As the principal of a small suburban high school in Massachusetts, I often wonder when the technology companies will give us the technology we need. Today I’d like to talk about textbooks. I don’t think I have to spend too much space talking about how they are an outdated technology. Just consider:
- The expense – at $75 to $125 per book, they are beginning to approach a price point that schools will no longer be able to afford.
- Currency – By the time textbooks get to market at least one year has passed. Each year of use adds to the age of the content.
- Weight – As textbooks try to compete with multimedia by including more pictures, graphs, and charts. they become heavier. I’ve observed that the heaviness is inversely related to use – the heavier the book the less it is used.
I could go on and on, but I really want to talk about what students and educators need to address the deficiencies of this older technology. Every year, our school spends $40,000 to $50,000 on textbook purchases. Imagine the technology we could purchase if it were available. To replace textbooks, we’d need:
- a tablet, about 9 X 11, about as thick as a typical Wired magazine
- sturdy, able to withstand drops from about waist height
- multi-input, including voice recording/navigation, touch, pen, and keyboard
- wireless sharing with other students and with the teacher
- Internet capable
- a quick OS that can be instant on/off and that can read all the current document formats
- quick software that doesn’t take forever to load
- jog dials for scrolling/reading
- a volume on/off button on the case (not just software)
We’re so close, yet so far away.
- Most recently, we have the iPhone
- Advantages – the ability to use wireless access; the ability to expand and move around the web with incredible ease; the smart keyboard that can surprisingly get your key tap approximations correct so much of the time; the simplicity of the touch and multi-touch interface (Palm had the touch interface down a long time ago – they never pushed it like Apple has!)
- Disadvantages – screen size (okay for periodic use, but not for full day use); lack of PDF and Flash software; lack of voice navigation
- And then there’s the Mac Air
- Advantages – Light; incredible technology to use CD/DVD drives of other computers; smooth keyboard; perfect screen size
- Disadvantages – not a tablet – no pen or touch interface directly on the screen; questionable sturdiness; no instant on/off
- And there used to be the Compaq TC1100
- Advantages – it fell just short of the size requirements; had pen, keyboard, and voice recognition input; included a jog-dial for scrolling/reading; had a docking station that acted as a stand a port extender (USB), a DVD drive, etc.;
- Disadvantages – Out of production now; slow – started out with a Transmeta processor that went at a snail’s pace; no touch interface (but the jog dial helped!)
Merge the advantages of each of the technologies above and not only would you have a true Learning Tablet, you’d have a true Business Tablet as well. Any technology companies out there listening?
