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Problems Schools Face When Switching to Electronic Textbooks

July 15, 2011 by Leave a Comment
LAS VEGAS - JANUARY 07: The QUE e-reader by P...

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Many high schools across the United States are considering making the switch from textbooks to e-readers. However, the switch isn’t as easy as people might imagine. There are several major obstacles standing in the way of school districts all over the United States.

Here’s a look at some of the problems school districts are facing when trying to make the switch to e-reader textbooks.

Providing Students With E-Readers

The major problem facing school districts is the ability to equip all students with an e-reader. It is unrealistic to expect all students to have to go out and purchase an e-reader. However, many school districts do not have the financial ability to purchase thousands of e-readers for their students. This makes it difficult to decide if the cost of switching to an e-reader offers more benefits than purchasing multiple textbooks.

Unlimited Internet Access

Many e-readers have the ability to access the Internet via a 3G network. This means students could access a number of websites and their email throughout the school day. This type of distraction could prove destructive to a high school students learning environment.

School districts are faced with the tough challenge of having to protect students from the many inappropriate websites and emails they can receive throughout the day, and helping them use their e-readers for textbooks.

Providing the e-readers to students and limiting internet access is just two of the dozen or so problems school districts all over the United States are facing when trying to decide if they should make the switch to electronic textbooks.

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Limitations of E-Readers in Subject Breadth

March 27, 2011 by Leave a Comment

The spread of E-Readers has made information and material reach a wider audience, but there are several areas in which E-Readers might not be able to achieve this effect.  Here are the limitations of E-Readers in subject breadth.

  • Poetry
    While some poetry is becoming available on E-Readers and in the form of E-Books, many current poets are hesitant to publish their work with E-Readers.  The fact that poetry is already difficult to publish means that poets are very loyal to their publishers and agents.  Additionally, the aesthetic qualities of poetry, such as type size and font, line length, and spatial arrangement on the page, make it difficult to move from a paper to an electronic format.  Some poets do not like the idea that the reader will be able to control for these things, as it might remove some of the original artistic intent.
  • Experimental writing
    Many newer experimental novels, graphic novels, and artistic books will also be difficult to move into the electronic format.  The limited size of E-Readers and their customizability by the reader makes it difficult for these writers to convey the effects that they wanted to achieve in their work.
  • Textbooks and scholarly writing
    Scholarly writing and textbooks are other areas that might prove difficult to be made available to E-Readers.  Many of these books have detailed figures and graphs that would be hard to translate, and still others are in incredibly narrow niches.

Despite these current limitations, the continuous technological improvements to E-Readers might make them a popular format for writers in the near future.

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Creating a Class Blog

March 8, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Creating a class blog is an innovative way to spread learning outside the classroom.  Not only will it allow students and instructors to read and comment on each other’s posts, but it will also be a way for the class to connect with resources on the internet.  Here are some situations where a class blog would be beneficial.

  • Seminars and humanities classes
    Many seminars and humanities classes can benefit from creating a class blog, as it allows students to discuss concepts and contribute their thoughts outside of the classroom.  Writing short blog entries and commenting on other students’ entries can teach students to improve their debating skills.  Additionally, it will allow less outspoken class members to be on equal footing with the rest of the class when it comes to participation.
  • Ongoing class projects
    For ongoing class projects, a class blog can serve as a platform to enable students to remain in communication with each other.  Similarly, for younger classes, parents, friends, and family members can follow the class’s progress as they work their way through the project.
  • Research papers and projects
    Lastly, for classes conducting research projects, a class blog can be a great way for students and instructors to link to interesting sources that they have found.  This will help students come up with new research topic ideas, find helpful online sources, and contribute their findings as well.

Creating a class blog is both simple to do and free of cost, and it will give students the benefit of broadening their learning experience.

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Negative Implications of E-Books for Writers

March 4, 2011 by Leave a Comment

The spread of E-Readers and E-Books has created some concern among the writing community.  While these aspects of technology can be highly beneficial for learning, some writers are hesitant to publish their work in the form of E-Books or make their work available to those with E-Readers.  Here are some negative implications of this technology for the writing world.

  • No place for publishers or agents
    Many writers remain loyal to their publishers and agents, who are facing a number of challenges associated with online publishing.  Some writers will not consider leaving their publishing organization or agent to submit work in an online format, even if the potential for earnings is greater.
  • Limited input in design
    Poets and experimental writers are concerned with the increasing limitations when it comes to artistic and visual design of their work.  E-Readers often have features in which the reader can adjust the font, type size, and even color of the work, which can limit the ability of the author to communicate the artistic effects he or she wanted to achieve.
  • Decreased ability to protect work
    The spread of online books has made it easier for individuals to obtain free texts, decreasing the income generated for the authors and publishers.  The concept of ownership is becoming increasingly blurry, worrying some writers, agents, and publishers.

