Carolyn Kraut

“Interdisciplinary experiences…where you’re reading on paper, you’re watching on television, you’re tweeting…when those things relate, it can be an amazing story telling experience.” -Nick Bilton

As instructional designers and teachers, we try to keep our content as multi-modal as possible (without getting out of hand) to ensure a valuable learning experience for all our students. We do this by collecting resources and trying our best to keep it all connected; text in paper and digital form, audio, video, images, etc. I generally fall into the “throw away the textbook” camp. However, advances in bar coding and mobile aps could help keep textbooks alive and make them relevant again. The video above (via TechCrunch), sparked my interest because of how technology is changing the way we read and interact with content. In this example, the reader is directed to relevant resources if he/she so chooses by using the camera on their smartphone. Sounds simple enough. Is this the textbook of the future?

I’d like publishers to give this a shot; textbooks with bar codes that lead the reader to web content such as relevant news or articles, videos, assignments, quizzes, and comments or full blown discussions. Wouldn’t it be cool if the teacher who requests a certain book is also given administrative access to the digital resources? I’m not sure how it would work logistically, but  that would help them create unique learning experiences for their students. I suppose this could also be accomplished by referencing publisher-provided resources, as well as their own, on a course website, blog, or wiki

Most commonly used for marketing purposes, QR (quick response) codes direct readers to relevant resources on the web. (via http://bit.ly/bYadn3)

As cool as this sounds, I still go back and forth on the need for an actual textbook, especially since digital books have the potential to make the collection of all these resources a little more seamless. But, let’s face it. Some people still like to hold a physical book in their hands. I appreciate the efforts of publishers who are trying to please as many people as possible by offering (or at least entertaining the idea of) interactive paper books as well as e/ibooks and mobil aps.

Side Note: This book should be required reading for anyone in the education field.