Does anyone use a Kindle for school?

[lovinmomma]

I'm just wondering if it bothers your young children to read off the kindle instead of an actual book? :confused:

[Pata]

We just got ours on Monday and already I'm in love! I've loaded my pdf plans on it, books that I want to pre-read for next year, the latest copy of WTM and so much more. Dd loves to read off of it and so do I and I can't stand reading off a computer. The only downside I've found is it simply won't work for picture books because it's not in color. However, it's much better than I thought it would be, highly recommend it!

[Kates]

We'll be using a Nook (like a Kindle, but from Barnes & Noble) as soon as my son gets it for his birthday ;) He's tested it in the store and really likes it. He likes that he can store a lot of books on it and take it anywhere, but also that he can change the font and sizing/spacing to fit what he needs (he's dyslexic). This way, he can read any book he needs to, but we don't have to search all over creation trying to find one that's printed in the font & spacing that's workable for him.

[Free Indeed]

I am considering it myself. There are so many good books out there for free, the Kindle is a great way to read them. My Kindle has paid for itself just by the books we were able to get for free.

[ChrissySC]

We are nook users. Not only do I use it for reading ... I print notes to pdf and load them to the nook. :) Ah, like lesson plans, schedules, et cetera. What an awesome creation. :D

[Julieann]

We use the Kindle for school. My 13yo uses it the most for reading and really likes it. HTH!

[Kuovonne]

DD and I occassionally use the Kindle for school. It doesn't bother DD to read off the Kindle vs. a book. I am pretty strict about make sure she handles it with care. (She is very lazy about leaving books lying around the house and stacking them up.)

[elinnea]

My older boys really like it--especially that they can bookmark pages and change the font size. It's really come in handy this year because we are doing a lot of extra reading for English and History. A few times the library either hasn't had a copy of the book we've wanted or the waiting list is weeks deep and we've been able to get the Kindle version for FREE!

[5LittleMonkeys]

Yes, we use ours for read aloud books, books my oldest three can read, I put my MEP lessons on it and I also download audio books onto it. We don't use it exclusively; I still like the feel of a book in my hand. But it is great for all the copyright free books you can get from the internet. I put my MEP lessons on it because if I put my laptop at the table I'm too tempted to pop in here or read about some great new curriculum.:lol:

[abbeyej]

I think it's fine for casual reading -- even for school. I don't think it's great for really close reading where you'll want to go back, look at things you've read before, scribble down some notes... But for historical fiction or other "light" school-related reading? It's great.

 

I find it much easier to read the Kindle screen than a computer, iphone, or ipad type screen. Those eventually hurt my head and strain my eyes. The Kindle is much more like reading from a standard page of text and there's no imperceptible flickering going on. My kids have read from my Kindle on many occasions without any problem.

 

But it would make me Lose My Mind to try to *study* from a Kindle. It's just too hard to think, "Oh, wait! That thing I read fifty pages ago now takes on a whole new meaning, and I want to find it again, but where?"... Argh. Very frustrating. And, of course, you can't scribble in the margins -- and with older kids actually studying a great book, I think that's very important.

 

Still though, the portability of the Kindle is fantastic.

[just Jenny]

Yes, we use a Kindle for school.

 

Does everyone know that there are many books available for the Kindle that are free?

 

You can search on Amazon. Many of the old classic books are now without copyrights, and so are available for free! And others are available for a very low price, as in $.99!

[Lolly]

Yes. Well, not really young. Ds is 13. I like being able to just push a button and take a note, highlight an area to pay particular attention to later, check a definition quickly, and if you can't read a word switch over to text to speech to see what it is.

[DesertRambler]

We are nook users. Not only do I use it for reading ... I print notes to pdf and load them to the nook. :) Ah, like lesson plans, schedules, et cetera. What an awesome creation. :D

 

How do the PDF files look on the Nook? Are they like images that you have to zoom in on or are they text that you can resize and "reflow"? I have lots of PDFs that I would LOVE to read on a Nook! Things from Simply CM, The Easy Homeschooling Curriculum, and scads of tech documents for work. And I like the Nook better than the Kindle.

