Talking to e-books, People may bring up these two questions:
1. Are e-books better than printed books?
2. Will e-books replace printed books one day?
The answer to the second question greatly depends on the answer to the first question, so are e-books better than printed books?
Compared to traditional printed books, e-books have obvious advantages in following ways: E-books are easily to achieve and carry around. They are searchable, so readers can quickly locate information without out turning page after page. Videos, audios and animations can be embedded into e-books to engage readers through interaction with information. E-books usually contain links, through which more relevant information can be explored on internet. In addition, e-books give readers freedom in choosing font size and page colors. Last but not least, e-books are environmental friendly, since they do not require any papers/trees.
E-books have plenty of advantages, but they are not perfect yet. According to Anuradha and Usha(2006), the possible factors that prevent people from reading e-books include the cost of e-books and e-book reading devices , the incompatibility between different suppliers, the hardness of reading and browsing e-books and inherent habits of reading traditional books.
It seems that technical barriers and people’s reading habits are the main causes of the weaknesses of e-books. But as the fast development of technology, I think e-books will soon overcome all of technical barriers and bring readers satisfying reading experiences. At that time, e-books may really replace printed books, just like how printed books replaced books written on clothes or animal skins.
PS: 3 related points
1 Nook Kids
A couple of days ago, I watched this advertisement of Nook Kids on Barnes & Noble’s website. http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nookcolor/kids/index.asp?PID=35665 I was so amazed by the changes that e-books are bringing to children’s picture books--those still pictures start moving! But at the same time, I wonder if one day kids will lose picture books forever, because there will be no clear difference between picture e- books and animations.
2. Books after e-books
If e-books replace printed books, then what will be the next generation of books which are going to replace e-books? MIT student Pattie Maes is working a new HCI technic, SixthSense. http://www.ted.com/talks/pattie_maes_demos_the_sixth_sense.htmlAccording to Pattie, people will have no need to use computer screens or other reading devices in the near future, since SixthSense can project any images on any surface, such as a wall, a piece of paper or even our hand. So the next generation of books after e-books will have no specific texture/surface anymore.
3. Timeline and digital map
I found timeline and digital map are fabulous contents for e-books. Appropriate applications of these two things in history and geography e-textbooks will greatly enhance students’ learning interests and outcomes.
K. T. Anuradha, & H. S. Usha (2006). Use of e-books in an academic and research environment: A case study from the Indian Institute of Science. http://eprints.iisc.ernet.in/5890/1/ebook1-final.pdf
I always wonder why it is that people hear "e-book" and immediately think "when is the e-book takeover going to begin." Why is it so difficult for people to imagine e-books and physical books coexisting based on purpose? I see the main problems that hold back e-books as: they can't be given as a gift easily, and they can't be shared easily without giving up your Kindle to someone else. If I were going to give a favorite book as a gift, I would give a physical book (a nice, hardbound copy or a quality large paperback). To read for pleasure for myself, I usually download Kindle books now. Until copyright and library "one book, one patron" policies are relaxed, the e-book takeover will not occur. E-books will increase in popularity as more and more people come to appreciate the convenience of carrying a hundred books in an object the size of one, but until copyright law is changed, there is a need for the physical book, apart from the bibliophiles who insist that touching the book is part of the experience. To me, that kind of argument is no different than the people who continue to insist that communicating online just isn't the same as doing it in person. It doesn't need to be exactly the same experience to function in the same capacity - different is not always worse!
回复删除Ms. Juhasz's Learning From YouTube, a free "video book" represents another form of e-books.Below is a brief introduction of this book from Marc Parry:
回复删除This free "video book" was peer-reviewed and comes with an ISBN number, but beyond that it has little in common with common books. Users get to it by visiting a Web site that consists of about 250 "texteos," pages that combine text and video. The videos, many of them produced by Ms. Juhasz's students, encourage readers to reflect on YouTube by learning inside it. The closest thing to chapters are 'YouTours', which guide viewers through related pages."