Using e-Readers In Education: Challenges And Opportunities ND Chuene#1, CK Lepota#2, RT Hans#3 Department Software Engineering, ICT

Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) Soshanguve South Pretoria, South Africa

1chuenend@tut.ac.za 2lepotack@tut.ac.za

3hansr@tut.ac.za

Abstract - A lot of changes in the use of technology in the classroom have happened over the past few years. The prediction in the future is that our reading could be mainly digital; and e-readers are one of the emerging technologies aimed at digital reading. There is currently a huge acceptance of e-books for pleasure reading; however there is now shift to e-textbooks and their promise of notable cost savings and cutting-edge features. This paper investigates the challenges and opportunities of using e-readers in education. It explains the factors that have let to adoption of e-readers in most educational institutions. It also outlines challenges that are being faced by both the educators and students using e-readers. The challenges arise from exploration of inquiries around the effectiveness of e-reading and online learning resources. The paper also looks at the opportunities presented by the use of these technologies, concentrating on examining how these opportunities could be constructive and significant in promoting reading as well motivating constructive reading habits. Keyword - e-Books; e-Readers; e-Textbooks; e-Reading

I. INTRODUCTION

E-readers (electronic readers, see fig.1) are portable, low-power, high resolution devices for reading content, such as e-books (electronic books) newspapers and periodicals [19]. A typical e-reader has wireless connectivity for downloading content and conducting other Web-based tasks. The most popular dedicated e-readers include Amazon's Kindle, Barnes and Noble’s Nook and Sony Reader. E-readers allow users to store a library of titles on the device and allow annotations, highlighting of text and “dog-earing” pages. Text can be loaded onto the device via wireless connections from online stores or publishers’ sites. Students are using e-readers in their studies to download textbooks; and a numbers of institutions have conducted pilot program to evaluate their viability [19]. A lot of public libraries are embracing the use of e-books and e-readers to keep up with the demands from clients and more importantly to address the specific needs of the digital generation [7]. This paper explores the challenges and opportunities offered by e-Readers with specific focus on their use in education.

In this case, e-readers are very important for online education to take place. Online education is any learning that utilizes a network such as internet for information or knowledge interaction, delivery or facilitation. This comprises of distant learning, computer based training as well as the distributed learning delivery through a network. This learning method can be asynchronous, which means self-paced, synchronous implying real time, computer-based or a combination. The successes of online education are evident through various sources such as editorials, postings of students or online school publicity [10], [12]. A university degree or postgraduate degree was previously, only a dream for permanent employees, single mothers, family-oriented vocation professionals, as well as students in remote regions but is now a reality [2]. Therefore, e-readers in education are accepted fresh schooling devices that present many opportunities. However, it is not for everybody; e-readers ought to provide adequate information so that the students make concrete decision concerning whether an online education system or class is precise for them.

Fig. 1. e-Readers

II. LITERATURE REVIEW

Although the results from prior studies into the benefits and value of e-books appear to deliver contradicting results, it is imperative that there is a need for more research [5]. From the point of view of instructors, it is a constant proof that e-books inspire readers to read more e-materials. Studies into the effectiveness of using e-readers in place of textbooks

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established that students prefer the use of standard computer since it has access to several applications such as note taking and referencing [24]. As the future updates of e-readers may streamline and fashion the resources with some computer applications, researchers have established that e-readers appear to serve leisure purposes more than it does for academic knowledge dissemination since they are not fully developed to support learning [22].

A. Who is doing it?

The increase in popularity for e-books is informed by the fact that most teacher-librarians are conversant with their benefits [16],[20]. Advocates of this learning methodology argue that e-books are affordable to produce and to purchase with several titles available for free. Princeton University, Reed College, Pace University and the University of Arizona to name a few have piloted programs to evaluate the use of e-readers as a substitute or a complement for traditional printed material [19]. This interest is not only a US phenomenon, countries such as Canada, Australia, Norway and Denmark have shown growing interest as well; several African nations are engaging in or exploring the digital delivery of course material as well [19],[3].

B. e-Reader Comparison

Amazon and Barnes and Noble, have been the major players in the e-reader device market; however of late Sony and Apple have made inroads into this market, with other upcoming devices like The Que from Plastic Logic, The Alex from Spring Design, IREX from IRE, and The Edge from entourage also making forays into the market as well. Table I below compares three (3) most popular e-readers from a hardware and cost perspective.

• iPad2 The iPad2 is not just an e-reader, but a portable

media and computing device with a screen for movies or pictures with a built in Wi-Fi and 3G, although the 3G costs extra to use. It is heavy though compared to the large Kindle, with battery life limited compared to Nook or Kindle.

