With all the technology aimed at children these days it's pretty hard to get them back to the basics of childhood. They have their X-Boxes, their Playstations, their all singing, all dancing mobile phones that do everything apart from wash the dishes (because kids don't know what that means) and ask them to read a book they will look at you like you have two heads.
Of course, reading is an essential part of education that you simply cannot get by without and reading your brief on an X-Box campaign just doesn't seem to be enough. The trouble is that using these electronic games might well be challenging to the problem solving part of the game but never stretch the imagination.
The imagination is not only something that can make life more interesting but can be useful as you go through life to push you into new discoveries and learning. If we don't nurture this when we are young then it's hard to use it when we are older.
Reading books creates images in the brain that can be carried throughout life. It activates a totally different part of the grey matter than any other exercise would. But when children are so into their electrical gadgets, how do you encourage them to take an interest in books? How do you convince them of the wealth of knowledge to be gained from reading books on every subject under the sun?
Well, in order to get round this, manufacturers are bringing out 'e-readers'. These look similar to a small, hand held computer and look just like any other electronic gadget that the kids love. They are back lit in a slightly different way to computers in that there is no glare and the page resembles real paper.
There is also the advantage that the font size can be changed to suit. They can download a whole plethora of titles in many genre's and Waterstones book store are now working on getting all their titles onto e-books.
E-readers are, of course, not just for the young. Adults will find them very useful in that you can store a massive range of books on something that fits neatly in your pocket. Imagine the ease at which you could carry your favourite book around with you - pop it out while waiting in a doctors waiting room, on a train journey - in fact, anywhere.
Sometimes it can be difficult to source a particular book you are looking for and often the popular ones will be out of stock but being able to download one from the internet means that you will no longer have to wait for it.
As e-readers become ever more popular, it is possible that libraries will see less and less visitors. Speaking personally, I will be buying an e-reader for the convenience but I know it will never replace the other aspects that make me enjoy reading a book. The smell and feel of a book and the feel of physically turning a page in anticipation all add to the pleasure of reading a book but what's more important is the knowledge contained within and the use of one's imagination. Both these aspects accompany an e-reader so I guess we will get used to them.
I guess this is one of those new-fangled things that quickly becomes part of everyday life.
Shaun Parker is a leading educational expert with many years of experience in the technological industry. Find out more about e-readers at http://www.pixelar.co.uk
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shaun_Parker
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