Is a phonebook a book?

The Japanese push the boundaries of digital appliances, particularly in cell phone based reading. In fact, cell phone books are the biggest growth area for publishing in Japan. It is estimated that 86% of Japanese teens read cell phone novels.

From the Mobile Art Lab in Japan comes a new twist on digital reading. The youngest children get this concept and turn the "page" with the same muscle memory used with paper. What an engaging way to read! Is it less valuable because it is digital? I don't think so.

We need to be studying the literacies associated with digital reading and preparing our libraries and faculties. Our collections need ebooks and digital readers to understand and gain experience working with and understanding what it means to truly read digitally. And we need to do it with an open mind.

I'd like to put in a plug for Libraries and Transliteracy, a blog I find very useful in clarifying my views and learning more about the topic of evolving literacies. 

"This blog is a group effort to share information about the all literacies (digital literacy, media literacy, information literacy, visual literacy, 21st century literacies, transliteracies and more) with special focus on all libraries."
 
An example is a recent post by Bobbi Newman, Information Literacy for the 21st Century.

This is the future of reading.



Source:
Ewan MacIntosh's edublogs:

iPhone + Book = Book: beautiful transmedia book

The Internet of Things

The Internet of Things is a new buzz word that has been cropping up quite a bit lately. Briefly, it is a self-configuring, wireless network of objects, typically household appliances. The iPhone is leading the charge in rolling out the Internet of Things, and this nifty little app is a great example.

Using WideNoise, you can monitor sound levels with the microphone on your iPhone. If you choose, the results of your sound check will be uploaded to the network and added to real-time sound detections, as well as the sound database. Why is this useful? If you are buying property you could check and see if the area is "feather quiet", "sleeping cat quiet", or a more alarming designation like "rock concert area".

Aside from issues relating to sound, the Internet of Things is emerging in kitchen appliances, RFID-enabled technology, and goodness knows what else. In a few years time my refrigerator might update a grocery list app on my iPhone that I need more cheddar cheese, that my milk is nearing its sell by date, and that I haven't been buying enough fresh fruit and vegetables lately. If it tells me to put those cupcakes back on the shelf I'll swear off technology forever.