The Digital Text Books Era

Digital devices are slowly but surely taking over text books. We see universities like Stanford in USA offering all its first year medical students Ipads to ease the load of text books. Louise Robinson the new leader of a top girls school in her first interview stated that  "In future, pupils will access texts through smartphones and e-readers. Taking on board the fact that textbooks will be on your mobile, whatever shape, name or type of fruit your mobile relates to... anywhere, any time, any place – it's a huge possibility," she said. Pupils could learn more from the "magic" of using smart phones and tablets than from simply reading a book, she argued. Mrs Robinson, who is head of Merchant Taylors' Girls' School in Crosby, Liverpool, added: "I can understand the concept that there's the real smell of a very old book – I'm not going to throw them on the bonfire at all. I do believe that there will be a time and a place for going to look at an old book – but when you're doing class reading, why buy the hard copy?"

Electronic books continue to generate strong interest in the consumer sector and are increasingly available on campuses as well. Modern electronic readers support note-taking and research activities, and are beginning to augment these basic functions with new capabilities. From immersive experiences to support for social interaction — that are changing our perception of what it means to read.