Forget one-to-one computing initiatives for K-12; it’s time for one-to-one eReader initiatives.
Too many schools are doing their best to bring notebooks and Tablet PCs into the classrooms via one-to-one computing initiatives. It kind of makes sense: With general purpose computing devices comes great power and seeing as computers are here to stay it’s time to get digital.
However, whereas the focus on digital is correct, the implementation is not ideal for K-12. In fact, I think schools should be looking more towards providing one-to-one eReaders for all of their students, just as they would books themselves. eReaders are a closer match to the way schools have worked up to this point. eReaders are the digital nirvana, not laptops or Tablet PCs or netbooks–at least not for now.
Chris Dawson of ZDNet, I think, makes the classic “PCs must be better” argument because he argues they are more flexible than an eReader counterpart, like the Kindle. That’s true, but his flexibility argument misses the broader engineering challenge about tradeoffs in general. Truth is that even netbooks and laptops and PCs–and for that matter mainframes–all have tradeoffs. The eReader is no different. Yes, an eReader may be more restrictive when it comes to animated content, but that’s not a terrible thing. Animation costs power consumption. So a device that doesn’t do animation well, like a Kindle, is going to have better battery life. That’s not bad.
Anyway, I’d also make the case that eReaders more closely match how schools work today–especially the closer you get to K in K-12. As students get older and generate more unique content, so will the value for general PCs, which students can get on their own or use community provided PCs just like they do now. That’s not the case for textbooks. Schools should still be providing them, but just using a digital device instead. That’s where the eReader comes in.
I’d also argue that a handful of years from now that this whole eReader specialized device versus generic computing device argument is going to be very tired and off the mark. You see, by then devices like the eReader will become more interactive and even PCs themselves will be more like eReaders. The two categories will merge. Chris Dawson is advocating as much when he requests that someone write a terrific eReader application for his PC.
To me, it comes down to cost and ease of adoption. eReaders, like the Kindle, win here. The one big piece of the recipe that’s missing is a content management system–both in terms of managing the distribution of homework assignments but also for replacing the school’s physical library. The first part of the equation is well underway. The second part requires the textbook publishers to cooperate. No content. No play.
I’m hoping that by Amazon and maybe Apple stepping up to the plate here and paving a path for eReaders in K-12 schools that we might see a quicker adoption rate of technology in them. We don’t need every student to bring a PC to 2nd Grade class. An eReader? Yes. PC? No.