With Kindle DX and the iPhone, it’s possible that someone now can carry all of their textbooks without a backpack. It’s convenient, flexible and eliminates the burden of having to travel with 50 lbs weights between classes.
The major challenges of digitizing textbooks are: a) convincing textbook providers to join the movement; and b) inventing an affordable displaying solution for these mobile devices.
Once these obstacles are out of the way and that new digital device is invented, students now can:
- Buy or sell new or used textbooks without leaving the classroom.
- Switch classes without having to worry about exchanging textbooks.
- Avoid forgetting to bring textbooks/homework/a No. 2 pencil to class.
But, wait, there is more. With a device like that, teachers now can:
- Assign and grade homeworks, in or outside of the classroom.
- Combine several sections from different textbooks for one lecture.
- Grade exams, and publish the results instantly.
Of course, the possibilities are endless.
Without a doubt, when that device is invented by Apple or Amazon or whomever, the textbook printing industry is going to take a big hit if they can’t figure out a way to jump on the digital bandwagon. But more importantly, who is going to save the poor guys who sell scantron forms or scanners for a living?
Be prepared, sometimes your biggest competitor exists outside of your industry.
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