The arrival of digital books through Kindles, Sony e-Readers and the iPad raises all kinds of questions about the functions of digital books, given the possibilities for interaction. Some thought is being given to this at a general level; see for instance, IDEO’s video below:
(See Roy Tennant’s response to this)
This prompts me to think that educational ‘books’ in the future will be nothing like the Gutenberg model. For instance:
- Imagine a personal learning environment with the instructor and learners selecting multimedia resources, and with internal software tools that allows different ways to combine and analyse content.
- The IDEO video provides some suggestions – such as a ‘map’ or calendar of events abstracted from the context of the book.
- Imagine for instance a physiology text book with basic anatomy linked to videos explaining organ or other ‘area’ functions, the consequence of drug or other ‘invasions’ of the body or organ function, etc.
- Or an economics text, with areas for social discussion in the light of current events, linked to an archived history of applications or failures of an economic theory in the past, that can be added to or removed through interaction with the readers.
- Or a book on the management of e-learning, that allows readers to upload their own scenarios for discussion and content, with the authors responding – wait a minute, that’s my new book coming out next year. Hold the press!
Brainstorm your ideas for the ‘textbook of the future’
We are probably not talking about ‘books’ any more, but new ways of digitally selecting, representing, organizing and disseminating knowledge. Given the potential of digital and social software, what do you think educational ‘repositories’ or ‘factories’ or ‘engines’ or ‘generators’ of knowledge might look like in the future?
(Thanks to Keith Hampson’s Higher Education Management Group for directing me to the IDEO video.
Dr. Tony Bates is the author of eleven books in the field of online learning and distance education. He has provided consulting services specializing in training in the planning and management of online learning and distance education, working with over 40 organizations in 25 countries. Tony is a Research Associate with Contact North | Contact Nord, Ontario’s Distance Education & Training Network.
1.- Publishers will be out of business. That is good. They charge 70 % of the book for their services. Author gets only 10 %
2.- Authors will learn more IT so that they will publish themselves their own book They charge only 15 % only 5 &% more than what they get now .. They will be rich since millions will read them .
3.- People will access to any book by themselves free for 1 day then nominal fee of $ 10-20 per year. Second time licensing is later 50 % less.
4.- Sorting and searching for a book will be easier. Some new methods will be found.
5.- There will be more book readers. It is good for the world . Less wars.
6.- Use only 10 ” netbooks one does not need kindle, sony etc. One netbook is enough for multipurpose.
Netbooks will be down next year at $ 160 in retail. Now $ 158 in China exfactory .
Next war is really low cost netbooks. It is coming do notn worry .