Visit Amazon Today: Learn about the Kindle

cel4145 — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 09:43:11 -0500

If you visit Amazon.com today, you'll likely find the message I just did announcing Amazon's new ebook reader, the Kindle. This device differs from other ebook readers in that Amazon is providing direct Internet connectivity to Amazon selected content via the mobile phone networks. Yet, no subscription service plan for this mobile access; it comes as part of the purchase price of the reader. It looks like free content would probably be limited--we'll have to wait for reviews to see what is available. Although the Kindle video does brag that Wikipedia can be accessed for free. The price of $399 seems a little much, but I think Amazon has the right idea here. I wonder if this is the first device sold with some kind of free wireless connectivity to digital content?

7 things you should know about . . .

cel4145 — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 11:54:17 -0500

Last November, the Educause Learning Initiative published a short article, 7 Things You Should Know About E-Books. This is a good introductory text, and I was delighted to see that the authors stressed the use of ebooks for including multimedia and the important benefits of ebook interactivity (e.g., built in annotation, collaboration, and discussion). Since this text begins with a fictional narrative about a graduate student, her use of an ebook in her research, and her subsequent decision to produce an ebook version of her dissertation, this text is well-situated for a graduate course interested in initiating discussion about ebooks. I should also mention that the Educause Learning Initiative has many other resources related to learning and technology. For instance,