• Kindle DX The Kindle DX has international wireless

coverage meaning one can download almost anywhere books and are delivered fast. It has a large screen which will be ideal for books with pictures and has a built in PDF reader. It has a long battery life —up to 1 week with wireless on, more when wireless is off; it can synchronous across iPod, other Kindles or computers. It is weighty though.

Table I. – E-Reader Comparison: iPad vs Kindle vs Nook [6]

iPad 2 Kindle 3 Kindle DX

screen(in.)/ resolution

9.7/1024x768 LCD

6/600x800 E Ink

9.7/1200x824 E Ink

colour Yes 16shades gray

16 shades gray

storage 16GB-64GB 4GB 4GB

connectivity Wi-Fi/3G Wi-Fi/ 3G 3G

connectivity cost

optional,US$15- $50/month

free free

ebook format ePub, Kindle, PDF

Kindle, PDF, MOBI

Kindle, PDF, MOBI

web browser Yes Limited limited

audio/video? Yes audio Audio

games Yes no No

size (in.) 9.56 x 7.31 x 0.34

7.5 x 4.8 x 0.33

10.4 x 7.2 x 0.38

weight (lb.) 1.3-1.35 0.54 1.2

price US$499-$829 $139/ $189 $489

• Nook

The Nook is very similar to the Amazon.com Kindle, and much like the Kindle, it has a 6 inch E Ink screen which makes it both very portable and easy-to-read. The Nook supports more additional file formats and may be appropriate for people who need the flexibility to access documents that come in different formats. It includes Wi-Fi connection as well as 3G wireless cellular connection. It can synchronize with e-Reader software on Blackberry or iPhone and has support for open ebook formats. It is a bit slower compared to the Kindle on page turns and currently does not support international 3G connection.

• Sony The Sony e-Reader has a noticeably larger screen

compared to the Nook or standard Amazon Kindle with a 3G wireless access to books and periodicals and extensible storage. The Sony e-Reader has as a downside limited international coverage for integrated 3G wireless connection.

• Kobo The Kobo e-Reader Touch Edition is compact,

lightweight, and affordable with touch-screen navigation. It has built-in Wi-Fi and an expansion

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slot for additional memory. Kobo drawback is lacks audio support.

III. CHALLENGES

There are various challenges in an effort to accept using e-Readers in education. This emerges from various roles in satisfaction of new students’ demands for digital books. These challenges range from ways on how to manage, build, and circulate e-Readers resource collections to proprietary issues.

A. Cost

The costs of these resources as well as the new practical skills they require are emerging as challenges facing e-Readers in education. The most challenging problem about using e-readers in education is the time needed to develop and sustain e-reader education course. Most readers describe the time taken to complete the course as shocking and surprising when compared with the traditional way of learning. There are many underlying drivers towards this time burden. For instance, the instructor needs to prepare and come up with an appropriate structure, which is able to meet the demand of the reader or the learner [4]. In this case, a faculty may spend a reasonable time and effort in restructuring the course in order to fit the digital demand. This represents a significant extra effort for instructors given that they have to change their pedagogical methodology for habitual lecture-oriented presentation.

Similarly, we find that instructors require adequate technical and pedagogical preparation. Initially, most instructors did not believe that using e-readers in education varies essentially from traditional approaches. Nevertheless, they have learned that it needs a lot of time commitment and training. This is because; they should first familiarize themselves together with the devices and with the students. At the same time, using e-readers in education requires an extra time for student communication. People should understand that this education approach has enhanced the communication requirement among the students and instructors. Therefore, the huge correspondence volume with students and time requirement is a challenge especially when balancing between the tradition classes and internet based classes.

B. Proprietary Issues

[25] is particularly concerned about the intellectual rights of the primary source of the e-book collectively termed as digital rights management (DRM). DRM is way in in which e-reader manufacturers try to prevent piracy. This is in a way

understandable looking at the prolific piracy of digital music and video. On the other hand it is a hurdle for e-reader users because this means that only approved devices can have access to digital texts. DRM then limits one of the most common habits readers have-that of lending; the Nook by Barnes and Nobel is looking to tackle this though with a service called LendMe. The LendMe function works once per book, meaning you can only lend it to one person only and that is it.

Other challenges as it concerns [15] and [17] are e-book piracy and conflicts with unlimited access, copyright, and property rights. A lot of reviewers have criticized the Kindle‘s proprietary for digital content which hinders users from altering their own materials to that format by themselves. In traditional libraries, multiple copies of a book could be loaned out, this paradigm is challenged in when multiple users have to be loaned digital text simultaneously [19]. Libraries may have to change their modes of distribution to accommodate e-readers and possibly move to a “site license” model. Libraries have a to make a decision on whether scarce resources should be in proprietary e-book files that work only with a number of devices or on nonproprietary formats supported on a number of e-readers. In most educational institutions’ libraries are still piloting for e-readers projects. They are testing the waters on the effectiveness and efficiency of the e-reader phenomenon. Only some “brave” institutions are making efforts of moving towards e-learning through the introduction of e-readers resources in their libraries. The challenging factor in this case is the nature and accessibility of the type of the resources in found in school libraries [17].

