It looks as if Amazon is trying to get Kindles into the classroom as they, according to Reuters, released a Whispercast program for schools today. This program allows schools to deploy a fleet of Kindles to students and control them from a central location. Once deployed, school administrators can choose to disable certain functions of the Kindle, like Facebook integration, purchases and web browsing. Admins can also set up user accounts for students, so they can be sure that they’re reading grade-appropriate material.
So, what would schools be doing with Kindles anyway? For one, digital textbooks are getting cheaper and cheaper. In fact, Electronista reports that digital textbooks can save schools and students up to $250 per year per student. Kindles are getting pretty cheap as well, with the lowest end model coming in at only $79 in the United States. Textbooks are also heavy too, so it’s a lot more practical for a student to carry a Kindle on a daily basis.
So, publishers, when will all of my textbooks be digital?
Image Credit: kodomut
