History class goes paperless by piloting new Kindle DX
When students sat down for their first day of Dr. Vincent Arnold’s history class in September, instead of being handed a syllabus, all twenty-eight students were given a brand new Kindle DX. No textbooks required. History 131 “European History in Perspective to 1500” was the class selected to pilot a two-year program to compare using kindles to ordinary textbooks.
The Kindle DX was created by Amazon to serve as a portable library. The Kindle DX almost resembles a large ipod, but it can hold much more than music. The Kindle can hold up to 3,500 books, can go days without needing to be recharged, reads like real paper;, and includes a read-to-me feature in which a voice reads aloud the book. Its thin and lightweight shape makes it as thin as most magazines.
The pilot program took flight after Arnold heard about the new Kindle DX which came out in May. After studying the benefits of a Kindle in comparison to cumbersome textbooks, Arnold hoped to test-drive a Kindle to compare it to textbooks.
With the outrageous costs of textbooks, Arnold was convinced there had to be a better way.
“Kindle books are half the cost of regular textbooks,” Arnold said. “They are cost neutral after two years.”
Still, at a cost of nearly $500 apiece, the Kindle does carry a steep price tag. Arnold brought the idea of using a Kindle for class to the attention of Bruce Vieweg, Concordia’s Chief Information Officer. Vieweg immediately liked the idea of using new technology to benefit student learning, and took the idea one step further by suggesting that every student in the class be given a new Kindle DX.
Arnold then contacted his textbook’s publisher, Houghton Mifflin, to make certain the textbook would be available in Kindle format. After securing an answer, Concordia purchased 28 Kindles for Arnold’s history class.
Senior Molly Turnquist was thrilled when she learned she would be using an electronic textbook for class.
“I was so excited. I had never heard of the Kindle before and felt like a little kid, to be in the one class on campus that was able to test them out,” Turnquist said. “At first, I was really confused as to what it was, but once I found out I couldn’t wait until after class when I could sit down and figure out what it could do.”
Arnold’s Kindle class is entirely paperless, with the exception of the exams being done the old-fashioned way. Arnold particularly appreciates the environmental aspect to using a Kindle in place of textbooks.
Freshman Adam Mousel also values the environmental friendly characteristic of a Kindle.
“My favorite part is that it can hold up to 3,500 books so you could make it through all four or five years of college without having to purchase huge paper-wasting textbooks,” Mousel said.
The features of Kindle, including a dictionary and the ability to zoom in on maps and photographs, also make reading a textbook on Kindle more interactive than normal books.
Mousel enjoys reading from a Kindle.
“The Kindle has been a great tool to use for class. It’s easy to read and helpful when looking up subjects or terms,” Mousel said.
Junior Aaron Baune experienced a few challenges when he first received his Kindle.
“Initially the Kindle seemed kind of cumbersome in terms of locating the page or going back to reread old material, but like with any technology, there is a learning curve,” Baune said. “Thus, after a couple weeks the Kindle became very simple to navigate through.”
Arnold feels the transition has been very smooth overall, but the class did experience a major technological glitch a couple of weeks ago.
“All of the students downloaded the wrong book,” Arnold explains.
The students downloaded the extended edition of the needed textbook, but realized in class they had all received the brief edition of the text. Dr. Arnold contacted Amazon about the problem, and though Amazon was sympathetic, it took a full week of class to get the matter straightened out. In the end, Amazon apologized for their error, refunding the students entirely.
While the Kindles are extremely portable and much easier than heavy textbooks to transport, Arnold has learned a couple potential downsides. The Kindle does not have the capacity to sort items into folders, and also does not include page numbers for textbooks. For students who like to personalize their textbooks by highlighting sections or making notes in the margins, the Kindle may not be the right fit. Students taking Arnold’s Kindle course have different opinions on using the Kindle in place of books.
Turnquist feels reading a real book might be faster than reading it on Kindle.
“At first, reading on the Kindle was more fun, but now reading is just reading,” Turnquist said. “I wouldn’t say it is much easier [than a traditional textbook] because it is hard to get from one page to another; you have to go through all the pages in between. ”
Freshman Steven Kurtz enjoys using the Kindles in class for the most part.
“Most of the time, I like it. Like anything, it has its pros and cons,” Kurtz said. “For example, there is a text-to-speech application that allows the textbook to be read to me. This is nice when I just want to listen to the book rather than read it.”
While the Kindle is extremely convenient, the question of whether it is the textbook of the future is debatable.
Arnold agrees as he looks around his office at the shelves overflowing with books, and remarks “I still love my books.”
Still, the Kindle DX is likely to continue growing in momentum.
Mousel explains that the Kindle DX is like a new toy to his friends.
“I find it interesting that even after two months, my friends still want to look at it and try one for themselves,” Mousel said.
The Kindle is here to stay at Concordia, at least for three more semesters. However, once they leave Arnold’s class, the students do not get to keep the Kindle.