C. Classroom Hurdles

Some voices have raised their concerns over the challenges coming alongside the introduction of e-readers. These concerns revolve around the equitable access and availability of e-books and their effectiveness in knowledge dissemination. [23] concerns encompass the quality and size of screen, resistance to shift from holding a book to reading on a screen, and complexity of electronic gadgets associated with e-books. This author is also concerned about the absence of e-books standards and rules [23].

Durability is a concern; a project of using e-readers in Ghana (fig. 2) found that most low-cost e-readers were not robust enough for climatic and usage challenges by African children [3]. Dust and breakage were a problem; despite the fact that electronic content can be recovered, dropping an e-reader on a side walk could spell demise of the

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device. They are often tempting to steal than books and loss could spell disaster because of all the text that is stored on a single device. Compatibility across platforms is a concern as well; George Mason High School in Virginia’s teachers were disappointed that the Kindle they were using did not have an output jack to connect to an overhead projector.

Then there is the process of designing e-reader courses for students. There should be technical limitation consideration of students using this approach. This does not affect students who are learning within the institution [15]. This will mostly affect students who are living in places where they have no access to the internet facilities. In other cases, instructors may prepare courses using large monitors, which may not be compatible with those for students with small monitors. This poses a problem because the student may not access the required information on time and hence affecting their education negatively. To correct this problem and satisfy global online education, the instructors should design the courses using the dial-up consideration [1]. In the same breath the fact that currently e-readers can read only some type of e-book formats is a snag; e.g. almost all e-readers can read a plain text file (.txt) but if you shop on the Amazon.com for your Kindle, you will get a an Amazon formatted file (.amz) that will not be read by any device that has not been approved by Amazon.

Some of the conveniences and simplicities of physical books are hard to duplicate. Besides that fact most of the learners today are “digital natives”, they still highlight, underline, dog-ear pages, skim through the book and take notes; they would use multiple resources simultaneously. Creating a digital experience that can embrace all that raises the bar very high [11].

Then there are three layers of digital reading that a user has to view the digital content as claimed by [11]. The reader has to contend with the device, the controls and the content which should be optimized for the learner.

Although it is possible to peruse the documents of other students or those of the same student in using e-readers devices, it is hard to comment on same documents or even highlight the text. Thus, it is unworkable for an instructor to read a learner’s task on an e-Reader’s book. This is so especially when one is not capable of leaving written comments or correction on the site. Additionally, it is a challenge for a learner to read his own documents if he or she is not able to edit them.

Lack of cheap content is stumbling block; looking at Africa, there are not enough African-originated material and book publishers are not willing to make texts available for free. [3] indicates that at the time there were only 250 African books available. And of course the fact that many publishers who have invested heavily in books are reluctant to make their publications available in e-book format because of the effect it will have on their revenues [4]

Fig. 2. The WorldReader project in Ghana © Wired Magazine, 2010 [3].

IV. OPPORTUNITIES

Most educators are promoting readings as well as encouraging lifelong reading practices. This is alongside with their parallel objectives of encouraging information proficiency through their incorporated school library curriculums. In most cases, this has usually included developing wide-ranging collections of eminent literature that, include course related books as well as novels. It also comprises of rich information books, which are aim at supporting the school program. It also acts as resources to encourage positive reading practices [18].

It is also evident that computerizations as well as the enveloping Internet access have dramatically changed all fields of duties for educators. Therefore, using e-Readers in education forces engagement of the educational institutions in management utilization of technologies. These include; automating library collections, offering databases access, offering reference online as well as digital materials. There is also the need for building an important virtual existence using the school library websites, collected thematic resources bookmarks and student work archives. Hence, the opportunities for using e-readers in education are occurring in many parts of the world and developing countries. Teacher-librarians efforts in generating an e-reading module in the school library curriculums are also evident in higher educational centers [9].

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A. Distribution

For a long time distribution of learning materials to learners has been a challenge. In South Africa, getting the right material to the right places in time is fraught with problems. There are complex tender processes, issues of curriculum renewal and the intractable problems of theft and fraud that are a huge impediment to the school textbook industry. It is not unusual in many arrears especially rural areas, to find there to four pupils sharing a book. Imagine a scenario where a learner could get a dedicate e-reader programmed to download electronic texts for the entire curriculum. This would eliminate endemic corruption that is rife in textbook procurement and distribution process. Logistics of ordering, delivering and storing books to remote areas will be entirely eliminated.

