Hello,
Thanks to all who kindly replied to my posting back in August regarding the use of e-book readers. Sorry it has taken me so long to compile the information and summarise it for the list (we have had a very busy start to the new term!):
The most popular e-book readers being used are the Amazon Kindle: “v easy to load books onto, easy to charge – can do with mains usb charger, v clear print even in bright sunshine, easy to use, long battery life if WiFi off, can only get books from Amazon.” and the various versions of the Sony e-book readers, e.g. Sony Touch PRS-600: “easy to use, poor print quality in bright light, easy to load onto, can only charge via pc or with Sony charger, can get books from anywhere.” Another e-book reader that was mentioned was the iRiver: “difficult to sync to pc and load books onto, easy to charge – can do with mains usb charger, v clear print even in bright sunshine, easy to use, tendency to freeze up when battery gets low, can get books from anywhere.”
The Elonex e-book reader is evidently very cheap, but the LRC using it said that the quality is poor.
Lending policies:
Oldham 6th Form College will be lending e-book readers to students for 3 weeks at a time. They currently have only 3, (a Kindle, a Sony Touch PRS-600 and an iRiver) but are hoping to get more this year.
Newcastle University has 12 e-book readers (the Sony PRS-505) that it is lending students as part of a pilot loan scheme. The will be increasing the load period from one to four weeks. They charge £10.00 a day fines if it is returned late.
Sheffield University is also currently carrying out an e-book reader evaluation plot. They have an Amazon Kindle 2 and a Sony PRS-300, but they are only available to use in the library.
The University of Manchester have purchased Sony PRS-505 and Sony PRS-600 e-book readers have asked the tutors to trial them with their students.
User responses:
Newcastle University said that they “are currently analysing the responses we received from questionnaires we handed out with the e-readers. As we are still collating the information we received I don’t have any facts and figures to quote but I can give you a general summary. The response was a mixture of those who loved them, and those who hated them and some users who were just curious to try using an e-book reader before investing in their own.”
Oldham 6th Form College stated that in response to their trail scheme of LRC staff trying out the e-book readers, “All but 1 staff member who borrowed them loved them and all said they would buy one if the price came down – which now Kindle in the UK is as low as £110 then I would imagine more will do. “
The other respondents are still trialing/evaluating the e-book readers so did not have information regarding user responses.
Also of interest is this article about a pilot scheme at U.S. Universities, “E-Book Readers Bomb on College Campuses”.
http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/jun2010/bs20100610_200335.htm
Hope this information is useful.
Regards,
Linda Scurr
Learning Advsior
Isle of Wight College
Medina Way
Newport
Isle of Wight
PO305TA
Tel: 01983 550789
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
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