As the spring semester comes to a close and students look forward to putting away their textbooks, the unveiling of Amazon’s latest Kindle wireless reading device Wednesday again raised questions about replacing traditional textbooks.
Amazon first released the Kindle, a wireless reading device for e-books, in 2007. The Kindle DX, unveiled Wednesday, has a screen 2.5 times larger that of its predecessor and was specifically designed for the easy reading of textbooks or newspapers.
Amazon announced at the product’s launch that five universities — Arizona State University, Case Western Reserve University, Princeton University, the University of Virginia and Pace University — have agreed to test the Kindle DX with their students.
Kevin Hegarty, UT’s vice president and chief financial officer, said he would have liked UT to have been included in the testing. At the beginning of this semester, Hegarty, in partnership with a publishing firm, initiated a research project at UT in which roughly 1,000 students in eight classes were given free electronic textbooks.
“I was interested in finding out what the level of interest was and how effective textbooks might be, considering that students have historically not embraced them,” Hegarty said.
The success of the project, and the extent to which students and teachers embraced the electronic material, will be evaluated in the coming weeks, when student and staff surveys are compiled.
Chad Stith, director of course materials at the University Co-op, said only 0.5 percent of the potential sales of the 200 e-book titles were made during this semester.
Andrew Dillon, dean of UT’s School of Information, said the psychological attachment to paper books is an important factor in explaining this slow uptake of electronic textbooks.
“The tangibility and human compatibility of paper and books is important to us,” Dillon said.
About the Kindle DX, Dillon said, “We may have actually made enough progress for this to be a landmark device, but the caveat that humans have proven is that they are resistant to change. Fighting 700 years of human familiarity with paper is a huge challenge.”
But Michael Granof, professor of accounting and chairman of the Co-op, said the advantage of electronic readers such as the Kindle DX lies in its potential to change to keep up with the material.
“The real advantage [is] in the flexibility. When teaching math or calculus, you can show figures rotating and changing. It has the potential to change the learning experience,” Granoff said.
The Kindle DX entered the market today at $489.
Finance junior Janine Lipman said she is more likely to buy expensive textbooks than invest in a Kindle DX.
“In theory it’s a great idea, but I personally need an earmarked book to find my way through my course,” Lipman said. “There would have to be a psychological shift because right now I expect to pay a lot for my textbooks.”
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