Tag: kno

Teaching Tip: The Demise of the Text E-Reader?

Just a few months back, we wrote a blog about how students were simply not interested in e-books. The electronic version of our OM texts has been available for well over a decade, but research has shown that students, by far, still want to own a real book. Maybe it was because a great e-reader was still not available? We thought the Kno was the answer–a dual screen reader that allowed students to take notes on the pages–and in our blog showed a flashy video of how it worked.

But in the past few weeks (see Mind/Shift,  June 1, 2011), two manufacturers of tablet e-readers ceased production—the enTourage eDGe and the Kno! Both products were squarely aimed at the educational text market, having inked a number of deals with major book publishers. Despite their innovative 2-screen design, both machines were criticized for being clunky, too heavy, and too expensive (the Kno was $399-$599). Was it a matter of dual screens or was it because the devices were aimed at college students?

Ownership of tablets and e-readers remains low among high school seniors and college students,– just 4% and 7% , respectively. Do future buyers want an education-oriented tablet? Or will they buy a consumer-oriented tablet like an iPad or an Android tablet–then load it with e-books? While experts have predicted that 2011 would be the year of the tablet, the demise of the Kno and the eDGe raises some issues about students’ main source of learning being from an e-reader.

Teaching Tip: Do Your Students Really Want an E-Textbook?

As Jay and I start writing the 11th edition of our OM text, we are excited about a whole variety of changes and additions we plan to make. But one discussion we have now had for over a decade is how to deal with the way students want to learn. And this always leads to the growing interest in e-books.

Our books have been available in an e-book format for a dozen years now, but students still buy, in overwhelming quantities, the printed text. This is despite the fact that students using our MyOMLab assessment software get a free version of the book on-line. Our editor just sent us an article from The Chronicle of Higher Education that may explain it.

The article opens with this line: “The vast majority of students say they prefer print textbooks over electronic ones, and attitudes have not shifted markedly in the past year”. The recent survey shows that 76% of students would pick a printed book over an e-textbook if given the choice.  About 13% of the students had purchased an e-book, but most did so because their prof required that version. Why would that be, we wonder?

Maybe it’s because students are still uncomfortable with the technology. Only 8% of students own an e-reader device. Or perhaps the right technology has yet to hit us. I just reviewed the Kno and think it may be the machine that makes note-taking and interaction with the internet more comfortable to many of us. After you watch a 1-2  minute video at www.kno.com you may want to show it to your class and see what they think. Would you like your copy of the 11th edition delivered on a Kno?