[cheerio]

I have been reading a lot of different posts about the Kindle and it has been making me wonder. If textbook companies would switch their books to the Kindle it would save locker space in schools for more classrooms because kids would not need lockers, they would carry less weight in the book bags, and book stores for colleges could use the saved room from where the physical books went to sell other products. There is all kinds of marketing potential behind the Kindle.

What do you think?

Or what other ways could the Kindle help other aspects?

 

[Kathy]

It would depend on whether the school is purchasing the Kindles or if the parents were. Unfortunately, there are a lot of parents that just don't have the money for something like the Kindle. At the college level it would be wonderful since you have to purchase books already. That would be the best place to start marketing the DX, which I'm sure they are doing now.

 

[MarthaT]

It would depend on whether the school is purchasing the Kindles or if the parents were. Unfortunately, there are a lot of parents that just don't have the money for something like the Kindle. At the college level it would be wonderful since you have to purchase books already. That would be the best place to start marketing the DX, which I'm sure they are doing now.

That would be a fantastic idea, and hopefully save college kids some money on books

 

[Anju]

Not to mention physical problems, either now or in the future (talking old age here  )

 

[MamaProfCrash]

Maybe a school district could apply for an educational grant from the Gates foundation and use that money to buy Kindles for the students. I am thinking of high school kids here and not college. The text books would not be trashed and the price of the books might be low enough to make sure that each kid could have a text book. Heck, some of the English lit books would be free (Get them from Guttenberg or Feedbooks). The need for lockers would be greatly diminished, the kids backs would not be injured from carrying around a ton of text books, and the text books would actually be available to all kids.

 

[sixnsolid]

Maybe a school district could apply for an educational grant from the Gates foundation and use that money to buy Kindles for the students. I am thinking of high school kids here and not college. The text books would not be trashed and the price of the books might be low enough to make sure that each kid could have a text book. Heck, some of the English lit books would be free (Get them from Guttenberg or Feedbooks). The need for lockers would be greatly diminished, the kids backs would not be injured from carrying around a ton of text books, and the text books would actually be available to all kids.

I think that's a great idea, however I worry about the breakage factor. High schoolers can be pretty hard on their things.

 

[Teach142]

I think it would be great to have textbooks on the Kindle.  I teach high school and my only worry is stealing, losing, and leaving at home. 

 

[kim]

Maybe a school district could apply for an educational grant from the Gates foundation and use that money to buy Kindles for the students. I am thinking of high school kids here and not college. The text books would not be trashed and the price of the books might be low enough to make sure that each kid could have a text book. Heck, some of the English lit books would be free (Get them from Guttenberg or Feedbooks). The need for lockers would be greatly diminished, the kids backs would not be injured from carrying around a ton of text books, and the text books would actually be available to all kids.

Unless Kindles get so cheap that they are disposable, I wouldn't want to see them in high schools. Parents would go bankrupt trying to replace all the broken Kindles. There aren't a lot of careful teenagers out there, especially when it comes to a textbook (kindle or hardcover) that they don't want to read and didn't pay for themselves.

You would still need lockers. There would still be purses, coats, sports equipment, maybe notebooks, and stuff like that.

It's a great idea, but you have to find a way to change the attitude or your typical teenager first.

 

[MamaProfCrash]

This is why I suggested a Gates Foundation grant to purchase the Kindles. At least the initial cost would come from the grant. Get the kids decent covers to go with the Kindle to start with and explain that if the kid breaks it they have to replace it. Perhaps through working on the school grounds on a Saturday. A month of Saturday detentions painting and helping to clean up the school would probably deter kids from being too rough on them.

Many teens are responsible with expensive items, such as lap tops, PC's, and the like. I think that they could be pretty responsible with their Kindles as well.

 

[BTackitt]

Prof, I have 3 teenagers. 9th, 10th, and 11th grades. The junior was the first to get his K1. We cleared it with the HS first. Talked with both the principal and the head of the English dept. They thought the idea of an e-reader was great. He carries it to school almost every day. In the 8 months since he got his 6 or 7 other kids at school have also picked up either Kindles or (1) sony.

 

[Kathy]

If the high school provided them, I can see a lot of breakage. Backpacks get thrown around and I'm sure with the horseplay they would get bumped. They would need some sturdy cases to carry them in and even that wouldn't help if the backpack is thrown down. I can see a lot of parents having to come up with the money to replace them. They do charge for destruction of books and that is expensive. I also don't think it is a good idea to allow the wireless feature because they would find a way to text each other with it or play games. I can't do that, but if I handed my Kindle to my 10 year old grandson I bet he could figure it out. It would be a great market, but they would have to design something different for high school age children.

 

[cheerio]

Minus the breakage iss, it might be a good idea. Maybe they could come out with a mor ecommercial style like the military laptops that are made out of metla and rubber.

 

[luvmy4brats]

I think this would be a great idea if the Kindle was a bit more rugged. My daughter just got her text books (9th grade) and they weigh 27 pounds! Thats for only 5 classes and one of them is Fine Art. The first thing she said was that she was glad she was homeschooled so she didn't have to carry them back and forth.

I'm looking forward to seeing which textbooks they start offering when the DX comes out. I don't expect any High School level books, at least not initially. Hopefully, they'll eventually get them.