Today's announcement of the Kindle DX marks the beginning of the end of the print textbook. Not a moment too soon. The broken paper textbook model has pushed some schools/departments away from using textbooks at all, a real loss as textbooks done correctly can help organize and systematize the curriculum, allowing flexibility for creative and active learning assignments.
I predict that Colleges and Universities will begin to subsidize these devices for their students do to their potential save on printing costs.
Think of the typical printing subsidy instead going for a Kindle. The native PDF capabilities of the Kindle are very exciting, finally allowing (if this is implemented correctly) us to avoid printing out all these articles, reports and chapters.
It is encouraging to read the list of IHE's that will be beta testing the Kindle DX, measuring student success vs. traditional textbooks using a case / control methodology. Amazon is pursuing deals with texbook publishers to offer Kindle editions, a development over time that should lower costs to students and be in the interest of publishers at this will bypass the used textbook market.
I wonder if anyone is thinking of a Blackboard Kindle Application? One that would synch up content, blog posts, discussions, Wikis, even assessments - and then synch back to the Web version. Unsure if the technology models are at all compatible....but it is interesting to think about Kindleizing a course.
You beat me to the punch, though I expected that you would.
I'm pleased with the size and the PDF support, though Amazon is still locking that feature up behind a pay-for-prep model that requires you to send the file to the Kindle via an e-mail address attached to the device...for a fee!
Its success will also depend on publishers' willingness to reduce the cost of textbooks. Maybe they will since, with the Kindle model, there are no aftermarket re-sales to take away original purchases. The other possibility is for more authors to become self-publishers, getting their books on the Kindle the way Indie artists get their music on iTunes and Amazon.
Like the Kindle 2, I still feel that the DX is overpriced for a consumer device that is essentially a one-trick pony--an e-book reader. Yes, I know the cell service is included and it has basic browser capabilities, but it still has one primary function, and for that I think it is overpriced.
Also, will Amazon make deals with publishers in other countries to allow foreign language materials to be purchased and downloaded to the Kindle? If I travel, I can pick up a book in any country, and in any language, with no technology limitations. Will that be possible with the Kindle?
Nevertheless, I am considering getting one for the department when they come out.
Posted by: Anthony Helm | May 06, 2009 at 04:34 PM