Paper is Turning Super Smart!

By Ria Mastromatteo, Educational Technology Consultant ()

Let?s pretend that you?re dutifully reading your history textbook about the Battle of Bunker Hill. You touch the picture on the page and a short video appears that tells you about the causes and gives a short reenactment.

Guess what! This isn?t pretend; it?s a new technology called Smartpaper. According to its creator?s Web site, ?Smartpaper is the first technology to transform ordinary paper into a wireless control device, bringing printed pages to life by activating the power of video, audio and the Internet with the touch of a finger.?

This new plan has textbooks housed in what looks like an oversized DVD case that contains a touch-sensitive panel. Each textbook you have will come with its own DVD that contains multimedia content such as video and audio clips.

Most textbook companies are already selling supplemental material along with their textbooks. This technology takes it one step further and actually includes it as part of the text. This concept is in the prototype stage right now, but is expected to be on the market for the 2005-06 school year. Smartpaper is looking for schools to test its products in an educational setting.

The Web sites listed are really interesting and give lots more information about this new technology. What will they think of next?

Smartpaper Networks Corp. www.smartpaper.net

TouchSmart Publishing LLC www.touchsmart.net