E-books! A part of the digital age.

We live in the digital world. That is a fact. I belive my laptop is my best friend. It feels like I can do anything with it. Eating breakfast without my laptop by my side, is not a topic. You see, I read a lot of newspapers before I go to work. And that I do on the internet. The local paper, VG, Dagbladet and Aftenposten. Then I get some news that I also can use as discussions in my classroom. And there was an article in Aftenposten about e-books, and how popular they are in Sweden. So popular that libraries have 3 months of quarantine before they get the books! That because the bookstores don’t want the competition from libraries. In Sweden there have been e-books on the library for nearly 10 years, and you can loan any book you want, without restrictions. In Norway there is no tradition for e-books. So this is way I feel that I just nearly have heard about e-books. Am I a digital immigrant? No. I’m a digitalnaitive. I’m grown with and into the information society, as told in an earlier post. This is the digital land of Norway who is the “bad mother”. Why is Sweden way in front and far above us according to e-books for the people?  What if not only newspapers could be reed digital? What if all the books I read could be rented on net from any library in the country? And I had it on my laptop or smartphone within seconds? This triggered my digital brain. I had to found out

First, what is an e-book? Wikipedia use this term: “An electronic book (variously, e-book, ebook, digital book) is a book-length publication in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, and produced on, published through, and readable on computers or other electronic devices. Sometimes the equivalent of a conventional printed book, e-books can also be born digital.”

So what are the benefits of using e-books? Shortly I can mention a few: 

1. I belive the students today spend more time in front of a screen (laptop, smartphone, ipad and so on). Then the e-books are with them, all the time, and it will provide reading.
2. The prosess producing paper needs trees. E-books doesn’t need any paper. Then we save the environment because there is no pollution producing “digital papers”.
3. You can search the e-book. Quickly you can find anything inside the book.
4. E-books are portable and they haven’t any weight. They don’t need any bookcase.
5. E-books can be delivered almost instantly. E-books are transported to you in minutes or in seconds. You don’t have to buy it at a bookstore. An Internet access is all you need.
6. They are easier to carry from one place to another.
7. Because the e-books are cheaper to produce, they will therefore be cheaper to buy.
8. E-books make reading accessible to persons with disabilities. Text can be re-sized for the visually impaired.  You can change the font style and the font size.

So is there any negative to mention using e-books? I can only come to one single conclusion, and that is that reading an e-book demand one of those earlier mentioned digital equipment that uses batteries. That may be a problem if you’re travelling or is outside any circuit.

I may be wrong about all this. I am open for comments and suggestions.
Do you want to know more about e-books? Here is the history.

Watch this video about e-books:

 What is an e-book?

Shopping on the Internet

I was just trying to read all of the literacy that I, as a good student, shall and should do.  I am a student at Nesna UniversityCollege. And the literacy is in English.  I can’t help it, but there seems to be a lot of things that I really do not understand. And there were some fancy powerpoint documents about the topic, and I watched two videos also on the topic, ICT in society. Something about the society and the culture and media and the Internet and many other things. I have not been practicing my English since the glory days of the 90’s. 

But there was an internet site that made me think and wonder. It was an article about living in the digital age. Living in the digital age? What did that suppose to mean? Yea! It made me wonder upon the glory days of the 90’s. That was the days of my life. Remember one day in spring 1996. I was 13 years old. I had my first cell-phone. The gsm-net was just around the corner and such cell-phones weren’t for everyone to have.  Computers have just become something personal, that not everyone had. I belive I was standing on the new digital revolution. And I was young. So I had the possibility to grown, and to be an adult, beside this revolution taking place in every land, and in every town, and in every home. The social media is taking place. I belive there’s no home in the modern world, that doesn’t have a smartphone or a computer with internet connection. But what is it to live in the digital age? Made me wonder what it is to me today, right now. There can’t be one single day without my smartphone or my laptop. Is that culture? Is it a social society? Yes I do belive so. I am spending nearly 2 hours a day on my social network on facebook, twitter, msn, e-mail and so on. That is 10 hours in a week! But I know those who spend a lot of more time on the net than I do. A friend of mine is actually “living” on Skype. Talking with friends all over the world. My friend is talking several hours a day! That can’t be good for no good reason! But when is the society going to say that enough is enough? Or is this what the society is like in the 21^st century? Whether we like it or not. But I can feel the society is a part of me. One day I was going to order something for my hobbies from a Norwegian website. Online shopping! Nearly 100$. Then I got a tip from one of my friends on facebook. Try to search the web. And so I did. I bought the same thing from the other side of the world, Seattle in the US. 20$! After 7 days the postman delivered the package at my door. Couldn’t belive it! I guess it was just as fast as if I had ordered it from anywhere in Norway. Then I realized that this is the society that we live in. The world isn’t any bigger or smaller than we allowed it to be. It’s not longer away than my laptop! So I tried it once more. This time it was a headlamp that I wanted to order from one of the biggest warehouses in Norway. They have a website that I can order from. 150$ and 5-7 days of delivery. A quick search on the internet, and I was ready to order the same headlamp directly from China. 35$ and free delivery, from China! After 6 days the postman delivered a new package at my door.

This is a part of our society and a culture that is a well grown part of the modern world. Wonder if there are some facts and numbers of the webshopping? How big is it today?

I found a funny video that may visualize what I just experienced. 

Shopping on the web:

What kind of teacher are we in the 21st century?

Just surfing and watching a lot of videos on youtube. Then I found this one:




It made me think of the teacher I am, and then on the teacher I want to be. And more: what kind of teacher does the pupils need? What kind of teacher is the modern teacher that the 21st century need?

Negative Effects of Facebook

I was just trying to studying, when I got over this interesting video:


It may be negative, but there is a lot in this movie that we, as teachers, really should discuss with our pupils.This video may be outstanding to watch with your pupils, and then you may have a lot to discuss!

And here is one more interesting video about facebook, that may be interesting for everyone who has an acount in facebook and is a memeber of the networks biggest social society:

My first blogg!

Jippikaye! And so on... This is my very first blogg! And in english too. This is a part of my studying:  "ICT in society and work life". So there will be moore here, folks! Just have to refresh my english first. Hav a nice day :)