Methods for automatically retrieving electronic media content items from a server based upon a reading list and facilitating presentation of media objects of the electronic media content items in sequences not constrained by an original order thereof

1. A method for use with an electronic reading device connected via a network to one or more remote computer servers, the method comprising:

responsive to user selection, via the electronic reading device, of an educational class or course of study, downloading from the one or more remote computer servers to the electronic reading device a specified list of reading materials corresponding to the selected class or course of study;

automatically determining, by the electronic reading device, which, if any, educational electronic media content of those reading materials specified on the list of reading materials are not already present in memory of the electronic reading device and for which a license is required and has not yet been obtained;

automatically fetching from one or more of the remote servers, by the electronic reading device, selected educational electronic media content determined to be specified on the reading list but not already stored in memory on the reading device, dividing the educational electronic media content into a plurality of media objects, and

automatically obtaining, subject to user authorization of any associated charges, licenses for accessing the selected educational electronic media content; and automatically and dynamically, using the electronic reading device, resequencing the plurality of media objects which comprise the educational electronic media content for presentation on said electronic reading device, the resequencing resulting in a sequence based at least partly on an input sequencing specification and not constrained by an original sequence of the media objects,

wherein presentation on said electronic reading device comprises displaying 1) visual representations of the plurality of media objects in the sequence resulting from said resequencing, the visual representations including a first view of the plurality of media objects that facilitates interactive navigation within one or more of the media objects and a second view of the plurality of media objects that facilitates interactive navigation among the plurality of media objects, wherein those of the plurality of media objects viewable in the first view are represented in the second view, said first and second views further including visual proxies for properties the media objects, a first one of said visual proxies including a spine that includes one or more bars, each bar representing an individual section of plurality of media objects, where the length of each bar informs a user of an anticipated time to fully consume an associated media object, and 2) a break in the educational electronic media content to indicate the transitions among the plurality of media objects and a break in the spine that indicates transitions among the plurality of media objects.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein said input sequencing specification comprises a reading schedule.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the input sequencing specification comprises a syllabus.

4. The method according to claim 1 wherein said sequence resulting from said resequencing is based upon a user's interaction with the electronic reading device.

5. The method according to claim 4 wherein said user's interaction comprises compliance with a reading schedule.

6. The method according to claim 4 wherein the user's interaction with the electronic reading device comprises a user's responses to interactive assessment questions.

7. The method according to claim 6 wherein said interactive assessment questions are generated by one or more of: an author, a publisher, an instructor, a student, or other user of the electronic reading device.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of media objects is any combination of textbooks or portions thereof, text, numbers, equations, assessments, questions, articles or portions thereof, pictures, photographs, illustrations, figures, images, manipulable objects, videos, animations, sequences of images, 3-D objects, audio files, and annotations.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein interactive navigation between said first and second views is facilitated by one or more of a gesture-based interface, touchscreen, or voice-recognition technology.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the objects comprising the first one of the visual proxies are arranged in the sequence of the resequenced plurality of media objects.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the visual representation of the plurality of media objects further comprises a visual representation of what is currently being displayed within the educational electronic media content or the plurality of media objects.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the objects comprising the first one of the visual proxies comprise indicator on a spine.

13. The method according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the plurality of media objects is protected by digital rights management.