Update: Great minds think alike! (and fools never differ…) @jonbecker quickly pointed out after I pressed ‘Publish’ that @doug_holton has already blogged about, made notes upon, and tested out this idea! 😀
Before Google Teacher Academy last week I was revisiting Google tools I don’t use every day. One of these is Google Knol. Like Google Wave, it had changed a lot since I last used it, so I experimented further on the train down to London. Below is a link to the New Literacies ‘knol’ I produced along with a video overview of some of Knol’s features. I really do think the current peer-reviewed academic journal system is broken and needs a replacement. Something like Knol could do the job!
I’ve been very impressed with my Sony Reader PRS-600 since I got it last week. It’s a great device for reading, highlighting and taking notes on academic articles. Since before I couldn’t find much useful video on how the highlighting and note-taking functionality works, I’ve quickly put together the above two minutes by way of demonstration.
Hope it helps. 🙂
Note: those reading via RSS/email may need to click through to see the video – or view it on YouTube!
Introduction
I learned today that the best gadget purchases are those that solve a problem. Whilst it’s wonderful to have the latest and greatest (I’ll be getting a free iPad via my attendance at the Handheld Learning Conference later this year) it’s very satisfying when something plugs a gap.
The Problem
Briefly stated:
I’ve got lots (probably hundreds) of journal articles to read for my Ed.D. thesis.
I use a computer screen for my work much more than I used to, meaning on-screen PDFs is problematic.
I get the train (c.30 minutes each way) and then walk to work. I don’t want to have to carry around anything heavy.
The Solution
Today I bought (or should I say my parents, who are extremely supportive of my studies, bought me) a Sony Reader PRS-600. It’s the one with the touch screen for highlighting and annotation. It’s got an e-ink screen meaning it appears like a physical book instead of a flickering screen.
What I’ve tried previously:
Printing out articles (cumbersome, expensive and not environmentally-friendly)
Dropbox iPhone app (doesn’t ‘reflow’ PDFs meaning horizontal scrolling which isn’t very user-friendly)
GoodReader iPhone app (iPhone screen too small for annotation)
I considered an Amazon Kindle, but after seeing and handling the Sony Reader at the JISC Conference earlier this week, I was sold on it. JISC had funded a project where the Sony Readers were used by previously technophobic academic staff to mark student essays. They loved them and if they’re good enough for that purpose, it’s good enough for me!
It’s still (very) early days. I’ll let you know how I get on! 🙂
