in the backpack problem, but a few things need to happen first.
One is that the "reader" function must become easy to use, robust, and not
just a wee bit durable. Some folks love their Kindles or other readers,
but are these machines ready for the hurly-burly of 165 school days?
Laptops are coming down in price but not that comfy as reading devices,
while tablets are still pretty dear and only a bit more comfy. Ideally,
someone will cook up a tough tablet with an exceptional reader function in
a form factor closer to the Kindle or a 9-10" netbook than to the larger
models around today. I know there now are tablets the right size, but
tough and easily readable are mostly still missing qualities.
More important, one of two other things has to happen: either textbook
companies have to offer universal availability of their product lines,
including novels, or educators have to wean themselves from dependency on
textbooks as the source and center of their curricula. Textbook companies
operate at what must be dizzying profit margins, and they make their money
by selling tons (literally) of big books. While the argument that making
content available on line would reduce production costs and allow for even
bigger margins makes sense to me, it doesn't seem to make sense to the
textbook industry just yet. Demand may be a major factor in why they
haven't moved this way as far as one might have hoped by now; it may come
down to a question of which comes first, the gadget or the content? In a
slumping economy, the impetus to develop either may be diminishing.
However, I love to imagine imagine downloading to my and my students'
robust, writable tablet-readers a fairly skeletal text for, say, a basic
history survey course, something like an AMSCO review book, and then
filling up my syllabus with downloaded and teacher-created bits and pieces
that would allow me to customize my course like crazy in all the ways I'd
love to be able to do this. (We can do this now, incidentally, so it's not
really a matter of technology.) Better can I imagine doing this without
the outline for more specialized elective courses. Right now, one issue in
doing this, whether computer-based or xeroxed, has to do with permissions
and copyright, while for a lot of teachers an even bigger barrier is the
sheer hassle of working this way--it's too novel, too overwhelming, or
just too cumbersome.
Like your teacher, I dream of the day when all I or my students or my own
children will need is one slick gadget, good for reading, research,
communication, note-taking, and probably a bunch of other functions
(musical, audio-visual) that I'm not thinking of. It will be about the
size and weight of a trade paperback, have great battery life, excellent
durability (waterproof would be nice, too), and superb connectivity. Hasta
la vista, giant L.L. Bean backpacks and Timbuktu messenger bags!
But there is much work to be done first--Peter Gow
Peter Gow, Director of College Counseling and Special Programs
Beaver Country Day School
791 Hammond Street
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
www.bcdschool.org
Tel. 617-738-2755
FAX 617-738-2701
Skype: petergow3
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