The End of Textbooks?

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The End of Textbooks?

4/1/2008

By Matt Villano

A new kind of eReader-Amazon's Kindle-is here. But is higher ed ready to leave tactile covers, pages, and spines behind?

The End of Textbooks? CHRISTMAS CAME EARLY this past year for technophiles. It came in the form of the Kindle-a portable eReader that wirelessly downloads books, blogs, magazines, and newspapers to a crisp, high-resolution display. Demand for the tool was so intense that even as of this writing, its exclusive vendor, Amazon, has a waiting list of many months. According to reviewers, the $399 tool warrants the hype. Not surprisingly, the device's advent has caused campus technologists and techno-savvy academics alike (not to mention textbook publishing execs) to wonder: Is this the eReader that could change higher education forever?

Mark Greenfield thinks so. Greenfield is director of web services at the University at Buffalo (NY), and also serves as a consultant specializing in the use of emerging technologies in higher education. Within only hours of the Kindle's release, Greenfield wrote about the potential impact of the device in his blog at www.markgr.com. To summarize the post: Though textbooks raked in $6.5 billion during the 2005-2006 academic year (according to the National Association of College Stores), textbook publishers should watch their backs.

"Continuing advancements with eReader technology could have a serious impact on traditional college textbook publishing," Greenfield predicts.

What's the Allure?

For Greenfield, Kindle's appeal is all about the interface. He hails the device for its content-download mechanism (which operates over the Sprint EV-DO high-speed network) and says the technology will be even better once 3G wireless is available throughout the US.

Dubbed Whispernet, this Sprint WiFi access currently is free. Amazon pays for the connectivity for Kindle so there are no monthly wireless bills, data plans, or service commitments for customers, beyond the ones they already have with their cellular providers.

Another Kindle highlight, according to Greenfield, is the suite of interactive features, including the ability to add notes, highlight text, and search, which makes the device ideal for college students. He says these simple benefits incorporate the best of tablet PC, PDA, and whiteboard technologies, bringing them together in a medium that's both convenient and easy to use.

"Compared to digital devices, the printed book has many limitations in presenting information- particularly in that it is limited to words and pictures," he says. "For some academic disciplines this is fine, but for others the ability to use rich media-audio, video, animations, and 3D simulations-provides an improved learning experience."