An article in the London Times June 10, 2009 titled “Sorry, but books are there in my DNA, Kindle e-books may be terrific but the printed word will never die” written by Magnus Linklater highlights the effects electronic information is having on the way we educate ourselves. So much so, the state of California is intending to completely phase out the text book in the classroom, replacing it with the ever expanding internet.
The major motivator behind this decision stems from cost savings and is expected to cut hundreds of millions from the budget.
The article finished by stating “What keeps both going is the universal thirst for knowledge,” in reference to the printed word and the electronic e-book.
Now the challenge is, how can you come up with an information product that serves the needs of those people with that thirst for knowledge? The ones that want that knowledge now, not tomorrow or the next day, but now!
What type of information product can you create that fills that void and helps everybody get what they want?
It also paves the way for another interesting debate…
If this is the way of the future, surely there is a big space opening up for new and emerging, even existing corporations to develop online classrooms to be accessed from within the classroom. The role of a teacher could become merely a supervisory role, ensuring students are behaving and getting on with their work as intended.
The title of the article suggests the printed word is here to stay as I’m sure it is, but it will be interesting to see over the coming years how market share is divided between e-books and your traditional book.
