Kindle replaces library books!

The Kindle is coming! One school at a time is what it is going to take. But when you do the numbers, this is a financial decision that comes with so many benefits that you cannot deny the need. Our kids are digital natives who demand technology and will see getting a Kindle as already behind the times.

The next wave of textbooks/libraries will be fully interactive. So while I applaud this move by one school moving to digital libraries and textbooks, we need to really think about the next step and the book-lovers need to stop freaking out. I yearn for the day that kids no longer tote backbreaking books home every night.

As a side note, I just signed up for the iNACOL virtual school symposium in Austin – hope to see you there to learn even more about the next step in online learning!

Technology Catching up with Students

It really is crazy that it is taking so long for education to catch up with students when it comes to technology. A kindle costs less than some text books yet we (parents like me) still pay top dollar for books that rarely get used. Instead of full texts, why aren't professors buying sections of the text just like we buy only the songs we want from an album on iTunes?

It is good to see articles like this in the USAToday - but frustrating to see the pace so slow and the coverage only talking about a few schools.

Finally Digital?

In an earlier post I reviewed the book, Liberating Learning by Terry Moe and John Chubb and pulled this quote from their predictions on the future:

Textbooks and other print resources will be free but online companion courses and tutoring will earn the money

And now we have McGraw-Hill Connect doing just that. They are producing online textbooks for college students with a host of add-ons including lecture capture, non-linear options for reading the material, instant grading and more. And the best part is that it is less than half the price.

We pay over $500 per semester for books so if every college professor provided this option it would save each college student $2,000. That is HUGE!!

So you save money, get more features, more customized learning and when the new edition comes out we don’t waste millions of trees making it far more environmentally friendly options.

Can we please get this nationwide now????