Students may soon be able to bid goodbye to heavy textbooks and strenuous backpacks. The trend towards adopting digital means for imparting education has been getting a lot of attention lately. The Kno digital textbook promises to provide students with full browser support and the ability avail of videos or links to other web content without exiting the textbook environment.
The textbook is fitted with two touchscreen display panels that enable users to refer to course materials, feed notes, access the web and educational applications. Each panel functions independently and students can use one panel to view or read a book and the other to open browsers or the digital notebook. The device has been crafted using open web technologies that allow publishers and developers to deliver information electronically to students.
Osman Rashid, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Kno, elaborated, “Today’s college students have grown up in a digital world and are comfortable consuming digital media and content via the web and portable devices. By bringing that experience to their education, Kno will transform the way they learn. With the help of publishers and developers, we know we can create a thriving ecosystem to benefit students and the entire education system.â€
Kno exhibits complex charts and graphs in the same way as physical textbook allowing students to take notes and highlight important points directly on the screen. It supports HTML5, PDF, ePub content and Flash. The digital textbook makers have collaborated with renowned education publishers to make requisite textbooks available to students. The company plans to launch a beta program in fall 2010 along with publishers like Cengage Learning, McGraw Hill Education, Pearson and Wiley for students across universities in the U.S.
“Our education-focused product is inspiring developers to create a whole set of innovative applications that leverage students course content, touch technology, video and Kno’s hand-writing interface,†emphasized Babur Habib, Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder, Kno. “Every subject – science, math, literature, history – will be enriched by new learning tools that will add excitement and discovery for students.â€
Kno.com will allow developers and publishers to host and sell their applications as well as students to download textbooks and syllabus related materials. Kno will announce the pricing and distribution details of the product over the next few months.
