The Movie in My Book

First there were books, then there were e-books, and audiobooks and e-readers. Even though there's lots of new technologies that make reading on the go easier, I don't think that the traditional printed book will ever completely go away. There's something comforting about holding a great book in your hands and turning the pages completely absorbed in the story, watching the scenes play out in your mind. There will always be dreamers. But for those who don't want to design the set themselves (the type that sees the movie before they read the book) there's the "digi-novel."

The first digi-novel came out in October as an iPhone app for a novel called "Level 26." It's basically an e-book, but the story is interspersed with short videos that expand on the story's plot. The videos are called "cyber-bridges" and can be skipped without readers missing out on the central story.

If this catches on it could be great for the arts and for education. First, more videos mean more actors working. Second, this could be a way to make difficult stories easier to understand. Many students find Shakespeare and other classics difficult to understand. Adding video might help to clarify the storyline. If this method is adopted for textbooks, you could have short mini video-lessons that could elaborate on the concepts presented. It also makes it feasible for all students to have access and exposure leading experts in the field with information tailored to their level of knowledge. 

While digi-books may be fun for novels and thrillers, I think it provides a lot of potential for improving education and literacy in our schools.