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 Living in the information age opens a wide window of opportunity for us. The quest for more information, with improved, easier ways to access it, is shared by knowledge-hungry homeschoolers—active participants in this exciting, E-tech world. No one questions the value that books play in their use by the homeschool community, although many are finding educational assistance and success through E-Books.
You may have heard of Moore’s Law, which explains the exponential rate at which technological advances are being made—the implication being that everything in technology doubles in quality and functionality while the costs reduce by half every few years. This is true of E-Books.
Their quality is superior and attractive, and considering their multiple benefits, they supersede the characteristics of their printed, paper counterparts. Even with their spiraling growth rate, it’s unlikely that E-Books will ever make “hard copy” books obsolete, but they are finding their niche among the homeschool community where they will continue to expand and influence computer savvy, keyboard-clickers in future years to come.
The improved E-Book, designed with instant access, ease of printing, and referencing, all at just the touch of a keyboard, is a popular choice for dedicated students of all ages.
No longer will they have to lug around those heavy books, but they will be able to load their texts on computers or into a reading device. Add to this the progressive nature and interactive characteristics evolving in the industry, and you’ve got to acknowledge the E-Book’s outstanding potential.
Mike Shatzkin, a consultant for Publishers Weekly, predicted correctly at the start of 2008, that the popularity of E-Books would increase and sales of books in electronic form to public libraries would continue to grow for 2008.[1] Apparently, he was right on. A January 2009, Publishers Weekly report by Teri Tan stated: “There is an E-Book rush out there. Simon & Schuster, whose E-Book sales quadrupled last year, is adding 5,000 titles to its list, while Random House, recording a 400% year-on-year increase in E-Book sales, is doubling its offerings to 15,000 titles. And no wonder—the Association of American Publishers reported that total E-Book sales ending September 2008 surged 51% over the same period in 2007.”[2]
And in February of this year, Mike Eglan of Computer World Magazine predicted that “E-Book sales are about to ignite.” In his article, "Here Comes the E-Book Revolution," he discusses six reasons why people read E-Books: the economy, the environment, a publishing revolution, the rise in aggressive E-Book marketing, a rise in books written for electronic reading, and the decline of the newspaper industry.
Why are more and more homeschoolers choosing E-Books? Considering the valuable content and unique benefits, in some ways E-Books are preferable to printed books. The advantages are worth noting:
* Instantaneous deliveries—download tonight for tomorrow’s lesson! No waiting for postal delivery and no shipping charges.
* Easily affordable—electronic texts are generally less expensive, and many are free. (Compare to the high cost of many hardcopy books.)
* Faster ability to find specific content of interest within a given E-Book. Search and find features allow you to find a specific word or phrase—plus use of Error! Reference source not found..
* Ability to shrink or enlarge the text size and adjust the font face for ease of reading.
* Can be easily and quickly kept up-to-date.
* Allows for non-permanent highlighting.
* Electronic storage provides for thousands of E-Books in a desirable, earth-friendly format—no excess books under the couch!
* Use of hyperlinks—conveniently provided, pertinent to your E-Book topic.
* Ease of printing selected pages—from your home printer.
* Bonuses and additional related information often come with the digital package.
* E-Books may allow the addition of multimedia clips or animated images to be embedded.
Let's say you are putting together some information to supplement your history program or doing a unit study approach to a book you're reading. You may think, “Isn’t it better just to surf the ‘Net to find free resources?” Do you really want to spend all night searching and sifting through pages and pages of information?
We’re all pretty busy folks, so consider how much your time is worth. Wouldn't you rather spend those precious hours doing some worthwhile activity with your family? Doing the research yourself is not always necessary—there may be an E-Book that fits your needs.
Instead of Googling your time away, you purchase an inexpensive E-Book on the topic of your choice, taking away all the guesswork. In this format you often find additional information links referenced to your study. Many E-Books have a bookmarked table of contents—just a click away to finding the page you desire. You could also customize your study, highlight, add information, and easily print selected pages—no more need to mess with copy machines or even leave your home.
This chapter was excerpted from E-Homeschooling: Embracing the E-Book Revolution, published by The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. For a limited time, you may download the E-Book for free here - click and download.
Kathy Reynolds has been a home educator for the last seventeen years, loving every minute. She was editor of the Homeschool Gazette, enjoys many writing pursuits, and encourages other homeschool moms whenever possible. She is a graduate of TOS’ General Marketing Class and works as an E-Book production assistant in the marketing department of TOS. She and her husband live in the beautiful Ozarks of Arkansas with their four sons, aged 14-22.
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