E-books, Technology, and the Future of Education

Forbes has an article here suggesting that technology now has the capability to radically reform education.

There is no question that technology has a huge role to play in the future of education.  But, due to my 37 years in a high school English classroom, I have a caveat:

Advanced reading skills are not acquired through typical Internet reading, or online courses.  The only sophisticated readers I had were the avid readers, and I think it's because processing the information in hundreds—thousands, really—of novels, teaches unique reading skills.  Avid readers learn to keep long, complicated, intertwined plots straight.  They understand thousands of characters.  They become sensitive to tone and imagery.  Perhaps most importantly, they learn to process information without the need of a visual image.  And they can read very quickly.

So my gentle suggestion is that students all be given e-readers and a budget for an on-line bookstore.  If they can develop a love and habit of reading, then—along with all of the possibilities of technology—they will be truly educated