Spring Break
Editorial: Kindling the academic fire
Issue date: 3/5/09 Section: Editorial/Opinion
03/05/09 - One day, when you're old, gray and perhaps in need of a new eyeglass prescription, your grandchildren will most likely be visiting with E-books instead of textbooks, "flipping" the page with a touch of a screen or the simple press of a button.
But the astronomical prices University of Rhode Island and college students everywhere pay for books now are not likely to disappear with those hardcover dinosaurs.
According to an August Washington Post article, the average college student is spending between $700 and $1,100 on books per year, and a decrease of those figures isn't coming anytime soon.
And even with the new (and free) Kindle application for the iPhone and iPod Touch, which gives full access to 240,000 books for sale on Amazon.com, the future of paying large amounts of money for textbooks is still quite grim.
Amazon, the manufacturer of the Kindle application, also started selling its updated version of the original Kindle wireless reading device last month. Its reasoning behind the new free application through Apple is that more people will be likely to read books during short periods of time on their iPhones or iPods in places like the supermarket or the bank, but will buy the digital Kindle reader for long hours of perusing because of its bigger screen and long battery life.
The next step, no doubt, would be to make the jump to textbooks. It doesn't seem like too much of a stretch that in 10 years, students will be cramming for their exams with the 10.2-ounce device in hand.
But a regular Kindle already has a price tag set at $359, and that is most likely to increase as it becomes more popular. Additionally, owning iPhones and iPod Touches are in the same ballpark, and if one had to acquire either device to use the service, it could still add up to, if not surpass, the amount of money spent on textbooks each year
It would all depend on how much of a discount Kindle would provide for students' textbooks. It's difficult to imagine, especially if the device becomes a widespread tool on college campuses, that the device would offer prices around $9.99 like it is advertising now for all New York Bestsellers.
It would, however, be interesting to see if less use of paper and cheaper means of production could make literature more accessible to the masses years down the road.
For now, college administrations across the country should at least monitor the progress of the device and similar ones like it. In the competitive field of higher education, most institutions are trying to stay one step ahead of the game, and this could become a crucial step in cutting costs and providing better quality education.
The Apple application already has a "digital bookmark" that can stay on an account and be accessed through any other Kindle device. Add highlighting tools and a little color, and maybe we've got something to talk about.
But the astronomical prices University of Rhode Island and college students everywhere pay for books now are not likely to disappear with those hardcover dinosaurs.
According to an August Washington Post article, the average college student is spending between $700 and $1,100 on books per year, and a decrease of those figures isn't coming anytime soon.
And even with the new (and free) Kindle application for the iPhone and iPod Touch, which gives full access to 240,000 books for sale on Amazon.com, the future of paying large amounts of money for textbooks is still quite grim.
Amazon, the manufacturer of the Kindle application, also started selling its updated version of the original Kindle wireless reading device last month. Its reasoning behind the new free application through Apple is that more people will be likely to read books during short periods of time on their iPhones or iPods in places like the supermarket or the bank, but will buy the digital Kindle reader for long hours of perusing because of its bigger screen and long battery life.
The next step, no doubt, would be to make the jump to textbooks. It doesn't seem like too much of a stretch that in 10 years, students will be cramming for their exams with the 10.2-ounce device in hand.
But a regular Kindle already has a price tag set at $359, and that is most likely to increase as it becomes more popular. Additionally, owning iPhones and iPod Touches are in the same ballpark, and if one had to acquire either device to use the service, it could still add up to, if not surpass, the amount of money spent on textbooks each year
It would all depend on how much of a discount Kindle would provide for students' textbooks. It's difficult to imagine, especially if the device becomes a widespread tool on college campuses, that the device would offer prices around $9.99 like it is advertising now for all New York Bestsellers.
It would, however, be interesting to see if less use of paper and cheaper means of production could make literature more accessible to the masses years down the road.
For now, college administrations across the country should at least monitor the progress of the device and similar ones like it. In the competitive field of higher education, most institutions are trying to stay one step ahead of the game, and this could become a crucial step in cutting costs and providing better quality education.
The Apple application already has a "digital bookmark" that can stay on an account and be accessed through any other Kindle device. Add highlighting tools and a little color, and maybe we've got something to talk about.