Despite these issues, many writers are embracing the freedom that goes along with publishing their work online; only time will tell what actions writers will take in response to the spread of reading technology.

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Getting Further in Life

February 21, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Some people think that without a degree, you don’t have much of a future.  Honestly, though, there are plenty of people who never got one who have done fine.  Think of Bill Gates, Michael Dell, Oprah Winfrey, and a whole host of other people throughout history.  If Andrew Carnegie had gotten his degree, he may not have had time to basically create the American steel industry.  It isn’t every day when a person can say, “Yeah, that industry pretty much only exists because I built it.”  However, most of the people in the world are not good enough at business to actually create entire industries.  People like Bill Gates, John Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie only come around so often.

For most of the world’s population, just getting a great job working in one of these great companies (or building a company that works on the technologies these industrial titans founded) is about the best one can do.  And in order to get further in those kinds of pursuits (as well as life in general), you need to consider taking your education to another level.  A master’s degree may yet be in your future.  But of course, not just anybody can simply walk up and ask a university to let them in.

Technically you could do that, but you still have to take entrance examinations and be accepted before much will come of it.  This is why some wise person (who is probably now wealthy) invented GMAT class online.  Without these kinds of courses, getting into a good MBA program (and getting further in life) would be even more difficult than it already is.  And since it isn’t exactly easy on its best day, we should all be pretty grateful that we have these options to make it a little bit less of an ordeal.

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Disadvantages of Laptop Use in Class

February 8, 2011 by Leave a Comment

While laptops are incredibly beneficial to many classes at the high school and college level, there are a few disadvantages to widespread laptop use in class.  Here are the main issues with this practice.

  • Distractions
    Wireless internet use can be one of the leading causes of distractions with laptop use during class.  Students who are checking their email, logging into social networking sites, or accessing work from other classes will have trouble paying attention and taking effective notes.  Additionally, laptops give students the opportunity to write assignments for other classes while appearing to take notes for the class they are attending at the time.  Many students will not be able to overcome these distractions for effective learning.
  • Availability
    Not every student has a laptop, and not every student can always bring his or her laptop to class on any given day.  If an instructor plans for laptop use during class, the simple lack of availability of student laptops could be a problem.  While this can be partially fixed by having students share, that could lead to additional problems if students are not interested.
  • Note taking limitations
    Sometimes laptops are not as convenient for certain types of notes.  Diagrams, drawings, and graphs, for example, can be easily created or copied from the blackboard into a notebook; however, laptops make this feat somewhat difficult for students to accomplish if they’re used to taking notes on a word processor instead.  Students in certain types of science classes that require a fair amount of drawing, such as biology or physics, might not be able to take adequate notes in class by using a laptop.  While certain computer programs might help, they can be expensive or difficult to find at times.

If these potential disadvantages of laptop use can be avoided, then students will be able to largely benefit from bringing their laptops to class.

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Color eReaders Comparisons

December 30, 2010 by Leave a Comment

The first eReader to have a full color display and hold nearly 268000 colors is none other than Fujitsu FLEPia. This amazing application is restricted for sales to other countries other than Japan. A number of similar eReaders display a wide spectrum of colors on the screen of the application.

Apple iPad
The Apple iPad’s touch LCD display is similar to that seen in HDTVs. The touch screen tablet boasts of full browsing capability and it can hold nearly 14,000 applications. The amazing pixel resolution facilitates visibility of high quality and colorful images. The iPad comes with a backlid IPS panel display integrated with LED technology.

Alex Reader
The Alex reader launched by Spring Design, similar to the resemblance of Barnes& Noble nook has a dual screen display. Alex boasts of holding a majestic six inch EPD screen. On the second screen which features full browsing capability allows the users to watch videos and photos.

Qualcomm Mirasol
A new display technology known as IMOD is integrated in Qualcomm Mirasol. Being more efficient than LCDs, IMOD facilities color pictures to glisten or shine like the glow seen in the wings of butterflies. Even under direct sunlight, the reflective feature of IMODs allows the users to read easily.

Asus Budget and Premium eReaders
This looks like an open book. The dual LCD screen allows the users to browse on one screen and have the pleasure of reading books on the other screen. Amazing features like web cam, built in speaker and Skype can be witnessed in this version.

More useful eReader applications with extensive features will be launched during the year 2011. It’s possible for the users to witness full video capabilities along with web browsing facility. The e-Readers can be used like a mini PC, where the pages can be scrolled up and down.

