Digital Memory Keys Lighten Students' Bookbags

Sept. 23, 2005 &#151 -- In this week's "Cybershake," we take a look at a small keychain device that could ease students' burden -- literally. Plus, what really drove the creation of the modern personal computer?

Millions of students have returned to their regular school-time routine -- getting up early, attending classes, studying hard, socializing with friends. But for some kids, there's a welcome change this fall: the promise of a much lighter school bag.

Eastside Preparatory School in Kirkland, Wash., is one of four schools in the nation that is replacing the physical books students usually need for their classes with virtual ones. And it is doing so with the help of a device that is familiar to many computer-savvy road warriors: a USB flash drive.

Made by SanDisk in Sunnyvale, Calif., the "Cruzer Freedom" drive is about the size of several thick pieces of gum and easily fits on a keyring or backpack zipper. It comes with 256 megabytes of solid-state memory that can store digital music files, computer text and pictures.

But unlike other USB memory devices, the Cruzer Freedom features a proprietary technology called Flash Content Processor. When the device is plugged into a computer's USB port, it can access a special Web site specifically designed for students.

On the site, kids can download digital textbooks, Web pages and notes created by their teachers specifically for their class. Other reference works and coursework tools -- such as a software program that allows the PC to act as a handheld graphing calculator -- can also be accessed and added onto the student's flash drive from the site.

The device is a welcomed tool among students already well-versed in digital technology.

"I haven't seen any calculators that can do all of the stuff that this thing can," says ninth-grader Luke Eden, who lugs around a graphing calculator, a dictionary and a book for English class on his flash drive. "Just plug it in, load it up and you can use it."