Wired News delivered to your inbox or hand-held device. Gadgets and Gizmos Sponsored by Ericsson phones and accessories . Tinker around with Gadgets and Gizmos In universities, high schools, and elementary schools these e-books already are in high demand. But despite their obvious advantages, there are few digital textbooks available. Most textbooks are often out of date by the time they hit the shelves, but electronic publishing material is inexpensive to produce and can be upgraded almost immediately.
Kids are beside themselves with excitement over it.
SoftBook has launched pilot projects in Texas and Austria to test e-book acceptance in classrooms. Unlike the rest of the United States, where local communities set curriculums, Texas' statewide curriculum provides a natural test-bed for new electronic publishing tools. Teachers can customize lesson plans using portions of different electronic textbooks to create hybrid curriculums. Versaware , an electronic-book publisher, has signed deals with three of the top academic textbook publishers to digitize, convert, and distribute electronic textbooks. Versaware also features electronic libraries where students can download, store, and print their e-books.