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The Concise iPad Review

December 20, 2010 by Leave a Comment

The rising popularity of Tablet PCs has paved the way for anything “touch-screen”, over the last few years. Re-iterating Apple’s techno-savvy image have been the iPhone and iPods, maintaining the company’s high-end persona.
The launch of the iPad, however, raises the debate of whether or not it can create such a niche for itself in the challenging market.
Pros of the iPad
Known for producing quality hardware, Apple has released one of its most admirable products so far. Some of the praiseworthy features include:
- Apps from the Apps Store can be easily downloaded from iTunes for use on the iPad.
- Portability is the USP of the iPad. It is small enough to carry around, an large enough to use in the office and home. Advantages over the iPhone include a bigger screen for viewing.
- iBooks give the iPad the edge over its competitors with the release of Kindle apps, making download of iBooks easy and comfortable.
- Movies are made more readily available through the Netflix app.
Cons of the iPad
- Webcam unavailability, with a “Camera Connection Kit” as a substitute, works highly against the iPad.
-Flash is not supported by the iPad, making it counter-productive for a device built for video.
- No USB ports make the product further incompatible, with users having to dish out an additional $30 for installing the kit.
- No GPS app is available on the portable device.
- Apps have not been built not for the iPad, but for the iPhone, causing their appearance to be non-user friendly.
-Price is, much higher than the competition.
Though the iPad was launched amid a lot of expectation and scope for potential, it faces an uncertain future in the market. It may not turn out to be such a huge hit, after all, with its high price tag and tendency for non-compatible features.

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The Problem with iPad Ergonomics

December 20, 2010 by Leave a Comment
iPad wordmark.
Image via Wikipedia

The huge amount of electronic or other devices are used in work or daily life. In one way or another they have effect on human health, especially if they are not ergonomic. Ergonomics is a science field that investigates the ways to design workplace to fit the user. Non-ergonomic environment or devices can lead to back pain, eye and neck strain and other stress injuries. It is necessary to estimate your workplace and devices you are using from ergonomic viewpoint.
In many workplaces a computer is very popular device, so it must be ergonomic. In April 2010 Apple Inc released the iPad, which became very popular. There is no need to tell how important is to evaluate this product from viewpoint of ergonomics.

Lack of ergonomics in iPad
The iPad as tablet PC device is supposed to be held by hand in extend periods of time. Estimating its weight, which is 1.5 pounds, it can be truly said that after some time it may cause hand strain. There are more ergonomic similar devices in the market, for example Amazon Kindle, which weighs 0.63 pounds. The measurements of the iPad are 10 inches in height and 7.5 inches in width. It is hard to hold this device in hand for long periods of time.
The iPad was introduced as a platform for audio and visual media. It is supposed that movies should be watched while holding it in hand which may cause arm strain. If iPad is positioned on the lap, looking down may cause eye strain and neck strain. It is impossible to work with iPad laid flat on surface, because bending the back for long amount of time will cause back pain and other stress injuries.
The iPad has no keyboard included. It is optimized to use a computer pen (stylus) or a finger. This causes problems in typing.

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Technologies for Teaching Children with Autism

December 19, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Autism is neural development disorder that causes problems such as lack of social interaction and communication. Persons with this disorder have repetitive and restricted behavior. In many cases people with autism cannot understand verbal communications, so they are taught to speak using various materials, devices and drawings. There are many methods of autism therapies that help to increase communication skills.

Using PECS to Communicate
PECS is an acronym for Picture Exchange Communication System. This system is used to communicate with children that have autism or other special needs. The system works through pictures. A person who has a disorder touches or gives pictures to his partner. The pictures illustrate actions or things, that disordered person wants to say. After some time these pictures can be used to form a sentences of phrases. The picture language is very important for persons, who have problems with verbal communication. It helps them to learn language.

Using New Technologies
The iPad was released by Apple Inc. in 2010. The iPad is a tablet PC with 9.7 inch screen. It weighs 1.5 pounds and can be easily used because it has multi-touch screen and wide viewing angle. Because it is very light and thick, the iPad is easy to carry and use even for children.
The iPad uses iMean technology. This technology transfers the pad into a huge visible keyboard. It is very easy to type using this technology because of the touch screen capabilities. Also this technology suggest a dictionary, that gives you words you may want to say using the first letters or other parts of the words. Because of these features this technology can be applied to autism therapies. However, this is a new technology and all advantages and disadvantages are not known. The iMean was created by M.Begmann and R.M.Miller. Despite the fact that Bergmann’s son has autistic disorder, this technology must be used very carefully.

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