I've the Seen the Future...

...and it looks a lot like an iPad. After spending a day this weekend at a workshop called iPad for Administrators, I'm a convert. OK, it didn't take much convincing, but I think this device and the future versions that will follow have the potential to truly change teaching and learning. How? It might still be too early to tell. Just the notion that textbooks could be on a device like an iPad is exciting enough. The blog Eductechnophobia has an entry titled, Six Ways the iPad will Transform Education, giving us a few clues. Are there downsides? No doubt. Growing up Digital, Wired for Distraction in today's New York Times points out negative effects of too much time plugged in can have on the brains of young people. I suppose, like all good things, moderation will be important. Nevertheless, I think the next leap in technology and education is at hand.

Reflections on a Bookless Library

EFS holds its semi-annual bookfair this week. While the fall bookfair is a wonderful community building event and fundraiser, it's perhaps first and foremost a celebration of books and reading. We hold this event in the face of dire predictions of the end of the printed word as we know it. As old fashioned as some  think books are, I don't know many teacher or parents who don't love the sight of a child with a book.

I'd forgotten all about one of my blog posts from last fall in which I attached a Boston Globe article announcing that Cushing Academy, a Massachusetts boarding school, was getting rid of all the books in its library. Last week, The Globe published a follow-up article, Digital Shift, about how their new "bookless library" has been received. Cushing calls it's new library "a creative commons," complete with plenty of comfortable seating and a coffee shop. As a lover of books and hater of coffee, I find sending young people the message that books are bad but caffeine is good quite interesting. Clearly, teaching digital skills is critical in education today. But is it time to quit books cold turkey? I embrace my inner Luddite when it comes to things like Facebook and Twitter, but I'm not anti-technology. As my own children can attest, I'm very excited to be getting an iPad in a couple of weeks. And among the things I'm most anxious to try out is its e-reader function. Maybe digital books are the future for school and research, but I can't imagine they're going to hold up well at the beach.