| By now I hope many of you have had a chance to play with NOOBS, the new out of box software we released back at the start of June. Although originally aimed at providing a better experience for newcomers to the Pi, we now reckon NOOBS is the best way for almost everyone to get the most out of their Pi. With this in mind, from today our partners RS Components and element14 will be offering an optional 8GB NOOBS SD card with every new Model A or Model B Raspberry Pi, for only $5.  The NOOBS SD card in all its glory. We designed the Pi so that pretty much all the extras you need can be found around the house: there’s not much point in making a $25 computer if your customers need to go out and buy $100 of accessories to use it. Most people can rustle up an old TV, a small SD card and a mobile phone charger. But we’ve noticed that not everybody has access to a large enough card to take advantage of NOOBS, or to a device which can write to SD cards. Fast, pre-programmed, high-capacity cards like the Samsung ones we’re bundling (and which have turned out to be our favourite cards in testing; they’re optimised for random read/write behaviour, unlike many cards which are designed for the large continuous reads and writes that digital cameras make) have been the best-selling Pi accessory offered by our partners since launch, so we’re expecting a lot of you to take us up on this offer.  NOOBS in action. $5 is an incredible deal for a fast 8GB card. (Just Google how much these cards usually sell for with nothing on them.) We’d like to thank our partners, and our friends at Samsung, xel and Cardwave for pulling out all the stops to make this happen. A note on SD card nomenclature. The card we’re offering here is rated as Class 4 – in some metrics, Class 4 means slow. This is not the case with this card, which has outperformed many Class 6 and Class 10 cards in our tests – classification seems not to correlate well with random read/write performance. Samsung’s unusual focus on random-access performance on their SD memory means that this card performs very fast and very reliably: we think you’ll be pleasantly surprised! |
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Buy a Pi, get an 8GB NOOBS SD card for $5
Monday, August 5, 2013
Top 5 e-Reading Apps for Windows Phone 8
| Welcome to another Good e-Reader Video Review! Today we take a look at the top 5 e-Reading apps for Windows Phone 8! Obviously, the mobile Windows OS is a bit different from iOS and Android. You won’t find the same mainstream apps available, so we offer advice on the most essential. Over the course of the review, we extensively document; Bookvisor, eBook Reader, Kindle, Legimi and a few others! We give you hands on, to show you everything from the loading time to the core features. You can get a strong sense of what app might be better for you, whether you want to buy books or load your own in.
Top 5 e-Reading Apps for Windows Phone 8 is a post from: E-Reader News |
Students Return to School with Credo’s Homework Help
| Credo, the solutions provider for research, reference, and learning help with strategic platforms aimed at different types of student learners, announced recently that its Credo Homework Help platform would now be available to users as a stand-alone tool, rather than requiring a full subscription to Credo Literati. "On-demand homework assistance can mean the difference between simply passing and thriving for many students," said Mike Sweet, Credo's CEO. in a press release on the announcement of this newly enhanced availability. "With our acquisition of OnlineTutorSolutions.com, we're in the prime position to help students thrive and expanding Homework Help to make our in-house team of state-certified teachers more accessible to students is our first step towards this goal." While some of the greatest value comes for schools and libraries that bundle Homework Help with Literati, individual users can still access Homework Help, which matches students up with state-certified teachers at their time of need. The virtual classroom environment that learners can access includes interactive features like virtual whiteboards to help maximize instruction. Credo’s offerings within Literati have already provided students with learning and reference tools that many digital services neglect to consider. These offerings include things like a scholarship search feature to help students locate accessible tuition assistance, and Literati Student Athlete, an interactive platform that works to help student athletes who may be underprepared for the demands of college academics.
