New Media for Ministry News: October 2010

Note from Bryan Hudson about this article:

In this age of "high tech," devices including iPads, smartphones, laptops, desktops, ebook readers (all of which I own!) – we must appreciate the enduring, efficient, and economical "technology" of bound books. One key word in media, new media, and effective learning, is "convergence." I don't think that we should be overly concerned with replacing books with the latest, shiniest devices. These devices require a lot of maintenance, software updates and hardware replacement every 2-3 years. We should be more concerned about making the best tools and methods available to students in direct proportion to expected outcomes and the stated learning objectives.

Reading books encourages a mental discipline and subject focus that is difficult to achieve through interacting with electronic devices. For today and into the foreseeable future, books will continue a have a vital role in the learning experience, alongside the latest electronic tools.

Electronic books hold the promise of cost savings for students over textbooks, but the costs of supporting and maintaining ebook hardware could exceed the cost of books, which require no after purchase support.

While textbooks provide a revenue stream for colleges, publishers, and authors, it is necessary to bring down the cost of textbooks for students.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/20/nyregion/20textbooks.html?src=me&ref=general