Kindle or no kindle??

[Maddysmom26]

Okay so I just had a thought ...

 

 My dd is starting hs'ing  9th grade this year. I am just wondering if a kindle would be a good idea for her?

 

 

 Who has one?? I personally have never used one so I would love to hear thoughts? Would it be a good resource for her??

 

 

Thank you~

[foxbridgeacademy]

I don't have a "Kindle" but I do have the Kindle app on an android tablet.  My Dc both got the  7" Google tablets for Christmas a couple years ago and both were broke within 6mos. so whatever you get make sure to get an Otterbox too.

What I/we use the tablet for:

watching videos (usually history doc) from Youtube 

Google Drive has all of DS's assignments (shared between my computer, his computer and the tablet)

All of the PDF's that we use (unless I print) are on there. 

The IEW Dress up app/list

We look at maps, check out interactive sites.....

But mainly we use the Kindle app for reading.  DS is Dyslexic and it really helps to be able to change the font size, spacing, and background color.

I'll probably be getting him a new tablet sometime this year for school.  His sister started P.S. 6th grade this week and they get new ipads, plus I'm tired of sharing my tablet.

[Jann in TX]

My newly 7th grade dd discovered my Kindle Paperwhite this summer... since I want it back :glare:  she will be getting one for either Chirstmas or her birthday (January).

 

She said it is so much easier to read than paper books (eye strain)... and I agree-- that is why I want it back!!! 

 

With so many classics 'free' on the Kindle (and other e-readers), and the fact that many libraries now have large digital collections I think it would be a valuable tool for high school.

 

 

[SilverMoon]

Mine both use the Kindle app on our android tablet and laptop fairly regularly. There are gobs of free books for it, especially if you're reading older classics.

[Erin]

My non-reader likes reading on his Tab or his sister's Fire for the novelty, near as a I can tell.  

But I don't care what the reason is.  He doesn't fight me about reading eBooks like he does paper ones.  

[foxbridgeacademy]

:iagree: The only books (not counting textbooks etc) DS has ever read have been on a Kindle app.  It's just so much easier for him.

[MyHandsAreFull]

I love my kindle fire and my kids each have a paperwhite. It has lots of pluses--many books slightly cheaper on kindle format that paper, ebooks don't take up a bunch of room, easy instant dictionary, etc.

 

But, it's not an iPad. There aren't as many apps as for an iPad and it's just not as elegant. But if you consume a lot of Amazon content (and I do--Amazon prime, the kindle unlimited thing, etc) it is seamless and painless. I have an older iPad and I don't like the way it interfaces with Amazon.

 

So I think it depends on exactly what you want out of it and what you are looking to spend. HTH.

[MorningGlory]

But do you all find it easy to *study* a book on the Kindle? And to write papers and answer discussion questions using quotes when the book is on a tablet? I have a Kindle Fire and absolutely love it. I use it for a myriad of things...reading, checking email, watching movies, playing games, etc. I love reading on my Kindle. But when I mentioned to my 16 year old son that I may get his next assigned book for his AP English class on my Kindle, he said he'd prefer an actual book so that it would be easier to study and find quotes. Do any of your kids feel the same way?

[Luckymama]

English major dd 19 has to have physical books for her classes, though she is happy to read unassigned works on her kindle (just regular Kindle, not the Fire). She needs to highlight/underline/use flags. She likes to have the books open as she writes on her laptop, not go back and forth between different screens.

 

Dd14 is similar. She reads library books on her regular Kindle all the time but prefers physical books for schoolwork.

[regentrude]

My book loving, English majoring DD loves her kindle for recreational reading, but she prefers physical books for her classes because she wants to be able to annotate in the books.

[MicheleinMN]

English major dd 19 has to have physical books for her classes, though she is happy to read unassigned works on her kindle (just regular Kindle, not the Fire). She needs to highlight/underline/use flags. She likes to have the books open as she writes on her laptop, not go back and forth between different screens.

 

Dd14 is similar. She reads library books on her regular Kindle all the time but prefers physical books for schoolwork.