Students Return to School with Credo’s Homework Help is a post from: E-Reader News |
Scholastic Book Clubs Get Redesign in Time for Back-to-School
| Anyone who has been a public school student in the past 60+ years is probably familiar with the monthly Scholastic book clubs. Some of the best moments in book discovery happened when the teacher passed out those crinckly colorful pages to browse. Now, though, Scholastic is making some major upgrades to the beloved school book clubs, just in time for back-to-school. Some of the changes address two concerns that have been raised by both parents and educators. The first change is aimed at helping teachers gear their book offerings to the much-touted Common Core standards by pointing out which standards are met through various titles. The other change to the book club flyers, though, addresses a much longer-running issue, namely trying to meet the reading needs of a wide variety of classroom learners, all in one monthly book club flyer. Now, each flyer will be labelled as to the grade level the books are appropriate for, as well as having a separate and more comprehensive catalog each month for middle grade readers. "We've heard the growing concerns of teachers and parents about the higher standards that kids need to meet with the Common Core State Standards and, with input from our teacher advisors, we've created a practical solution. The grade-leveled flyers allow families to choose appropriate books that will encourage daily independent reading practice which is critical for children to build fluency and confidence and ultimately to improve reading proficiency," said Judy Newman, EVP, Scholastic and President, Scholastic Reading Club, in a press release. "Equally important is the excitement of ordering from the Scholastic book flyer where kids get to choose and own the books they want to read and the thrill when the book box arrives in the classroom." Along with new features like parent and teacher labelled leveled readers, books that are intentionally designed for short daily bursts of reading consumption, and ebooks through the Scholastic Storia book club, Scholastic is not making a change to one key aspect of the book clubs that readers from as far back as 1948 will remember and appreciate: price. Scholastic’s goal continues to be providing reading material at an affordable price in order to encourage long-term literacy and love of reading.
Scholastic Book Clubs Get Redesign in Time for Back-to-School is a post from: E-Reader News |
Amazon Germany Faces Opposition from Some Locals
| Amazon has expanded globally into markets that have now seen the benefits of e-reading. One such global branch, Germany, is now Amazon’s second largest retail market, which is interesting considering that only a few years ago Germany was considered a slow adopter of ebooks due to strange legal ramifications that taxes ebooks at a much higher percentage than print. But now that Amazon has expanded into Germany and has even opened retail distribution centers in the country, the retailer faces some local opposition from a few people disgruntled with Amazon’s practices. Unlike here in the US where Amazon seems to be everyone’s favorite whipping boy–while many of those same naysayers have turned Amazon into the empire that it is today–for it’s massive growth and the blame for the death of brick-and-mortar bookstores, German critics are taking issue with Amazon’s labor practices, many of which fly in the face of the way working citizens are used to doing business. According to a statement that appeared in a New York Times article on the struggles Amazon has faced with locals, "In Germany, the idea that warehouse workers are going to be getting opposition from an employer when it comes to the right to organize, that's virtually unheard-of," said Marcus Courtney, a technology and communications department head at Uni Global Union, a federation of trade unions based in Nyon, Switzerland. "It puts Amazon out in left field." This would hardly be the first time that Amazon has been accused of mistreating its warehouse workers, even in the US. For its part, Amazon is working around things like the definition of a “retail” worker and a slow adoption of changes to how the German warehouses send out customer orders, both of which are fairly universal concepts for Amazon markets. Some of this criticism might seem frivolous, and it might have more to do with EU citizens who are angered over the tax situation that major companies like Amazon, Google, and Apple have all had their names dragged through the mud in various European news outlets for what many feel is skirting local tax laws and driving competitors who have to pay the full tax rates out of business.
Amazon Germany Faces Opposition from Some Locals is a post from: E-Reader News |
2nd Raspberry Pi US Roadshow is go!
| Here’s Rob’s final route and itinerary for his heroic 2nd Raspberry Pi US Roadshow.  We spent weeks trying arrange the route so that it looked like a caffeine molecule– even making Rob take arbitrary day trips to add on the CH3 groups–to no avail.
