» eBook Lending an International Problem » Frustrations With Checking Out Library ebooks
Image courtesy of carnegie.org.
RESTON, VA – JANUARY 14:
Dianne Coan, L, helps George and Jane Newman, R, of Great Falls as Robert Barnett, rear, works on his eTablet during a seminar on how patrons can download digital books to their mobile devices for free at the Reston branch of the Fairfax County Library on January 14, 2012, in Reston, VA. The region’s libraries are struggling to meet the surging demand for digital books, fueled by the millions of Kindle Fires, iPads, Nook Colors and other devices that were given over the holidays. Borrowing e-books is a lot harder than borrowing the old-fashioned kind. People are experiencing frustrations as they discover long wait lists and very limited selection.
(photo by Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)
Mercy Pilkington is a young-adult author and a teacher in a correctional facility. She does not have a single textbook in her classroom. With the top-of-the-line technology at her disposal and the low reading ability of many of her students, there’s no need for standard paper texts. Instead she relies on e-readers, iPads, desktop PCs, Polycom video conferencing equipment for virtual field trips, live streaming for science demonstrations, and text-to-speech read-aloud software to teach English and science. Within the next ten years, public school classrooms across the country are going to look a lot more like Mercy’s classroom because the educational possibilities with these kinds of technologies are limitless. Have a question? Send an email to mercypilkington@yahoo.com