 

 

My book loving, English majoring DD loves her kindle for recreational reading, but she prefers physical books for her classes because she wants to be able to annotate in the books.

 

 

:iagree:  :iagree:   I need physical books if I am trying to learn something, but love my Kindle for recreational reading.

[SkateLeft]

We're big Kindle users for recreational reading, but it's important to know that Kindle books don't always incorporate page numbers, which can make it hard to write citations.

 

The Kindle book that you purchase has to say "Contains Real Page Numbers" in order to use it. Also, older Kindles (prior to the 3rd generation) don't support the real page number feature.

 

My daughter ended up having to buy paper copies of the books for her honors classes because the Kindle versions didn't have page numbers, so she couldn't cite passages when she wrote papers. She doesn't care for Kindle texts at all, so she always buys the hard copy textbooks for her classes.

[PeterPan]

I got my ds (soon to be 6) a Kindle Fire recently, and I'm definitely amazed with how much it can do.  I agree it's the best device if your main goal is to sync with amazon content.  That was my main goal with him, that and getting him the immersion reading (audio and text highlighting at the same time).  I'm pleasantly surprised at how many apps it can run.  So if her goal is to read on it or listen to audiobooks, yes it's great.

 

That said, an iPad would be infinitely more useful to a budding teen.  She'll find a LOT of ways to use the apps, there will be more of them, and they're more accessibly arranged on the iPad.  So for a teen, I would go iPad just because it's a WAY more useful device that will connect them with the myriad things kids are doing now.  She can use mind mapping software, make keynote/powerpoint presentations, graph her science lab data, edit images, make videos, you name it.  We're a two iPad family, and if you're buying for power and tools, not to consume amazon media, the iPad is the way to go.

[Grantmom]

But do you all find it easy to *study* a book on the Kindle? And to write papers and answer discussion questions using quotes when the book is on a tablet? I have a Kindle Fire and absolutely love it. I use it for a myriad of things...reading, checking email, watching movies, playing games, etc. I love reading on my Kindle. But when I mentioned to my 16 year old son that I may get his next assigned book for his AP English class on my Kindle, he said he'd prefer an actual book so that it would be easier to study and find quotes. Do any of your kids feel the same way?

 

 

I don't know about my kids but I absolutely feel this way.  If I have a book for reference, I want the physical book, because I want to be able to flip through the book and find what I read.  On any kind of e-reader, I can't do that, I have no frame of reference for where anything is (like remembering something was about in the first third of the book, for example.  Maybe today's generation will grow up with a different orientation and be able to do that, but I can't.  I also like to make notes in a book if I am studying something or using it as a reference.

 

I have a Nook that does not have a backlit screen, which I assume is like the Kindle Paperwhite (?), and I love that for reading fiction books, or for reading large documents or pdf's that I have to read for my work.  I spend enough time on the computer, and I just can't stand to sit and read 50 or 100 or more pages on the computer.  Printing it out would be very wasteful, so being able to read it on the Nook is very helpful.

 

All that being said, we have iPads here too, and they are really wonderful.  If I weren't concerned about the backlit screen issue, and I wanted to use it for more than just reading books, I'd get an iPad.

 

We're big Kindle users for recreational reading, but it's important to know that Kindle books don't always incorporate page numbers, which can make it hard to write citations.

 

The Kindle book that you purchase has to say "Contains Real Page Numbers" in order to use it. Also, older Kindles (prior to the 3rd generation) don't support the real page number feature.

 

My daughter ended up having to buy paper copies of the books for her honors classes because the Kindle versions didn't have page numbers, so she couldn't cite passages when she wrote papers. She doesn't care for Kindle texts at all, so she always buys the hard copy textbooks for her classes.

 

 

This is true!  I never thought of this.  Even my iPad does this.  I noticed this the other day when I was trying to finish a book for my book group.  I had the screen oriented one way, and it said I only had a certain number of pages left.  The next time I picked it up, I was holding it the other way, and it said a different number of pages!  I thought I was further along until I realized what the difference was.