Overdrive is using its position as “middleman” between the publishers and the libraries in a way that truly benefits readers. It’s “Big Library Read” program makes unlimited copies of a book it selects available through public libraries that use its service, instead of limiting the number of checkouts to the number of copies that the…
The Kindle in the Classroom
Why do teens prefers phones to Kindles as e-readers?
by Will DeLamater
The recent Pew report on Young Americans’ Reading and Library Habits contains a number of great take-aways, including the news that young people frequent libraries at an unexpectedly high rate. But another finding has emerged that may have an impact on the way that schools think about pleasure reading and reading instruction both inside and outside…
Pogue Picks Paperwhite, and Three Reasons that Educators Won’t
by Will DeLamater
David Pogue, the uber-tech-reviewer for the New York Times, took a minute this week to decipher the place of the new Kindle Paperwhite in the still robust market for E-Ink-based readers. On balance, I think he got it right. The Paperwhite addresses a concern long held by a certain segment of e-book aficionados: how to…
The New Kindle Lineup: What It Means to Educators
by Will DeLamater
Just a quick update on the new lineup of Kindles announced earlier this month: as ever, the new Kindle models have one key audience in mind – the individual consumer. Backlight for reading in bed, integration with a vast media library, seamless purchasing opportunities, high resolution screen, touch navigation, whiter backgrounds, the works! All improvements…
What Educators Need to Know About Kindle Synchronization
by Will DeLamater
NOOKcolor: A First Look
by Will DeLamater
When my NOOKcolor arrived right on time yesterday, I thought about calling this post “Barnes and Noble Pulls an Amazon.” What I mean by that is, for the first time in the brief history of the universe, B&N got the drop on their cross-country rivals. And part of how they did that was by tearing…
6 Reasons to Love the Textbooks from CK12
by Will DeLamater
The free and open textbook industry has made great strides in the past few years. There are numerous open source textbook projects cranking away right now, and one of them Flat World Knowledge, even intends to build a business on the concept. A quick Googling of the words “open source textbook” will give you a…
The Past, Present, and Future of eReaders at Borders (now long gone)
by Will DeLamater
Stopped in at Borders this week, drawn by some big signs promoting the new Velocity Cruz Reader, a device I had heard about but so faintly and distantly that I assumed it must be no big deal. And though the device itself needs work (and what ereader doesn’t?), I think that anyone who isn’t paying…
Notepad for Kindle Keeps Your Ideas Handy
by Will DeLamater
When I got my first Kindle 1 in 2008, I thought that it would be nice if I had a way to capture ideas while reading, without having to leave a “note” inside the book I was reading, where it might be difficult to find later on. So I created a little “utility” document called…
The Graphing Calculator and the Kindle
by Will DeLamater
Few pieces of educational equipment have achieved the kind of rapid and widespread adoption in schools from middle school to college as the graphing calculator. Introduced by Casio in 1985, the device has been showing up on school supply lists for quite some time, and as a parent I have personally purchased several for my…