When the senior year of high school rolls around, many students begin thinking about what colleges they will attend. Students prep for SAT’s and ACT’s so that they can get into a great institution of higher learning. When choosing a college, students should consider how that college integrates technology with learning. The past five years, we have seen a rise in the technologies for the classroom. One of these technologic breakthroughs is the e-Reader. Many colleges are allowing students to purchase an Amazon Kindle to store their textbooks rather than the myriads of traditional textbooks. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the e-Reader for college textbooks?
First, an e-Reader reduces the strain on the body that a book bag full of traditional textbooks creates. Let’s say you have three classes on Monday, Each class has two textbooks that must be brought to class. Regular textbooks could weigh as much as five pounds each so you could be carrying thirty pounds of textbooks in your book bag. This is just the books alone—no laptop weight, notebook weight, etc. That’s a lot of extra weight on your back. Now, this is why an e-Reader such as the Kindle would be helpful. Since the Kindle weighs less than one pound and holds up to 3,500 books, the strain from the extra weight vanishes. This not only improves your overall health but helps you avoid back problems.
Secondly, the Kindle does have some drawback as a textbook reader. Since the books are digital, you can’t sell them back the end of the year. You are stuck with the book. While many books are formatted for the Kindle, many textbooks aren’t so you may buy the Kindle but still have to fork out money for traditional textbooks. Not cool!
When thinking about buying traditional textbooks vs. an e-Reader, make sure you weigh the pros and cons for the purchases. You can save yourself time and money if you make an informed decision.