Drachenblut<lord.drachenblut@gmail.com> wrote:
> I want to point out that I have printed some "ebooks" before and this can
> be a expensive endeavour relativly speaking especially if the person doesn't
> have a laser printer at there disposal but other wise I love this story
> otherwise.
> --
> PGP e-mail is welcome! Get my 1024 bit signature key from:
> <http://pgp.mit.edu:11371/pks/lookup?op=get&search=0x00D1EABB>
I don't have a B.A. in math, or indeed in any discipline, but consider:
One secondary school textbook is rarely cheaper than $100. Now, how
many do our public schools purchase per kid over their K-12 time?
Netbooks, I've bought one for $200, are becoming more and more
pervasive; I've got students who own them already, and there's been
talk in education circles (even at our school in a "someday not too
long from now..." context) about them becoming more or less
ubiquitous, with some schools already requiring every student to have
a netbook.
If you're like me, though, and prefer reading on an un-backlit
substrate, eInk e-book readers have come down past the $300 mark for
something with a screen comparable to the Kindle 2. But while reading
long-form text out of a netbook might not be fun, how many
textbook-related assignments involve long enough sustained reading to
cross that threshold of pain?
And how heavy is your average secondary student's backpack nowadays?
Neither a netbook, nor an e-book reader, weigh nearly as much as a
*single* textbook.
Printing out F/OS textbooks is, to me, one of the least interesting
possibilities for them.
What I think is going to be the exciting thing to watch is the things
a large, creative teacher population could do with the four freedoms
applied to the material they're working from and with.
And how, if we work on it now, maybe by the time we finally make that
$100 laptop available to every child on the planet we'll have some
great, comprehensive, time-tested F/OS educational material ready for
them...
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