We've got digital textbooks. How about digital magazines?

You may have heard that Amazon just released the Kindle 2, the next generation of its electronic book reader.  Or maybe you've seen digital versions of textbooks on CD-ROM.  Perhaps you've even seen online digital textbooks like LEARN NC's North Carolina Digital History Textbook. As is the case with any new technology, each has its share of cool and "kludgy" features.

Today, I've discovered yet another conceptualization of electronic text: the digital magazine.  I happened upon this new twist on the magazine via a link to the article, The Rise of the Virtual Teacher, appearing in the February 2009 issue of District Administration: The Magazine of School District Management.

The technology behind this online magazine comes from Nxtbook Media, a company based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.   I was initially going to focus on the article itself.  Then I realized what I was seeing.  While I'm still a big fan of the traditional version of the magazine, this one really captured my attention.  Not to mention . . . it won't clutter up my coffee table.

Don't neglect reading the article The Rise of the Virtual Teacher as well as others appearing in this issue of the magazine. At the same time, do yourself a favor and devote some time to exploring this version of a digital magazine.  You may want to first review a list of features and benefits of the media.  Then, unless you're one of those who can figure out all things technology on your own, you may want to review a tutorial of reading instructions for the digital magazine.

Once you've taken a closer look at both the article and the magazine, come back to this place and share your thoughts with the community. What do you think about reading a magazine this way?  What do you think about the technology?  Are there other applications for this format beyond an online magazine? Will the folks at Nxtbook Media find a way to incorporate those pesky perforated inserts that interfere with the flow of reading a good article?