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Kevin Crouch on 2009-12-01
I had not thought about this until just now, that all the information in books may be close to rising back from the ashes to join the hyperlinked world. How amazing that will be. Will it be the same experience? Will it be better or worse?
Author Steven Johnson outlines a future with more books, more distractions -- and the end of reading alone. (See the full report)
Author Steven Johnson outlines a future with more books, more distractions -- and the end of reading alone.
an example cited by Will Richardson in his New Reading, New Writing post : http://weblogg-ed.com/2009/new-reading-new-writing/ That shows the power of conversation around text.
I still have vivid memories of many such moments: clicking on my first Web hyperlink in 1994 and instantly transporting to a page hosted on a server in Australia; using Google Earth to zoom in from space directly to the satellite image of my house; watching my 14-month-old master the page-flipping gesture on the iPhone's touch interface.
MINDY ALONG WITH BOOK HISTORY TALKS AT START OF SCHOOL SHARE THIS ARTICLE AND THE OTHER ON READING ADN DISCUSSS
There is great promise and opportunity in the digital-books revolution. The question is: Will we recognize the book itself when that revolution has run its course? Author Steven Johnson makes a strong case that we're in store for a level of change unseen since Gutenberg." /><meta name="subsection" content="Special" /><meta name="section" content="Article" /><script type="text/javascript" language="javascript" charset="ISO-8859-1
Wall Street Journal Article by Steven Johnson
"Author Steven Johnson outlines a future with more books, more distractions -- and the end of reading alone"
Jenny Luca on 2009-06-18
But surely that happens now with Web Pages. We don't shut off the internet to our kids (maybe some schools do by way of filtering!) so why we would shut off their ability to move between texts with a reader. I'm a Teacher-Librarian and my grapple is with how are we going to facilitate these devices in schools. e
Author Steven Johnson outlines a future with more books, more distractions -- and the end of reading alone
Reading online
There is great promise and opportunity in the digital-books revolution. The question is: Will we recognize the book itself when that revolution has run its course? Author Steven Johnson makes a strong case that we're in store for a level of change unseen since Gutenberg.
The World of Ideas
Stephen Johnson on how he had an 'aha' moment with the Kindle and what he thinks is coming...
I knew then that the book's migration to the digital realm would not be a simple matter of trading ink for pixels, but would likely change the way we read, write and sell books in profound ways. It will make it easier for us to buy books, but at the same time make it easier to stop reading them. It will expand the universe of books at our fingertips, and transform the solitary act of reading into something far more social. It will give writers and publishers the chance to sell more obscure books, but it may well end up undermining some of the core attributes that we have associated with book reading for more than 500 years.
There is great promise and opportunity in the digital-books revolution. The question is: Will we recognize the book itself when that revolution has run its course? Author Steven Johnson makes a strong case that we're in store for a level of change unseen
Public Stiky Notes
Fortunately for now the comments have some substance – but how does one filter, sift the comments when they become inane?
Kevin
But is it a problem when one form transforms into another, possibly giving us new capabilities? I think we want to be careful about not losing some of what is so great about the book (late 20th century definition of "book"), but that doesn't mean the book as we know it is the ultimate expression of the form.
So many of the ideas we hold about books currently are an accident of technology - the technology that existed at the time that books became mainstream. Just as many folks argued that the written word would be the downfall of the oral traditions and would isolate people, locked away with their "books" instead of gathering together, people will now argue in defense of books (again, late 20th century definition of the form).
Source: Mark Weiser as cited in Teaching and Learning in a Ubiquitous Environment by Annette Kratcoski, Karen Swan, and Deborah Campbell.
For some of my favorite movies I sometimes watch in the standard presentation, other times with a commentary track from the writer or director. After listening to the commentary I sometimes go back and watch a scene again to see it with new eyes.
The television show LOST is a great example of this new type of reading. Some people watch the episodes and enjoy the show - and that's all. There is also a community of viewers that engage in ongoing debate, discussion, and dialogue about each episode and the unfolding story. I see the same happening for books.
After reading this article, I'm putting on Kindle on my mother's day wish list - maybe one of my kids will show my husband my post - do you think they can take a hint???
Not sure if the math works out or not, but I bet it's a model that somebody is going to try very soon. Perhaps Amazon themselves? Hmmm . . .
"The New York Times Company reported a first-quarter loss of $74.5 million on Tuesday, compared with a loss of $335,000 in the period a year ago, as it joined the roster of newspaper companies recording the steepest advertising declines in generations," maybe we'd better think seriously about how the Kindle — or something like it — could change everything.
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