Rob will present a talk entitled “Raspberry Pi – One Year On” that will cover both the origin story of the Raspberry Pi as well as outlining recent developments. The talk will present technical information about the Raspberry Pi alongside a discussion of the Foundation’s educational aims. Following the presentation, there will be an opportunity for an in-depth Q&A on both educational and technical matters. Rob would also like to invite anyone who is working on a Raspberry Pi project to come along and share their work with the rest of the group as part of a “Show & Tell” section. No project is too small and if you need a bit of encouragement Rob will be showering gifts down from the skies like Raspberry flavoured ambrosia–well, stickers and stuff. The best project at each event will be rewarded with an official Raspberry Pi t-shirt and the best project of the whole tour will win a huge and super Grand Prize. So come along to a venue near you, bring your Pi and say ‘Hi’. Rob — we salute you! P.S. Giz your Airmiles. |
Jeff Bezos Purchases the Washington Post
| Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has entered into an agreement to purchase the Washington Post. He is putting down close to $250 million dollars for the acquisition, and its a personal investment. Amazon has nothing to do with the sale right now, and Jeff seems to be enamored with news. Recently he made a $5 million investment in Business Insider earlier this year, and Amazon last week published a long-form Q&A with President Barack Obama on its Kindle Singles platform. According to a recent article on the Washington Post they mentioned “The deal represents a sudden and stunning turn of events for The Post, Washington's leading newspaper for decades and a powerful force in shaping the nation's politics and policy. Few people were aware that a sale was in the works for the paper, whose reporters have broken such stories as the Watergate scandals and, in May, disclosures about the National Security Administration's surveillance program. ” This is a good time for new ownership as the family run business has suffered a 44% decline in operating revenue over the past six years. Although the paper is one of the most popular news sources online, print circulation has dwindled, too, falling an additional 7%. Jeff mentioned in an email to staff that things are going to dramatically change, but what those changes might be, is anyone’s guess. Jeff Bezos Purchases the Washington Post is a post from: E-Reader News |
Barnes and Noble Raises eBook Prices in the UK
| Barnes and Noble ran a promotion for three days in the UK that saw a number of bestsellers severely discounted. The Hot Summer Books campaign saw almost 100 eBooks come down in price to a very respectable .99p. The promotion is now over and the books are back to normal. The big draws of the promotion were Khaled Hosseini’s And The Mountains Echoed, and Dead Man’s Time by Peter James. These books have normalized, although Amazon is still offering the deals for a limited time. Booksellers had called the discounting “madness”, with Peter Donaldson of Red Lion Books in Colchester describing the promotion as “very short-sighted . . . It’s valuing a short-term gain over long-term stability”. Barnes and Noble Raises eBook Prices in the UK is a post from: E-Reader News |
Apple Tablet Demand Decreases in Q2 2013
| When Apple announces new products and release dates, the entire tablet industry benefits. We have not seen any new devices being issued yet this year from the company that tends to dominate tablet sales. This has decreased demand for the iPad, while Samsung enjoys accelerated demand. Research firm IDC today announced its preliminary estimates of worldwide tablet shipments for the second quarter of 2013, finding that Apple’s share of the market has fallen 1/3. According to IDC’s numbers, Apple held a 32.4% share of the market for quarter, compared to 39.6% in the previous quarter and a 60.3% share in the year-ago quarter. IDC mentioned “In years past, Apple has launched a new tablet heading into the second quarter, which resulted in strong quarter-over-quarter growth. Now, Apple is expected to launch new tablet products in the second half of the year, a move that better positions it to compete during the holiday season. Meanwhile, the other two vendors in the top 3 also saw a decline in their unit shipments during the quarter. Second-place Samsung shipped 8.1 million units, down from 8.6 million in the first quarter of 2013, although up significantly from the 2.1 million units shipped in 2Q12. And third-place ASUS shipped a total of 2.0 million units in 2Q13, down from 2.6 million in 1Q13.” This new report mainly focuses on tablets that have shipped, and not necessary have been sold. It is very hard to track this sort of data, as major corporations tend not to divulge exact figures. It ends up falling to the retail sector on how many they have purchased. Apple Tablet Demand Decreases in Q2 2013 is a post from: E-Reader News |
OverDrive rolls out the next generation school digital library websites
| At the end of July, OverDrive started updating the user experience for all schools. When teachers, students and parents visit their school's OverDrive-powered digital library website they will find a fully updated user interface, created after extensive market research and customer feedback to provide a more informative, user-friendly experience. This post will highlight many of these new features and we will explore more detail in future posts.
