The Xplanation

Welcome to this morning’s Daily Research Update. Today’s themes are e-readers for children, smart phones, and open content. If you want more context for this research, take a look at our Education and Technology Trends for 2010. You may also be interested in our Weekly Research Index, or you can follow our live, daily research on our Current News page.

(Click here to see a simple listing of today’s suggested reading)

Okay, before we go any further, let’s get this bit about Fisher-Price’s new iXL e-reader for pre-school kids.

In addition to the “app based” home screen (which we were told was modeled after the iPhone or iPad), the iXL comes preloaded with games, an animated story book and other applications — additional children’s e-books will be available for download from its online store when the device goes on sale this summer. Using a Mac or a PC, parents can also sideload those illustrated titles, as well as pictures and MP3s using the onboard USB port.

Of course, this matters because we are probably only a decade away from a time when small children use e-reading devices predominantly to learn reading skills, and a time when children prefer digital to print.

In the present moment, however, e-books are still for adults. And, as with many adult things, it’s not always smooth sailing. We have problems with pricing and problems with DRM. On top of it all, we have to make up our minds about which device we want to use. On the device front, competition is forcing companies to improve and evolve or get left behind. For all its stumbling at launch, it looks like the Nook may have finally gotten itself on track after its second firmware update.

But here’s what made the nook’s second coming possible: the hardware was top notch, the problems (slow page turns, sideloaded books with garbled titles, crashes and UI missteps) were all in the software. And we give credit to B&N for fixing these problems while improving the touch screen UI in just a few months. We rarely get to write complete turn around reviews, but this is one. Two months ago you couldn’t pay me to use a nook, I would have clung desperately to my Sony Reader Daily Edition and Kindle DX. Today, the nook could replace them both.

All the major technology news this week will come from Barcelona and the Mobile World Congress (MWC). Here are some significant notices from the first day.

• Windows Phone 7 fresh and impressive, but will that be enough to succeed?
• Adobe is developing AIR for smartphones with an emphasis on Android first
• HTC unleashes a whole suite of powerful Android smart phones

By the way, if you haven’t noticed, there is a gradual trending in Higher Education toward various forms of containerless learning and content delivery. A good example is the dScribe project at the University of Michigan.

dScribe, short for “digital and distributed scribes,” is a participatory and collaborative model for creating open content. It brings together enrolled students, staff, faculty, and self-motivated learners to work together toward the common goal of creating content that is openly licensed and available to people throughout the world. It was first developed by students and faculty at the University of Michigan to leverage the interest and talent of students in working with faculty and staff to transform educational material into open educational resources (OER). The dScribe model encourages students, faculty, staff, and other interested individuals such as alumni and community members to get involved in not only creating open content, but also generating awareness about the benefits of creating and sharing educational content with a global learning community.

Of course, there are plenty of OERs out there already on open courseware sites and media outlets such as YouTube and iTunesU. With regards to the latter, Stephen Downes points to a solution for distributing this content into other Web sites. However, as he notes, “I can’t imagine it will be around long – how dare people use a non-commercial means to access free educational content!”

Finally, is it possible that portfolios could be the future of educational technology? Unlike LMS platforms or formal assessment engines, portfolios are driven by individual users and emphasize learning as a more organic process.

Suggested Reading

iTunes and iTunesU in a Browser, via HTML ~ Stephen’s Web ~ by Stephen Downes

The Higher Education Hedgehog

dScribe Project at the University of Michigan

Fisher-Price iXL is a tweener that no kid needs convincing of | Engadget

Windows Phone 7 Is Impressive, But 3 Challenges Remain for Microsoft | GigaOM

What we still don’t know about new Windows phones | Beyond Binary | CNET News

Adobe bringing AIR to smartphones–Android first | Deep Tech | CNET News

Indigo 2.0 | Managing | Strategy | Canadian Business Online

Barnes & Noble Nook review – eBook Reader Reviews by Mobile Tech Review

The Price Is Right | Publishers Weekly

Apple to wrap digital books in FairPlay copy protection [Clarified] | Technology | Los Angeles Times