[SweetMissMagnolia]

am considering it at least for the teacher text books and such....will have to see if I would use it for the child books.......not sure-want one for myself but will see if they have a kid friendly one for my son....if mom gets one he will definately want one too....he's a techno-geek

[min]

Can I ask ereader owners if any of them have the option of inverting the page? OK, that didn't make sense... Making a black screen with white font? That is my DDs strong preference for reading. The Kindle app for PC allows it, but not sure about the actual Kindle?

 

Any ideas?

Min

[mazakaal]

My 12yo got one recently, and he loves it. So far we've only loaded free books on it. They're all great classics. He's read several Sherlock Holmes books already and used it for his literature assignment (Tom Sawyer) and historical fiction (Cat of Bubastes).

[Researcher]

Can I ask ereader owners if any of them have the option of inverting the page? OK, that didn't make sense... Making a black screen with white font? That is my DDs strong preference for reading. The Kindle app for PC allows it, but not sure about the actual Kindle?

 

Any ideas?

Min

 

That's a great question! I'm considering a Kindle for all of my PDF files and would love to know this too. :bigear:

[suzziesnowflake]

Does anyone know if you can get a read out loud feature on this? My DS is dyslexic and would benefit from this. Thanks!

[nmoira]

 

Does anyone know if you can get a read out loud feature on this? My DS is dyslexic and would benefit from this. Thanks!

Yes, the Kindle has text to speech.

[katilac]

I'm just wondering if it bothers your young children to read off the kindle instead of an actual book? :confused:

It has never bothered mine; they've been reading on the kindle since about 8.

 

I think it's fine for casual reading -- even for school. I don't think it's great for really close reading where you'll want to go back, look at things you've read before, scribble down some notes... <snip>

 

But it would make me Lose My Mind to try to *study* from a Kindle. It's just too hard to think, "Oh, wait! That thing I read fifty pages ago now takes on a whole new meaning, and I want to find it again, but where?"... Argh. Very frustrating. And, of course, you can't scribble in the margins -- and with older kids actually studying a great book, I think that's very important.

 

Still though, the portability of the Kindle is fantastic.

 

I always take notes in a notebook, not in my poor defenseless book ;), so that isn't an issue for me. And as far as finding a selection from fifty pages, I don't find that any more difficult either - - you can 'flip' pages on a Kindle just like a book, you can search for specific words, go to certain locations in the book, etc. "Quick scribbles in the margin" can be accomplished with bookmarks/notes/highlights. It depends on your study style, I suppose. For me, studying from a Kindle is no different than studying from a book.

 

Yes. Well, not really young. Ds is 13. I like being able to just push a button and take a note, highlight an area to pay particular attention to later, check a definition quickly, and if you can't read a word switch over to text to speech to see what it is.

 

Yep, these are all excellent features for more serious reading. The dictionary is great for any reading; we are all more likely to do this than to actually stop and look up in the dictionary.

 

Can I ask ereader owners if any of them have the option of inverting the page? OK, that didn't make sense... Making a black screen with white font? That is my DDs strong preference for reading. The Kindle app for PC allows it, but not sure about the actual Kindle?

 

 

I don't see anything like this on the Kindle. I'm thinking that this isn't possible on any device with a reflective screen, Kindle, Nook, etc.

[AudreyTN]

I've had mine for about 2 weeks now.... I am in LOVE!! :001_tt1:

 

I really started drooling over it when I started AO with my son, and am considering switching the 2 oldest to AO.

 

I'm stingy with mine, so I'd probably have to get one for the kids to share.

[Lolly]

Can I ask ereader owners if any of them have the option of inverting the page? OK, that didn't make sense... Making a black screen with white font? That is my DDs strong preference for reading. The Kindle app for PC allows it, but not sure about the actual Kindle?

 

Any ideas?

