunior is to produce a series of full-color glossy booklets (48 pp.; 8 ½ x 11) for a young audience (ages 8-11) on a variety of topics that interest kids. This can include Astronomy, Animals, Dinosaurs, Countries of the World, Science, History, and virtually anything else we can think of. The books will not be comprehensive. Instead, they can form various subseries, such as African Mammals, Jurassic Carnivores, South America, the French Revolution, etc. These will also be numbered (e.g., African Mammals 1-5)."

This is more than an interesting new source of information for children, it can be an interesting way to create content. In fact, you can turn the creation of a Wiki Book into a learning experience. How you do this will depend on the age of the children.