Once a title is selected, students can use the one-click checkout feature to begin enjoying their titles immediately. Users will be able to adjust their lending periods and account settings quickly to align with their preferences. The updated digital library websites also use a responsive design, providing the same user experience regardless of what computer, tablet or device is being used.
Students will have the ability to select from three different visual themes. The improved look will provide a cleaner navigational view customized to the user's taste, as well as more detailed title and bibliography information. Students can share what they're reading via social networking tools and easily add titles to their wish lists to read at a later date. Newly designed help pages, created specifically for students, have been added as well. You can view a live version of the updated digital library here.
OverDrive's new digital library for schools is full of next generation features and tools to enhance the user experience. Be sure to look out for our next posts coming soon on the following topics:
Adam Sockel is a Marketing Communications Specialist with OverDrive
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New features include enhanced metadata, search tools and filters to make finding a title easier. Robust search features have been added as well as improved title detail pages and menus, streamlining the process of discovering what to read next. Users will be able to search for titles based on standardized reading level information such as Guests blog #3: This kind of sums it up for me….
| I’ve spent much of today reading through the delightfully turgid folder of guest blog submissions and I was having a really tough time picking the next entry. Should it be technical? Educational? Just plain daft? Did it have enough documentation? Were the pictures good enough? Was it time for a glass of refreshing barley water? And then I found this short piece from Jonathan Morris. In two hundred words and a couple of pictures, Jonathan sums up what we do at the Raspberry Pi Foundation far better than I ever could. Thanks Jonathan, we love what you are doing! Hello, My name is Jonathan Morris. I am 10 years old and you guessed it…American! For my birthday this year I received a Raspberry Pi. I was overjoyed! I wanted to put my Pi to use so I waited and waited for a good opportunity. My Fourth Grade class had been studying the Industrial Era and our final Project was the Invention Convention. The Invention Convention is where you become the inventor (Instead of studying one). (By the way the project’s name is Deliver-E.) So I bought a small wooden box and a doorbell. Using a Python script and a PiFace Digital, I programmed the mailbox and doorbell to send you emails when either rung or opened. For instance if rang the doorbell, you would receive an email saying “Someone rang your doorbell at (Date/Time).” Same with the mailbox. When I checked the inbox of the project’s Gmail, I had over 115 emails! As of now I am integrating a USB Webcam into the project so when you ring the doorbell it takes a picture and attaches it to the email so you can see who exactly was at your door. |
Sunday, August 4, 2013
How Blackberry has Alienated their Email Users
| Blackberry is betting on their BB10 operating system to bring their sagging line of phones into a state of relevance. In trying to appeal to a wider demographic and bring on more carriers to market their devices, their loyal customer base is feeling alienated. The big problem with Blackberry 10 is the way it handles incoming and outgoing email messages. All prior versions of Blackberry phones sent data through the companies own data servers. If you sent out an email, instead of being sent through your carriers own servers, it went to Blackberries. This gave you lightning past pushed email, something nobody else was able to match. Since Blackberries own email servers are super secure, it was the device of choice in the business and government sectors. It provided a high level of encryption, and obviously this is important to people because of the entire NSA PRISM scandal. BB10 devices are anything but secure. Blackberry 10 handles all data and email by sending it directly to your phone carrier. Instead of the trusted and quickest method of internally handling all data, you deal with your phone company. Since data is no longer being compressed and delivered, data roaming charges go up. We have heard from many travelers that their data roaming fees have increased over 600% compared to BB7. Slowness is now a huge issue, as time sensitive correspondence is depending on where you live and how your carrier handles data requests. This is the main reason why there is no longer Blackberry data packages are no longer being offered. Email basically on a Blackberry 10 device is handled the exact same way as every single other smartphone. Blackberry still provides secure email, delivered very quickly on BB10. The drawback is that you have to spend thousands of dollars on licensing it for your corporate network. It requires very unique equipment and the installation on very specific software. It is certainly not applicable for your average small and medium business owner. I feel that Blackberry has lost their way. In trying to appeal to a wider audience, old school users do not have the same experience they once did. I have had every single Blackberry phone since the original Pearl, and have been really loyal to the brand. After owning a Blackberry 10 phone and being severely let down by the way email is being handled, I bought an iPhone. Many other users have also vocally claimed that they too have switched brands after upgrading to a BB10 device. Now, i use my Torch 2 for email and my iPhone for everything else. I think Blackberry realizes that many users are still using older legacy devices, because of the solid refinement of BB7. This is prompting them to release new hardware by the end of the year, with good hardware specs and the older operating system. It should deal with Blackberries own email servers and might appeal to people who rely on email more than other users. How Blackberry has Alienated their Email Users is a post from: E-Reader News |