With some e-Readers able to hold 1,500 digital books, this gives educators the opportunity to provide students with more books electronically than is practical in print. The fact that downloads happen without burdening the media centers at schools, educators have the license to woo reluctant readers with high-interest magazines or avid readers with popular material.

B. Text-to-speech

Students with vision problems, reading fluency problems, and language barrier challenges can benefit from the text-to-speech audio function on most e-readers.

C. Portability

The appeal of e-readers lies in the fact that one does not have to carry pounds/KGs of books in your bag. Rather than 5 or 6 textbooks you are likely to have just over a pound/KG in a package as slim as magazine.

D. Convenience

Students don’t have to worry about which books to bring to class anymore or run back and forth to their accommodation to swap books. Neither do they have to run the bookstore to check for books; if the online store you use has the book you need, you just tap on the screen and download in minutes. Online access was a dominant advantage of e-books found by the JISC study [21].

According to [8] online interactive lessons for learners using e-readers tend to assume new ideas and transforms faster. Whereas it might take time for a customary class to transform, online classes can adjust very fast; an opportunity for students whose

field of study is presently evolving as rapidly as the learning takes place. Fresh findings from everywhere in the globe can be conveyed easily and quickly. Therefore, this is a timely opportunity for online students using e-readers to get updated and essential information for their studies. Additionally, student interaction is through e-learning is substantially improved. Unless a learner in a customary class has time to talk with other scholars in a student quarter, he or she might never get association outside classroom. Thus, in an online class, these learners may discuss their views and ask queries from other students globally. These new learners might prove to be important associates outside school. This is because; the very activity of exchanging data in this approach may be significant at a later stage in life, offering students a stage of ease with such exchanges.

Another opportunity of a student using e-readers is about those talents that are established and have professional recognition in their areas. There are leading researchers in other nations whose class could only be a dream of attending in traditional learning. This can be because of the high cost of attending their classes or not accessible locally. Through the competence of online education, one can learn from such experts who offers an online classes anywhere in the globe. This is an opportunity, which assists many students using e-readers to enroll in competitive studies. At the same time, one can learn at one’s own pace through online learning. Whether a student is a slow, fast, or an average learner, it meets their different intelligent quotient. For example, if English is one’s second language, one is able to evaluate the material regularly [8]. This will help him to be certain that one has understood everything. Similarly, if one learns faster, there no boredom waiting for slow learners to catch up. One is free to shift as faster as he likes. Classes are normally open 7 days a week and 24 hours a day. Therefore, the completion of a curriculum program can be in less time as compared to traditional learning.

E. The GREEN effect

E-learning using e-readers can present a timely opportunity in saving trees through saving paper. Through this system, many courses are completely self-contained. Thus, it offers an opportunity of delivering each learning resource online. It also offers substitutes to paper-based structures of communication via tools like email, synchronous classrooms, PDF manuals and other related web-based tools [14].

Comparatively, online learning provides an opportunity for organizations to cut down on their carbon footprint. This is evident from a research

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carried out by the Open University. This was aimed at finding out the impacts of environment by online system compared to the Campus-Based education system. It is evident that online learning courses uses very less energy compared to traditional campus -based university. There are also fewer CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) emissions for each student compared with traditional campus-based university classes since a decrease in the quantity of student travel, energy elimination from consumption of students’ accommodation and campus site economies of scale.

Therefore, home studying and home computer utilization is more energy efficient. The energy costs linked with classroom education based on CO2 emissions against the costs of learning through a computer is distinctive. Computers are no ecological saints: They utilize energy approximately at 0.125 kwh for every hour for a desktop. It can also hold toxic materials like Cadmium, PCB’s (polychlorinated biphenyl) and Lead that pose severe environmental and health risks. Despite this, emission levels of CO2 connected with computer utilization were considerably less than computers used in traditional learning systems.

V. CONCLUSION

In conclusion, it is advisable that educational institutions look at emerging technologies with a shrewd eye and scan the environment before jumping into a new technology. This would involve looking at various aspects that would have a bearing on the success or failure of the technology. The aspects may be economic, social, technological or regulatory. Institutions should as well look at and understand the technology adoption cycle because almost all technologies go through a normal adoption cycle from the innovators to the late majority. The other vital issue that needs attention is the hype factor. Institutions should not invest in a technology because it is being hyped; because it is many a time difficult to differentiate hype from reality. It is thus recommended to educational institutions to pilot and experiment with e-Readers before adopting them. In that way the institutions would come up with solutions that are designed with the learner in mind.

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