Remember when classes required you to purchase a hardcopy textbook? Those days are coming to an end. Today, the Internet world is changing the way we purchase books, and it is progressing similarly to the way we now purchase music and buy episodes of our favorite TV programme. It’s all moving online. Electronic readers like Amazon.com’s Kindle are becoming more popular for consumers, and traditional booksellers are acting accordingly by selling online digital copies of their material.
As the scope of Internet is growing in mainstream usage, traditional booksellers are taking full advantage of it. Reported by Reuters, an estimate of 3 million eReaders will be sold in the U.S. alone this year, and that number will double next year. Bookstores are even jumping on the profitable online vending bandwagon. In July 2009, Barnes & Noble launched the world’s largest online bookstore and is set to unveil its own e-reading technology next year. Its reader will feature a color touch screen, something not available on other readers at this time.
In addition, book publishers are looking to make deals with leading global search engine, Google. Google offers to scan books that are currently out of print and make them freely available online through Google Books. This YouTube video shows how the online product works and explains the recent settlement agreement between the search engine giant and publishers.
What does all this mean for education? A 2008 survey of 6,452 students worldwide found 51 percent of students say that when they have a choice, they opt to use an electronic version over a print version of a book “often” or “very often.” That percentage is on the rise even today. To find the motivation behind choosing digital books over hard copies, let’s consider the issue from the viewpoint of a student in today’s deflated economic times.
A hardcopy textbook might run a student anywhere from $40 to $250. In one class, a student might even be required to purchase two or three books to complement different subjects the professor will be covering throughout the semester. The Kindle, available globally, reads text for every class and any subject and is priced at $259 (an affordable option when you consider hard cover prices). Students can then purchase e-books which are read through Kindle for as little as $1.99 for classic titles and $9.99 for new releases, far cheaper than the physical versions in most cases.
Another advantage for the use of digital books is that it fits in with the technology students are already using. Anything from lessons, lectures to classroom discussions can be videoed as a podcast and available for students to download onto devices like Apple’s iPhone or iPod. Consider the practicality of textbooks available in the same way. Students can avoid long lines at bookstores, skirt the waiting time for out-of-stock books and save hundreds of dollars per class.
In support of the digital books movement, Gatlin International’s certificate classes provide online digital books and downloadable material to supplement lessons. Discover the convenience and affordability of online digital books in popular courses like business marketing design and Six Sigma.
While I do believe that some books are not meant to be electronically delivered (i.e. textbooks), I feel like a great injustice would be made by those of you on the fence about getting a Kindle. Just do it! You’ll be reading more than ever because of the ease and portability. And for those of you who own iPhones, Amazon has made it almost impossible to escape your Kindle. Forget your Kindle at home? Pull out your iPhone and read from your last page read – it syncs automatically (with the wireless feature on) to the last page you’ve read.
My first charge out of the box lasted 3 weeks, with minimal wireless usage. The more you search for books, the more you use your battery. But if you surf online for your purchases and only turn it on to download the books, you can easily get 2 or 3 weeks on a charge.
A definite purchase for the gadget-freak/bibliophile.
Between me and my husband we have owned more gizmos over the years than I can count, including GPS units, iPods (classic & touch), etc. I love Kindel reader, it’s by far the coolest toy I got. Why? Because I was happy to discover how well-designed and fun it is and how simple it is to use . Make sure you buy the cover though as it gets scratched pretty easily.