eBook Review: Jet Lag by Ann Birstein
| Verdict: 5-Stars Now and Then Reader, the long-form journalism and essay publisher, has a new release coming tomorrow from multi-published author and travel writer Ann Birstein. Everything about Birstein’s piece, “Jet Lag,” makes it tailor-made for this type of publication. It is a memoir and therefore obviously non-fiction, but more importantly, its subject matter is so heart-stoppingly real that having it go on any longer than the e-short format that Now and Then specializes in would have been too much. Birstein chronicled a trip she took as part of a motley tour group to see some of the most profound and horrific sites in Europe. The purpose of the tour was to take the travelers through areas that not many tourists choose to see, such as the Auschwitz concentration camp and the hollowness of the empty Jewish ghetto of Warsaw. Even more profound for this particular work is Birstein’s details of her fellow travel companions, including one of whom who was a survivor of Auschwitz herself. Good e-Reader had the chance to interview Birstein about both the travel and the experiencing of publishing digitally through a long-form journalism platform. “It’s something very, very dear to my heart,” explained Birstein. “It has the shape of a travel piece, and I’ve done many of them, and it turned out to be less about the atrocities–which were so terrible–and more about the people who were killed. I had a feeling of such amazement for them. Between the shtetl and the Holocaust is a blank. We don’t know anything about these people. It was rather extraordinary.” Titles like Birstein’s are more readily finding a home in front of readers, thanks to digital publishing and to the growth of interest in long-form journalism. Much like the recent Kindle Singles interview with President Obama, conducted by editor-in-chief David Blum and completing at only fifteen pages, Birstein’s e-short is perfect for key readers looking for complete works of non-fiction that don’t require longer length publication. “This was a very difficult piece to place because it’s ninety-four pages long, which means that it is too long for magazines and too short for a regular book. I was just delighted when [Now and Then Reader] wanted to publish it because the 21st century had caught up with it.” “Jet Lag” will be available on August 5th.
eBook Review: Jet Lag by Ann Birstein is a post from: E-Reader News |
Kindle Sales: $40 off Kindle Fire HD, $60 off Kindle DX, 85% off Kindle eBooks
| It’s getting close to that time of year when Amazon announces the release of new Kindles. That means it’s time for Amazon to start offering sales on some of the current generation Kindles to make room for the new models. If you don’t care to wait for the new Kindle Fire tablets, Amazon is running […] |
Saturday, August 3, 2013
A Step Backward for UK eBook Lending
 Photo courtesy of stuff.co.nz New concerns are growing among UK publishers over the fair compensation for their authors when it comes to library lending, specifically of ebooks. Unlike in the US where an author is only paid when a library purchases a particular title for lending from its catalog, under the UK law Public Lending Right, authors are compensated at each patron checkout, as well. But that might be changing where ebooks are concerned, and it has publishers watching the state of lending very carefully. At present, ebooks do not fall under the PLR protections, but with more and more consumers reading digital editions on a variety of devices–and borrowing ebooks from their local libraries at ever-increasing rates–publishers have teamed up to work on new government protections for ebooks, at least for those borrowed “on site.” Unfortunately, a report that was released earlier this year showed that one way publishers are looking into protecting authors is to ban off-site or remote ebook lending, thereby requiring patrons to come into their local libraries in order to borrow ebooks, essentially destroying one of the key advantages to e-reading, namely, the portability and anywhere access to ebooks. For its part, the government body overseeing the issue has agreed that authors need to be fairly compensated through ebook lending, but also that every possible step must be taken to ensure that ebook lending by both remote and on-site patrons remains a free service to society. In less than pleasant news, though, was the announcement that this coverage of ebooks under PLR should roll out in July of 2014. While interested parties such as the Society of Authors feel like the government is taking steps in the right direction, they are somewhat chagrined by the lengthy wait time before this is implemented.
