University participating in Amazon Kindle DX program

Amazon, who released the Kindle DX this past spring, have partnered with the University Student Pilot Program. The University is among five other schools to be testing the new Kindle. Four University courses will get to test the electronic reader.

According to Amazon, the newest Kindle has a bigger display and is slimmer than the older version. It is also able to hold up to 3,500 books, periodicals and documents while the older version was only able to hold 1,500. Kindle DX also has an auto-rotating screen and its own built-in PDF reader.

There are also wireless capabilities on the Kindle DX and the battery life is longer. The price for the newest Kindle is also higher than older version. Kindle DX costs $489 on the Amazon Web site. For more information on the specifics of the Kindle, visit Amazon.com where more information is available.

In May 2009, the University announced its participation in the "Amazon Kindle DX Student Pilot Program." The University was one of the six universities and colleges to participate in testing the Kindle DX. Dr. Jim Stenerson, the Executive Director for Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology is in charge of this initiative.

The Kindle DX Pilot Program is aimed to determine if the Kindle DX can be useful to the students and faculty members. According to Dr. Geoffrey Brackett, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, other colleges involved are Princeton University, Case Western Reserve University, Arizona State University, Reed College and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia.

Dr. Karen A. Berger, a marketing professor from PLV campus whose class is using the Kindle DX ,stated, "The use of the Kindle in the classroom is an experiment to see how students react to the use of a wireless reader device as the conveyor of their textbook and some other materials. Amazon has given the textbook for free to the students. The device is on loan to them; they have had to sign an agreement concerning the loan of the device."

Brackett mentioned however, that students will have the option to purchase their Kindle DX at the end of the semester at the reduced price which is still to be determined.

Students will test out the Kindle DX during the semester to see if it will be helpful to them in terms of not carrying around heavy textbooks, possibly paying less for them (by uploading them into Kindle and buying the Kindle version) and benefitting from other perks of the Kindle DX.

The Kindle DX is not only tested in the marketing classrooms, but also in some other programs as well. "The Kindle DX reader is being used in the 2009 fall semester for four course sections—graduate nursing, graduate publishing, undergraduate marketing and undergraduate biology—with approximate enrollment of 80 undergraduate and graduate students. Plans for the spring are still being discussed," says Brackett.

Overall, professors in whose classes the Kindle DX is being tested have high hopes for the device. "Our 2009 Doctor of Nursing Practice cohort is part of the Pace University Kindle DX pilot. It is my opinion that this pilot provides our students with technology to enhance the use of their books in ways they have not been able to experience without using multiple books and a computer simultaneously." Professor Joanna Singleton said.

"The Kindle DX features, in particular bookmarks, clippings and annotations, the built in dictionary and the search feature are valuable enhancements. Our students' time is valuable and technology that can enhance efficiency and effectiveness must be introduced," Professor Singleton added.

Professors also see the use of Kindle DX in classes as a move towards a better future. "My hope is that my students traditional undergraduates will adjust to the use of the device given their natural facility for technology based on their life experience with iPods, email, Blackberries and the like,"   Professor Berger said.

Berger continued, " This coupled with a lower cost of the textbook may result in the future way in which students receive their textbooks. The Kindle provides text to speech, variable font size and the ability to highlight and clip sections that can be transferred to one's computer. I am hoping that students will see these capabilities as advantages," Professor Berger said.

Professor Erica Kipp sees a lot of potential in the Kindle DX as a device that is a great development in living green. "While it is early in the semester to tell how well the students will receive and benefit from the Kindle, from an environmental standpoint I want to applaud the potential for reduced waste and a move towards greener learning," Professor Kipp said.

For the Provost of the University, the Kindle DX is also a great opportunity to better the University's community. Not only will it show that the University is ready for the "challenges of a digital work," but it is also one of initiatives that will help the University move forward.

According to Brackett, "The Amazon study is just one of the many initiatives underway at the University to meet the needs of the students, but it also illustrates the expertise of our faculty and our institutional commitment to be a national leader in innovation.