Dr. William Rankin

The Biblioteca Armando Olivares at Mexico's Universidad de Guanajuato holds a unique collection of more than 60,000 volumes, many of them from the dawn of printing in the 16th century. Early printed books such as these unleashed a revolution in human creativity and thought that shaped the modern world. At the dawn of the 21st century, a new digital revolution is now underway that promises to be just as significant to human culture — and that has the potential to breathe new life into the precious intellectual resources of the past. ADE William Rankin introduces us to some of the challenges and solutions facing higher education in this short video set in that amazing library.

How will education adapt to a world where using powerful, always-connected, mobile devices like iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad is becoming increasingly instinctive for both students and faculty? In this short exploration, Abilene Christian University's Dr. William Rankin presents not only a rationale for embracing these devices as educational tools, but also a description of how they're reshaping teaching and learning at ACU.

It's easy to see books as an essential tool for education, and easy to be concerned as new technologies challenge our understanding of the role they play in teaching and learning. In this brief presentation, delivered prior to Apple's recent announcement of iBooks 2 and iBooks Author, Abilene Christian University's Dr. William Rankin presents a brief history of books, working to explore some of the challenges, opportunities, and possible future directions presented by a new generation of digital texts.