A Step Backward for UK eBook Lending is a post from: E-Reader News |
Marvel and ComiXology give free Drax The Destroyer Infinite Comic this weekend
| Marvel is trying to build attention to their upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy feature film and are giving away a free Infinite Comic this weekend only. The title will be available via Comixology and is entitled Guardians of the Galaxy: Drax the Destroyer. Marvel released an official statement heralding the comic by saying “When he's not busy destroying, Drax likes to sit back and relax like everyone else. But what happens when he takes a little rest and relaxation in a star system that wants his head on a mount? Drax's breather might draw his final breath! Brought to stunning life using the innovative Infinite Comics story-telling, the free Guardians of the Galaxy: Drax the Destroyer Infinite Comic brings a new universe of excitement of reading comics never thought possible!” If you have never heard of an Infinite Comic before, don’t sweat it. Marvel has only released a handful of them and mainly give same panel animations. You basically take fewer page turns and more events tend to occur, like conversations. Marvel and ComiXology give free Drax The Destroyer Infinite Comic this weekend is a post from: E-Reader News |
Largest US Library Built in an Abandoned Walmart
| A sad trend is taking place with US chain retailers. As stores close, either due to poor economic conditions or due to the prosperity that drives a newly minted, larger store in a more “upscale” part of town, the landscape has become dotted with obtrusively large empty warehouse-style eyesores. But one Texas town, with the help of some financial backers and a prestigious interior design prize, has changed one empty store into a thing of beauty. According to website WebUrbanist.com, the town of McAllen, Texas, currently boasts a 123,000-square-foot sprawling public library in what was once a Walmart, making it the largest one-level library in the United States. Created with the help of Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle, this former industrial dump now boasts more computer labs than most public schools, as well as an art gallery, a restaurant, a bookstore, and more. The circular fountain out front? Just another great feature on this library campus. The library’s site features information on the history of growth that took it from a one-room location in 1932 to the sprawling campus that it is today. “McAllen Public Library opened for business on November 12, 1932, in a room at the McAllen Chamber of Commerce. The fledgling library grew rapidly, relocating to the First Baptist Church and then to the Archer Park Bandstand to meet space demands. It remained in the basement of the Bandstand for nearly 15 years, until May 28, 1950, the day the Old Main Library (on Main and Fir Streets) opened to the public.” Click HERE to view a video of the transformation that took an abandoned property–one that was a huge drain on the environment and on town morale–and built in its place what might be the most amazing public library in America.
Largest US Library Built in an Abandoned Walmart is a post from: E-Reader News |
Apple Ruling Too Punitive?
| While consumers and industry watchers alike have spent a fair amount of time waiting eagerly to see how the ruling handed down against Apple for anti-trust violations would actually impact the publishing industry, the tech company has made a statement of its own asserting that the decision by Judge Denise Cote in the case brought against them by the Department of Justice is overly punitive and harsh. In fact, words like “draconian” have actually been tossed around. According to a brief filed on behalf of Apple, “Plaintiffs’ proposed injunction is a draconian and punitive intrusion into Apple’s business, wildly out of proportion to any adjudicated wrongdoing or potential harm. Plaintiffs propose a sweeping and unprecedented injunction as a tool to empower the Government to regulate Apple’s businesses and potentially affect Apple’s business relationships with thousands of partners across several markets. Plaintiffs’ overreaching proposal would establish a vague new compliance regime-applicable only to Apple-with intrusive oversight lasting for ten years, going far beyond the legal issues in this case, injuring competition and consumers, and violating basic principles of fairness and due process. The resulting cost of this relief–not only in dollars but also lost opportunities for American businesses and consumers–would be vast.” The brief actually went on to discuss a lesser-known point of the terms brought about by the DoJ, one which involves the ability of third party companies like Amazon or Barnes and Noble to sell ebooks through their iPad apps. And while the full amount of damages levied against Apple remains to be finalized as it pertains to anti-trust law, Apple maintains that its behavior in no way violated any of those laws. The full brief from Apple can be found HERE.
