[Bridging_the_digital_divide] TouchSmart Publishing in the news

Wed Aug 18 10:55:36 EDT 2004

'Smartpaper' tech to transform learning
  By Cara Branigan, Associate Editor, eSchool News
  August 18, 2004

  A new textbook publishing method that uses infrared technology to 
combine traditional books with digital content might ultimately 
decrease the cost of textbooks, make them much more interactive for 
users, and remove barriers for students who have difficulty accessing 
traditional texts.

  The interactive textbook works a lot like LeapFrog's popular LeapPad 
reading device, where a paper book sits inside a cradle that contains 
touch-sensitive panels. But instead of accessing audio files stored on 
a cartridge, the book calls up video, audio, or other multimedia 
content by sending an infrared signal to a nearby internet-connected 
computer or a DVD player connected to a television.

  "The book becomes a remote control, so to speak," said Jason Barkeloo, 
president of TouchSmart Publishing LLC, a company that is planning to 
make math, science, and special-needs textbooks using the so-called 
"Smartpaper" technology.

  A student studying polynomials, for example, could read the assigned 
chapter and then touch a diagram with his or her finger to pull up a 
30-second video clip of a teacher working through a problem, or an 
audio file of another teacher explaining the problem in a different 
way.

  "Just by touching a picture or text, you go right to a digital or 
audio file or a web site," said Alan Chaplin, chief executive officer 
of Smartpaper Networks Corp., a four-year-old start-up company that 
developed the Smartpaper technology.

  The book's electronic components are housed in what looks like an 
oversized DVD case. "The difference is, the case contains 
touch-sensitive panels on either side," Chaplin said.

  The technology reportedly works with computers, game players, and DVD 
players--anything with an infrared receiver. The books are completely 
functional either offline or online, because each Smartpaper book will 
come with its own DVD that contains the multimedia content, such as 
movie clips and audio.

  Many traditional books come with companion products such as DVDs, 
noted Chalplin, but "our product & provides a more engaging and 
enriching experience. It takes two things that we are familiar 
with--print and video--and links them together."

  Because DVD players now cost a fraction of the price of a multimedia 
computer, students without internet access or computers at home still 
can receive digital content. With a Smartpaper book, "the student can 
crawl up on the couch, push the picture of kinetic energy, and see the 
video on it," Barkeloo said.

  Barkeloo also figures Smartpaper textbooks will cost less than 
traditional textbooks, because much of the content will be digital. 
"Books are priced on mass. If I have a physiology or anatomy textbook, 
that may be 500 pages," he said.

  Additionally, Smartpaper books might better engage students in their 
textbooks. The technology "brings a new level of excitement, because I 
don't know what's hiding behind the content. It's like an Easter egg 
hunt," Barkeloo said.

  Also, the web-based model could track which students are visiting 
which URLs, or web site addresses, giving teachers specific reports on 
textbook use.

  One caveat of the Smartpaper concept, however, is making sure the URLs 
never change. For that reason, TouchSmart plans to create all of the 
online content itself and have this content reside either on its server 
or the school's server. If something needs to be updated, the file can 
easily change but the URL will remain the same.

  The Smartpaper concept is still in the prototype stage, but "most of 
the technological hurdles have been overcome," Chaplin said. The 
company, which holds several patents on the technology, expects 
products to be on the market in time for the 2005-2006 school year.

  Chaplin estimates that each SmartCase, which houses the books, will 
cost $40 wholesale. "That doesn't take into account the cost of 
producing the content," he said.

  TouchSmart expects its first book to be an early reading book for 
special-needs children written by reading and special-needs experts. 
The book will contain links to animations and audio files of the story 
being read out loud.

  The math and science textbooks will start at the kindergarten level 
and progress to grade 12, and each will be about 50 pages long with 
digital content links embedded throughout, Barkeloo said.

  During the dot-com boom, Wired and Forge magazines both tested a 
bar-code method for linking web content and books together. The 
magazines distributed bar-code scanners and software to their readers, 
then began publishing bar codes alongside their articles. Readers would 
scan these bar codes, which would take them directly to a web site.

  Chaplin said the bar-code concept failed because it had a complicated 
installation process. "People don't want to go to all that trouble to 
look at advertising," he added.

  Smartpaper is looking for schools to test its products in an 
educational setting, as well as educators who would like to serve on 
its advisory board, Chaplin said.

  Links:

  Smartpaper Networks Corp.
http://www.smartpaper.net

  TouchSmart Publishing LLC
http://www.touchsmart.net

http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStoryts.cfm?ArticleID=5222

---

Jason Barkeloo
President
TouchSmart Publishing
http://www.touchsmart.net
t: 513.225.8765
f: 206.666.4856

This electronic mail (email) communication, and any files transmitted 
with it, are confidential, and intended solely for the indicated 
recipient(s). Any review, use, or distribution by anyone other than the 
intended recipient(s) is strictly prohibited. If you have received this 
e-mail in error, or are not the intended recipient, please notify the 
sender, and delete all copies immediately.
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: text/enriched
Size: 6126 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://six.pairlist.net/pipermail/bridging_the_divide/attachments/20040818/48d62aea/attachment-0001.bin