Beyond tablets for education: meet digital paper

A Canadian university has unveiled the unlikely offspring of what you would get if you crossed a Kindle with a paper notepad. This new tech marvel is an education tool that preserves the tactile qualities of paper and the benefits of a tablet.

Originally dubbed "PaperTab," this 10.7-inch, paper-thin tablet-like device lets users take control through traditional touch gestures or by moving or bending its flexible display.

The flexible touchscreen may provide a few, unique benefits to the classroom, but their tethered existence will hinder any competitiveness with a current tablet. Still, the "plastic transistor technology" may be an interesting and useful technology both in the education sector and outside. The social proximity capabilities of the tool could serve greater ends than instant, interactive quizzes and teaching tools. The fact that these PaperTabs track their location relative to each other could power a new era of collaborative learning and maybe even testing the effectiveness of learning materials within the classroom.