Eric Cherin Homework 2: Initial Idea D61/28/14

Technical Description

Traditional textbooks aren’t very interactive because they provide static diagrams, textual information, and exercises.We can create an electronic textbookto link video, interactive diagrams, and services in order to make learning easier and more efficient. This will allow students to learn at their own pace. Electronics textbooks along with user information will be linked to smartphones, computers, and tablets through the cloud.

Potential Impact

The teaching industry will be impacted by the electronic textbook. This service will compete with standard textbooks and other online learning video programs. Learning can be accelerated and more efficient so students will have a better experience and more time. The students will have quicker access to information and be more motivated to understand course material.

Product Sales

There will be no physical product so we won’t need to worry about the quantity produced. This will be a subscription based service targeted to students distributed through a cloud to smartphones, computers, and tablets. Potential customers are people that need to learn something: fromfirst graders to collegestudents and even job training.

Stake Holder Requirements

The main stake holders are students, asset creators, and institutions. Students will use this electronic textbook to complete a course. Students require that this system is a more efficient way to learn, will have acceptance among institutions, and keep information secure. Asset creators will create text, videos, pictures, and interactive exercises. Asset creators require that this system will be simple to add new content and credit them for useful submissions. Institutions either wish to employ students or advance students education. Institutions require that students are competent and display mastery in the course.

Practical?

There would be no cost in terms of physical parts. This is only downloadable application. The only cost would be to host a cloud, buy programs needed to create assets, or design a functioning gui. This can be constrained to a year because we can drop out useful features such as security, cloud accessibility, and desktop platform/mobile device support.

Skills needed to complete project

We would need an asset creator to create material for students to learn from. We need someone to design aGUIthat would work on various platforms. Have the interface to upload and incorporate files. Other technical skills that are necessary would be quality assurance, cloud, andsecurity.

Swot

Strength- makes learning more efficient, easily accessible over a range of devices, a flexible learning environment. It gives students the ability to learn if they don’t have a professor that teaches the subject.

Weaknesses- It may be difficult to make assets for. Students may prefer traditional classroom settings. Institutions may not credit from the electronic course.

Opportunity-This can be distributed to people that have access to the internet and would like to learn something.

Threat–Competing companies such as textbook publishing companies may make their own electronic textbook.