Min

 

No can do. It is a feature I have been looking for also. I have a dd who reads best with white on blue. She has difficulty reading black print. She said that black print on white back ground makes it appear that there are holes in the paper. The holes merge. With white text, the test jumps out instead.It makes a tremendous difference in her reading level.

[Rene']

We use ours for school and LOVE it! I formatted these readers from Harriette Taylor Treadwell for use on our Kindle 3 and my daughters who are learning to read love to have their "own" books on the Kindle. :)

 

I use OpenOffice, which can export to PDF, with a page size the size of the Kindle screen, to make PDF's for the kindle.

[ChrissySC]

I just saw the post asking how to use these neat little eReaders.

 

 

Let me just say first ...

 

Download the PDF Creator. You can Google and find this little program easy. When you choose to print, you select the PDF Creator, and voila, you have a PDF. :D One of my most favorite little finds over the years.

 

Now, with that option, you can just imagine the lists, notes, outlines, plans, projects, et cetera that will be printed to PDF and loaded to my dear little Piggie (this is what I call my Nook because of its very bright pink cover).

 

Now, to load to the Nook, you take the cord that has a USB (funny flat-looking end) and plug it into the computer. Any ole port will do just fine, front or back does not matter. Plug the other (cell-phone-looking end) end of the cable into the Nook.

 

Go to My Computer or Computer (from the start button on any version of Windows). There you will clearly see the Nook with a drive letter. Double click this icon. You are now inside your Nook. Go to your documents folder and drag and drop or copy and paste until your fingers hurt!:lol:

 

Thank you all for participating in today's lesson!

 

Remember to pm me if you need anything. I can always come up with some super cool way to put my knowledge to work for the betterment of our learning. OK, it is because I didn't have a contract to complete and I got bored!:lol:

[ChrissySC]

Oh, Let me just say too ...

 

Have you ever looked at the online lit notes and wished it didn't take so many pages to print?

 

How about printing to pdf and loading to the reader for an awesome reference. You can bookmark too!

 

OK, a little too much excitement over something, but it is techie and has batteries, and my SOTW is on there too, LOL.

[Jyniffrec]

I loaded a bunch of Google vintage books on my Kindle. I am thinking of getting my daughter a Nook so that she can have library books on it.

 

ETA: I use ours in school a lot and I highly recommend it.

[suzf242]

We use Ambleside Online and just got our Kindle last week. We really love it, much easier than printing out books, or even buying books.

 

We are using Calibre to convert different file types to mobi, and it seems to work well.

 

http://calibre-ebook.com/download

 

Take care,

Suzanne

[AudreyTN]

I loaded a bunch of Google vintage books on my Kindle. I am thinking of getting my daughter a Nook so that she can have library books on it.

 

ETA: I use ours in school a lot and I highly recommend it.

 

I "like" kindle on facebook and they said something about adding some features soon. One of them will be to share books... like the nook. Not sure if that includes Library books.

[KarenNC]

My inlaws are planning to pass down their Kindles to us soon (they are early adopters and got them when they first came out, but have now upgraded). I'm looking forward to loading a bunch of my books on it, but hadn't really considered the applications for school that folks are mentioning.

 

I know some folks have mentioned IRL that they prefer the Nook to the Kindle because the Kindle is proprietary. Has anyone with a Kindle had trouble using any of those free ebooks or ones from places like Currclick or other sources (free or not)?

 

Keep the suggestions going! Thanks!

[min]

Thanks Lolly. It won't be on my shopping list... The Kindle app for PC and iPod Touch does do that, so we'll stick with that.

 

Min

[katilac]

My inlaws are planning to pass down their Kindles to us soon (they are early adopters and got them when they first came out, but have now upgraded). I'm looking forward to loading a bunch of my books on it, but hadn't really considered the applications for school that folks are mentioning.

 

I know some folks have mentioned IRL that they prefer the Nook to the Kindle because the Kindle is proprietary. Has anyone with a Kindle had trouble using any of those free ebooks or ones from places like Currclick or other sources (free or not)?

 

Keep the suggestions going! Thanks!

 

Kindle now has native pdf, so this is no longer the problem it used to be. You could always work around it, but now you just load the pdf and you're good to go.

