Digital Reading

Digital learning is not pedagogic reading, but rather pedagogic reading is only part of what digital learning can offer. Digital learning can provide continuous assessment, remediation, advanced learning tools, integrated reference and multimedia.
For example, imagine a digital algebra textbook that opens with an adaptive assessment tool that determines how much prior knowledge and skills a student brings to the work. If the student is weak in certain areas, remediation can be delivered before the algebra work is started. If she is highly proficient, she could be delivered a sped up curriculum allowing her to get ahead and advance more quickly.
In this way digital learning opens up huge and fundamental challenges to the entire learning establishment from the schools through the textbook publishers. Current systems of classroom management are mightily challenged by 2 or 3 sets of student paces imagine all 50 students in a classroom progressing at their own pace. And where our methods of teaching are challenged so too is the publishing world. No textbook publisher can drop its enormous investment in legacy print programs and invest the ungodly amounts it would take to build systems and platforms to deliver true digital learning.
So the fate of pedagogic reading rests not so much on the success of devices or platforms that students will buy into, but more in the ability of the educational ecosphere to adapt the systems of teaching and textbooks to the potential that digital learning holds. This isn't to say there won't be successful endeavors taking linear textbook content and adapting them to digital there will be plenty of success for platforms and products such as the iPad and the eDGe. However, their level of success will be limited to the commercial viability of digital pedagogic reading not the true potential that digital learning holds.