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 An e-book Revolution in HE?
In an article in the Times Higher (April 28 2006, pp.18-19) regarding the current status of course textbooks, there was a lovely cartoon depicting the contemporary student, who notably is more inclined to listen to an iPod than read the dusty volumes in the library. As one line of the accompanying aritcle read: ‘If your text doesn’t come with DVDs, CDs and podcasts, it won’t cut it in the student market’.
Given that I wish to link my e-learning materials directly to a book project, the article made for relatively good news - or at least helped further to rationalise my intended approach. However, there is a deeper underlying concern about the purpose of books fullstop. [ADD details of Publishers Association report] With so much now available to read online, students are increasingly cutting and pasting materials from the internet. Putting aside the associated problems of plagarism, there is potentially a growing problem of knowledge becoming woefully decontextualised - all is available all of the time in the same place, leading - in historical terms - to a radical flattening out of thoughts and knowledge going back decades, even centuries.
A key premise of my e-learning project is to enable an enriched reading of the French cultural critic Roland Barthes. Athough his texts remain on university reading lists across all number of programmes, I feel his work has increasingly lost its fuller meaning. My initial idea was to design a virtual learning environment which would literally offer a space to read Barthes' texts (as arranged by the purchase of permissions) - in other words to create e-text versions of his well known articles. These would then be expanded upon through the use of hypertext links and various activities etc. However, very excitingly, something that has come to my attention since writing my initial proposal is the forthcoming launch of a new technology in ebooks.
 Sony Reader: Technology waiting to happen for Higher Education?
Sony’s forthcoming e-reader uses a new technology of 'e-ink' which enables a screen to look almost exactly like traditional printed paper (making for a very comfortable read and in addition allowing for much extend battery life). The technology can in fact be produced in a flexible form as 'paper' (currently about the thickness of a mouse mat!). The e-reader Sony are due to launch, however, looks much more like a palmtop or even (though a little bigger) like an Apple iPod. In fact the iPod is definitely an important influence. Unlike previous e-book technologies (which amounted to little more than PDF computer files, which the general reader could only read, not write), Sony's new technology is going to be driven, like Apples iTunes (and the whole MP3 phenomena) by is flexibility as a software to deliver reading materials for author and readers alike. Alongside the launch of the hardware, Sony will be running a dedicated e-book shop, from which you can purchase books for download.
It is surely inevitable that the market initially will be in the download mainstream literature. However, with the right development, the implications for Higher Education could be huge. A student could arrive to university and immediately be kitted out with their own extensive, hand-held library. All essential reading could be delivered direct to the student. In addition, these materials could be digitally annotated to provide contextual information and linked up specifically to learning tasks.
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