Archive for the ‘ereaders and textbooks’ tag
Barnes & Noble Introduces NOOKstudy no comments
Barnes & Noble today announced the introduction of a new program for college students dubbed NOOKstudy (great – more camel case). From the press release:
Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world’s largest bookseller, today announced that it has developed an integrated software solution for the higher education market. Called NOOKstudy, the feature rich, free software application is the ultimate study tool, enabling students to manage all their digital content – eTextbooks, class materials, and notes – on the computing device they rely on most, their PC or Mac. NOOKstudy, developed with input from students and leading higher education institutions, delivers a superior digital reading experience and is the first digital textbook application that enhances the academic experience through unique and customizable study features.
NOOKstudy is a revolutionary, easy-to-use study tool that offers instant downloads of a large, versatile selection of eTextbooks and academic and trade titles. Among the innovative features developed with extensive feedback from college students, professors and administrators, NOOKstudy lets students view multiple books and sources at once and offers access to complementary content (e.g. toolsets, reference materials, etc.), as well as the unprecedented ability to highlight and take notes that are searchable and customizable. This comprehensive software solution also provides students access to all of their materials – eTextbooks, lecture notes, syllabi, slides, images, trade books and other course-related documents – all in one place, so their digital library goes wherever they go.
Barnes & Noble seems to be taking a different approach to the educational market than Amazon did. By promoting the nook ereader as a tool and accessory rather than as a total replacement for paper textbooks B&N should be able to avoid the accessibility issues that knocked the wheels off of Amazon’s attempts.
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New Digital Textbook Study and Predictions no comments
A new study by Xplana is predicting that more than 18% of new textbook revenue in the Higher & Career Education markets will come from digital textbooks by 2014. Xplana also predicts that digital textbooks will account for more than one billion dollars of revenue and force a “general overhaul” of the traditional textbook publishing industry.
While etextbooks have so far received a mixed reception, the technology is still young. We should soon see the accessibility issues worked out, and with the iPad and other new tablets as well as the next generations of color ereaders that we should start to see by the end of the year digital textbooks will be much more viable.
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Worldreader’s One Kindle per Child Program no comments
Worldreader is a not-for-profit organization based in the US and Barcelona whose goal is to increase literacy in developing countries. The organization sees ebooks and ereaders as the best way of doing this:
Education and literacy are critical drivers of economic growth (OECD International Adult Literacy Survey 1994-98). Yet in much of the world, children have access to a vanishingly small range of reading material. Transportation issues, logistical problems, payment difficulties — all reduce the availability of books and written material in the developing world. Yet imagine what children miss if they never discover an encyclopedia, an explanation of our solar system, or a favorite book about dinosaurs. Electronic readers use the mobile-phone GSM network to provide near instantaneous access to hundreds of thousands of full-length books, newspapers, and magazines, at a very low cost.
Worldreader is currently conducting a pilot program in Ayenyah, Ghana, where they are providing Kindle ereaders to school children. Amazon has donated 18 Kindles for the project.
My first thoughts are that ereaders will work better for this type of thing when we have plastic-based screens instead of the current easily broken glass displays, but there is no question that ebooks and ereaders can in the future play a major role in raising literacy everywhere. This will be especially true as ereaders become more affordable.
CrunchGear has written an article which is critical of the program, and they do raise valid points. Ereaders are not yet ready for school use here in the US let alone in the more rugged conditions they will need to survive in Africa. Ereaders are also at this point still way too expensive for widespread use in poorer nations, but as with all electronic devices the prices will come down. Worldreader is at least laying the groundwork so that they and others will be ready when the hardware is ready.
One of Worldreader’s stated goals is to also help develop and digitize local low-cost content in local languages. This would probably help to counterbalance the regional distribution rights and DRM issues that currently complicate digital publishing.
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Sony Touch eReader to Go to School no comments
Sony of Canada announces in a press release (via Sonyinsider.com) that high school students at Blyth Academy will be using Sony Touch ereaders “that are pre-loaded with course textbooks, outlines, assignments, reference materials, background reading and personal timetables.”
Amazon’s Kindle DX ereader did not receive many good reviews in its own academic trials at the collegiate level. I think that this was to be expected and came as little surprise as the necessary study tools are just not in place in the current version of the Kindle DX. Presumably Amazon will use the feedback that they received to make Kindle DX 2 much more viable for use in the classroom.
The Kindle DX also ran into problems with the National Federation of the Blind, which claims that the Kindle DX ereaders discriminate against the blind. While the Kindle’s TTS feature would be great for visually impaired readers, it is difficult for a blind person to turn it on without sighted help. The Federation says that the menus should have a spoken option as well.
While this seems true and the Kindles do need more accessibility (Amazon is reportedly working on this), the National Federation of the Blind’s tactics of boycotts, filing complaints with the Department of Justice against schools in the trials and even filing suit against one school seem rather heavy handed. Wouldn’t it be more productive to work with Amazon to improve accessibility rather than just blocking the trials? After all, this is a relatively new technology, and one which holds promise for all students, especially those with disabilities.
I’m not sure if the Sony ereaders will face this particular hurdle in Canada – it does not have any text to speech feature. It does have somewhat better study tools than the Kindle DX with its touchscreen and stylus. I would think that the Kindle DX ereader’s larger screen would be much better suited for use in reading textbooks though.