 

the biggest problem now is that Kindle is compatible with fewer library lending systems than Nook is. I think your library has to use mobi if you want to download to the Kindle.

 

Edited because I just realized you will be getting an older Kindle. You will have to check the version of what Kindle you are getting to see if it has native pdf. The very first one I am pretty sure does not. You have to email pdf documents to amazon, they convert them and email them back to you.

[Jyniffrec]

 

the biggest problem now is that Kindle is compatible with fewer library lending systems than Nook is. I think your library has to use mobi if you want to download to the Kindle.

 

Which ones do use mobi? I had no idea this was possible!

[KarenNC]

Kindle now has native pdf, so this is no longer the problem it used to be. You could always work around it, but now you just load the pdf and you're good to go.

 

the biggest problem now is that Kindle is compatible with fewer library lending systems than Nook is. I think your library has to use mobi if you want to download to the Kindle.

 

Edited because I just realized you will be getting an older Kindle. You will have to check the version of what Kindle you are getting to see if it has native pdf. The very first one I am pretty sure does not. You have to email pdf documents to amazon, they convert them and email them back to you.

 

Thanks, I'll check. I know they got the two they are giving us at somewhat different times (at least a few months apart), so it's possible one has this even if both don't.

[DesertRambler]

Does anyone know if you can get a read out loud feature on this? My DS is dyslexic and would benefit from this. Thanks!

 

I believe the Kindle does this but the Nook does not? I think it's that way.

Edited October 25, 2010 by DesertRambler

[DesertRambler]

Kindle now has native pdf, so this is no longer the problem it used to be.

 

So when you are reading PDF documents on the Kindle (or Nook), do the PDFs have to be formatted for the specific page size of the Kindle to work nicely? If you have an existing PDF document, does the Kindle show it like an image that you have to move around from top-to-bottom, left-to-right, in order to read it? Can you change the font size when reading a PDF file?

 

Thanks,

[katilac]

Which ones do use mobi? I had no idea this was possible!

 

I think you just have to check with your library to see if they use mobi.

 

I believe the Kindle does this but the Nook does not? I think it's that way.

 

The Kindle does have text to audio, but it's pretty robotic, nothing you would want to listen to an entire book with.

 

So when you are reading PDF documents on the Kindle (or Nook), do the PDFs have to be formatted for the specific page size of the Kindle to work nicely? If you have an existing PDF document, does the Kindle show it like an image that you have to move around from top-to-bottom, left-to-right, in order to read it? Can you change the font size when reading a PDF file?

Thanks,

 

They don't need to be formatted a certain way; I have downloaded pdfs from a variety of sources and all have worked fine so far. I think the biggest issue might be from truly over-sized items, but I have never run into that. All the pdfs I have downloaded so far look just the same on the kindle as any other book/document, and I just turn pages like normal. You can even look up words and add notes, and yes, you can change the font size.

[Angela]

I'm having trouble telling anything about different kindle editions & where they came from...I've been mainly looking at the free classics on Amazon. Is there a way to make sure you are getting unabridged versions?

[Dee in MI]

Borders has several readers as well. I'm looking at the Velocity Cruz tablet. The Cruz reader is out, and is on sale right now, but the reviews are spotty.

[Elizabeth in WA]

I think it's fine for casual reading -- even for school. I don't think it's great for really close reading where you'll want to go back, look at things you've read before, scribble down some notes... But for historical fiction or other "light" school-related reading? It's great.

 

 

I love our Kindles (we have 2) but have to agree with this. My boys love it, but I love it most for my dd8 because just reading is still such a big part of school at that age in my house. Project Gutenberg has Kindle editions of lots of great books for her too. I just put "The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew" on kindle for her, and am looking at some books by Frances Hodgson Burnett (Little Princess, Secret Garden) when she finishes reading the Peppers books that are available. Sadly, her history readings are generally not public domain, thus more likely to be library books than on Kindle so I am still drowning in piles of books for her, just less than I would be without Kindle. :)