Ohio University's School of Communication Studies recently purchased 27 Kindle DX electronic reading devices, which are being used for research about student textbook use. Twenty-five students volunteered to use electronic versions of the course textbook, which was pre-downloaded on the Kindles.
Communication Studies professor Elizabeth Graham and doctoral student Jeffrey Kuznekoff are piloting the research, which focuses on students in two of their COMS 206, communication in interpersonal relationships, courses this quarter.
We chose the COMS 206 class because we knew (the Kindle) was a reader and this is a reading-based course
Graham said. There is wide appeal for this research in the discipline because this is a course that is taught at any university.
Each student was assigned a personal Kindle for the quarter, which they will return at the final exam, Kuznekoff said, adding that the students are encouraged to use the Kindle for personal reading during the quarter.
About half of the purchase was funded with a $7,000 grant from the Pearson Education Company, while $8,000 came from the School of Communication Studies' technology fund.
The most recent generation of the device, the Kindle DX, was designed with educational use in mind, featuring a 9-by-11 screen, about 3 inches larger than previous models. The increased size comes with an increased price tag - each device costs $489.
I don't think it's worth $500 said Liz Pamfilis, a senior studying organizational communication, It's much slower than other technology. You can get a laptop for that much. The Kindle is extremely basic.
Other students added using the Kindle for college work in place of textbooks is impractical, especially for students studying math and science.
I don't think it would be worth it to buy one said Michael Totterdale, a fifth-year senior studying mechanical engineering, I'm an engineer and for formulas
you're basically using it as a dictionary
not a reader.
The students who participated did not have to purchase their own textbook for the class, which saved them around $80. Even so, students say there are definite downsides to using the Kindle for their course reading.
It takes a lot more time to find the answers you are looking for
Pamfilis said. You have to read the pages in order and it's hard to flip through
or look at two things at once.
Despite these concerns, Jackie Columbro, a senior studying hearing speech and language studies, was attracted to the idea of an electronic textbook.
We spend so much on textbooks that we don't get a lot back from
Columbro said, that the idea of having something financially and environmentally friendly was good.
Graham and Kuznekoff plan to compare the Kindle to other textbook delivery methods next quarter to determine if students are more likely to read electronic textbooks than paper.
We're curious about what's likely to attract students
said Graham. We don't know what's going to 'rekindle' student interest in reading.
After the research is concluded, the Kindles will still belong to the School of Communication Studies. They plan to make them available to be checked out for personal use in the future.
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