Kindle Gives Birth to the Textbook
Amazon, the current leader in the e-book reader market with the Kindle, is looking beyond bestsellers to textbooks. With the release of the Kindle DX, Amazon has entered the textbook market. According to the Wall Street Journal starting in the fall, students at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland will be given large-screen Kindles with textbooks for chemistry, computer science and a freshman seminar already installed. The university plans to compare the experiences of students who get the Kindles and those who use traditional textbooks, said Lev Gonick, the school’s chief information officer. Five other universities are piloting Kindles as well. Kindles will now be in use at Pace, Princeton, Reed, Darden School at the University of Virginia, and Arizona State. In addition, Amazon has negotiated deals with at least three major textbook publishers to make their materials available for the device. The latest version of the Kindle includes a web browser for basic searching, the ability to listen to MP3 files allowing for music and podcasts, and text to speech.
What does this mean for education? Less back strain for America’s children who currently lug around upwards of 30 pounds of books in backpacks and rolling trolleys. Ease of access, the Kindle store can puts the bookstore in your pocket. An increased menu of options for getting through the textbook which might possible include but is not be limited to listening to the podcast of the lecture notes while perusing the text. Potentially decreased cost, as e-books tend to be cheaper. Most importantly it will firmly wedge technology into the curriculum. Will our schools be ready?
Amazon has negotiated deals
Amazon has negotiated deals with at least three major textbook publishers to make their materials available for the device. The latest version of the Kindle includes a web browser for basic searching, the ability to listen to MP3 files allowing for music and podcasts, and text to speech.
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Hmm, I get tired of the
Hmm, I get tired of the complaint of heavy backpacks. At least in our school the kids have lockers. But, I see the problem more in lost Kindles. I know that has been the fear with giving the students laptop to take home. In these times of shrinking budgets, that will be a BIG concern.
Reading a Kindle as opposed to reading a book? The one I've seen seemed really nice, but you still have the problems with dropping them, battery dead and the like.
Will it improve learning? I have my doubts. It's a tool and just a tool. It will probably intrigue as many as it turns off.
Leading the way
I would love to believe that this will revolutionize the state adopted text book industry. It will have to go through the fire of criticism for a while because I know people that still want to have color pages to flip through with the pinch of a finger. That being said, I think Kindle-like products are going to do for books what the iPod is doing for music. It allows reading to enter into the new WWW's Whatever, Whenever, Wherever. Duke, along with other colleges, did a study a while back similar to the one that you are talking about but with iPods. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/2006-03-14-ipod-university_x.htm?P... I will be interested in hearing the reactions to the students in Kindle pilot.
There is a charter school in our county that is considering a Kindle-like option for its students.
Will California actually go through with it?
Well, here's another thing to consider when it comes to digital textbooks. California's governor has put forth that we should begin using free open-source digital textbooks. While I love the idea, I worry that politicians throw out ideas that they are advised about and don't fully understand. Especially with the state's strong connection to the textbook publishers, I'm wondering how far this will really get.
"Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today launched an initiative to make California the first state in the nation to offer schools free, open-source digital textbooks for high school students."
http://gov.ca.gov/press-release/12225/
ready?
I hope education is ready for this. I'm sure there will be plenty of resistance as with most changes. This one will be a drastic one. My brother-in-law teaches at Case Western in the engineerin department, so I'd be interested to see if they will have access to any of it.