Week 3

In the future, people will still be reading solid, paperback and hard spine books. My prediction is that much of the technological advances that we are seeing now will hit a standstill and people will resort to what they always have, and that is just simple reading out of books. It will allow readers to remain using their imagination, rather than getting all of the visual representation of the story right there on a little screen. However, I do believe that before the time comes where there is a halt in the evolution of books, people will create some amazing interactive books. The words on the page will jump out at you as you read them. There will be holograms that will tell you their story so you can just listen and watch them. I believe that publishers will create a way to communicate with the writer in some way and make stories have alternate endings based on your responses to the writer.

The way people read, however, can't be changed. There is something about simply picking up a book and turning the pages that will never change for people. Certain devices like the kindle are as close to actual books as they can get. I own a Kindle Paperwhite and it is amazing. However, it does not have eye-popping graphics or create a fully interactive experience. It is simply like reading a real book but just lighter and it is nice because it has the ability to light up or get darker depending on the light you're reading in.  The pages are very soft and it feels so much like you're looking at a real book. Trying to read on bright pixelated iPad pages is not the same.

There is a great need for electronic books in schools. I have a feeling that a major change is coming in education due to apps and e-books. And I agree with Steven in that textbooks could potentially become obsolete due to advances in technology. People all learn in different ways, for some it may be visually, others it may be acoustically. The way apps and interactive books are set up can easily allow for the user to choose with way they want to learn the information. I might be through touching the screen and taking quizzes, or going through and taking notes along the side while reading. There is so much possibility through technology to allow students of all ages to learn in a way that works for them. They may be going home to read out of screen-less books after school, but during school we can create a way for them to choose how they want to learn through apps and interactive text books. It could propel our education system in a very positive way.