Apple Ruling Too Punitive? is a post from: E-Reader News |
CourseSmart Analytics Completes Beta Test, Now Available for General Use
| Beta tests and pilot programs are invaluable sources of feedback and information for technology companies, especially those that are marketing products to a potentially vast audience of consumers. And when conducting a beta period, timing is important so as to maximize on the users’ responses in order to roll out the finished product in a timely way. CourseSmart, one of the world’s leading providers of digital textbook content, recently concluded a pilot program with over 3,700 students at a number of institutions over the spring semester. The resulting feedback has led to enhanced features of the newly widespread availability of CourseSmart Analytics. "We are pleased with the tremendous success of the beta program for CourseSmart Analytics, and we have incorporated student, faculty, and administrator feedback into an enhanced product that will help students be more successful nationwide," said Sean Devine, CEO of CourseSmart, in a press release. "The positive response we have received in North America and internationally is proof of the market demand that exists for technology which improves teaching, learning and institutional accountability. We are confident that CourseSmart Analytics will help students stay on track and be more productive in their studies, which will in turn, increase our country's global education competitiveness." One of the interesting things about CourseSmart’s enhancements following user feedback is that the upgrades and suggestions were made available for the following summer semester, meaning the company had a strategy in place to put the feedback into action immediately. But the real news of the feedback was the assurance from as many as 70% of the students surveyed who felt that using the Analytics platform would improve their learning outcomes, while 100% of the administrators polled stated that the features of the Analytics program would be a deciding factor in their digital textbook adoption. CourseSmart Analytics recently received the 2013 Best New Product Award from the IMS Global Learning Consortium. For more information on both the platform and the company’s digital textbook offerings, visit CourseSmart.com.
CourseSmart Analytics Completes Beta Test, Now Available for General Use is a post from: E-Reader News |
From Think Tank to Black Jack: Digital Comics Bargains for the Weekend
| Over on comiXology, one of my favorite Image series is on sale: Think Tank, the story of rogue scientist who went to work for the military at an early age, developing sophisticated weapons, then balked when he realized the effects they had on real people. It’s sort of like McGyver, if McGyver went to Caltech, smart and clever at the same time. Here’s an interview with the creator if you want to know more. The first volume is only $3.99 on comiXology, so snap it up! ComiXology’s other sale is on the Flashpoint comics, including Flashpoint, Booster Gold, Legion of Doom, and more; all single issues are priced at 99 cents. And if you want to check out Infinite Comics, which use storytelling techniques that are unique to digital, here’s your chance: The Guardians of the Galaxy Infinite Comic #1 is free on comiXology and in the Marvel app. I reviewed it here a while ago. All these sales run through Sunday evening, so don’t waste any time! Take a walk on the dark side with Dark Horse Digital, which has marked down all their comics by horror writer Steve Niles, including Breath of Bones, Criminal Macabre, and Last Train to Deadsville. The comics regularly go for $2.99 or $3.99, but everything is 99 cents this weekend. And finally, while the rest of you may not be aware of it, Thursday was yaoi day—it’s a pun on the Japanese for 8-01. Digital Manga celebrated with a yaoi sale, knocking 15% off four titles on its eManga digital comics site. If yaoi isn’t your cup of tea, here’s another unbeatable manga deal: The first three volumes of Shuho Sato’s medical manga Give My Regards to Black Jack are free, and subsequent volumes are a dollar. EManga offers digital manga in a variety of formats, including Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and a simple PDF. From Think Tank to Black Jack: Digital Comics Bargains for the Weekend is a post from: E-Reader News |
