Kindle Review – Kindle 3 Review, iPad Review

We’ve covered the spread of Kindle in Libraries. Let’s look at some educators’ experiences with and thoughts on using the Kindle in Education -

Kindle in Education – Seton Hall Study

Educause has a great write-up on Seton Hall’s experience of integrating the first generation Kindle into classes (do check out the PDF of the Kindle study by Melissa McDowell and Riad S. Twal) -

* outdoor reading seemed to be a major hit with users.
* unlike many programs, training was not necessary because the Kindle is very easy to use.
* 60% said they’d want to use it again in the future. 18.5% said they would not.

Note: This is a study using the Kindle 1. Will point out changes in Kindle 2 and Kindle DX.

Top Kindle in Education Pros (identified by Students) 

1. 92% loved the portability. Much easier than carrying around books. Probably the biggest pro as it comes up numerous times.
2. Connectivity and book availability are great. 
3. Readable in sunlight.
4. Having multiple books in the Kindle.
5. Looking up words was a big hit. Note: Kindle 2 has an in-built dictionary that instantly shows definitions on the page itself as a footnote.

Interestingly 74% rated ability to read PDFs as hugely important – something the DX supports natively (although no zoom or highlighting or notes in PDFs).

Top Kindle in Education Cons (via Students)

1. It takes too long to load and turn pages. Note: kindle 2 is 25% faster – however, still an issue.  
2. Navigation is exceedingly slow. Note: Navigation is slow even in kindle 2 and kindle dx due to lack of a touchscreen. 
3. Prefer a real book in my hand.
4. No pages and can’t see how much more there is left to read.
5. Page turns accidentally. Note: Solved in Kindle 2 and Kindle DX.
6. No single file format.

Top Suggestions from Students (in addition to the cons)

1. Add Page Numbers. 
2. Better web browsing.  
3. Ability to write notes. 

Kindle in Education Articles

1. Colleen O’Connor at the San Diego News Network looks at Gov. Schwarzenegger’s push for digital textbooks through an ereader lens -
   

   Surely, the Governor can approach these competing eBook vendors and suggest California’s most willing teachers, administrators, school districts, and community colleges, as lab participants for their Education Outreach Programs. The competition, the advertising, the federal tax credits, and all important bragging rights, should bring more than one tech company to the table.

2. Read Write Web point to a Cambridge University report (jump to page 9 for findings; the cover made me think it was a Doctor Who book) that shows -
   

   * Students were far more interested in using their cell phones to find out library opening hours (80%) than in getting electronic journal articles (30%).
   *93% of respondents had never read an e-book using their phone.
   *Cellphones are primarily used for calls and texting, although use for mobile browsing is slowly growing.

   Interestingly they conclude that too few people in the academic community are using the Mobile Internet to justify libraries developing mobile websites.

3. Charles Crowell at Inside Higher Ed (have linked to this before) has an excellent article on the Kindle Factor in Education. Worth a re-read. And really looking forward to his findings during the Fall Kindle trial.

As the Kindle DX trials progress in Universities it’ll be interesting to see what the findings are and what new feature suggestions and feedback get incorporated into the Kindle DX 2.