A little history before I begin my post:
There have been an increasing number of ebook readers to have been released over the past few years. They began to reach prominence with Amazon's Kindle, with free 3G and a huge library of books.
Before that there was the Sony ebook reader, and since then we have seen Barnes and Noble's Nook and Apple's iBooks for iOS devices (iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch).
Now, not only are there dedicated ebook readers, but also generic ebook stores. The Kindle Store for example works on Kindles, iOS devices, and Android devices. Google Editions is supposed to launch this summer with the ability to display books on any device with a web browser.
One of the great advances was in E-Ink technology. This is the screen technology used by the Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader, and others. This allows the ebook to be presented to look like a traditional book - it looks like ink on paper. This means that it an be read in direct sunlight without problem. Also, this allows for ebook readers' battery life to stretch into weeks.
All of this growth in the ebook industry is a great boon for teachers and students alike. However, in many areas, ebooks have not received the enthusiasm and acceptance that other technologies have. In this post I will outline the upsides (and downsides) of ebooks and ebook readers.
Pros:
- The weight is far easier to bear - This allows students to carry more books than ever before. Most 1lb readers can carry upwards of 1,000 books in their memory. This means that students have their books with them all the time, they don't carry only today's books.
- Delivery is fast, easy, and cheap - Most ebook readers have a direct Internet connection and can download books directly to the device, typically in under a minute. Because their are no printing costs and limited distribution costs, the books are often significantly cheaper.
- There is no availability problem - If the store offers the book, it can be purchased instantly.
- Books and annotations are backed up - If the device is broken or lost, the owner's books, highlights, and notes are backed up (iBooks and Kindle) and will be available on the owner's other device or replacement device.
Cons:
- Books are not resalable - Once purchased they are yours forever.
- Most mainstream ebookstores use DRM - this means that you are limited in what you can do with your ebooks. In the case of iBooks, your books can only be read on iOS devices.
- The readers are expensive compared to traditional paper books.
In short, ebooks do what a technological progression typically does - where the traditional technology (paper books) was strong, eboks are weak, and wear paper books were weak, ebooks are strong.
However, they have many strengths to offer the classroom environment.