The Nevada Sagebrush

E-book readers such as the Amazon Kindle and the Barnes and Noble Nook may not have a noticeable presence on campus, but devices like the Apple iPad may become a common companion to learning, said members of the university technology staff.

Steven Zink, vice president of information technologies at the University of Nevada, Reno, said the iPad is fundamentally different from other e-book readers.  He called the iPad a  media consumption and exploration device  that may change the way students learn.

The Apple iPad, hitting Apple stores in late March, is a 9.5-by-7.5 inch tablet computer weighing 1.5 pounds.  According to the official Apple Web site, the device has Web-browsing and book-reading capabilities and plays music and movies. It’s priced between $499 and $829, depending on memory and style.

While the technology staff sees the iPad becoming popular on campus, some students are content with the technology they already have.

Julie Balderson, a 23-year-old teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) graduate student, said she reads the New York Times on her iPhone, but doesn’t want to read books on it.  She said she doesn’t see herself purchasing an iPad.

“I don’t see any extra benefit outside of what my computer already does,”  she said.   “It‘s like a giant iPod Touch.

Zink said the iPad, unlike previous reading devices, is an interactive tool.  He said, while the iPad is still a media device, software programs like iWorks will enable users to create documents, presentations and spreadsheets.

The iReader, which allows one to underline and highlight while reading, is going to be a killer learning device,  Zink said.   With iWorks, it’s actually a production device too.
There is a good chance that textbooks will be widely available on the iPad, Zink said.

If Apple hooked up with publishers the same way they hooked up with cell phone companies, I think you’ll see textbooks or supplementary materials on the iPad,  he said.
Zink called the usage of the Kindle, released by Amazon in late 2007, truly minimal  on campus, but said there would probably be more devices like the iPad hitting the market in the future, including a rumored  GPad  from Google.

Duncan Aldrick, administrator of @one on the first floor of the Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center, said e-book readers have not been popular among students so far, but predicted more iPads on campus because of their multimedia capabilities.

“We’re going to see more iPads than Kindles,  he said.   “The number-one thing I’ve heard people mention is Netflix.  You can watch videos on it.”

One concern Zink has with the increased use of such technology is the widening  digital divide.  He said students who aren’t exposed to technology at an early age are at an increasing disadvantage.  Products like the iPad may add to the divide, he said. 

“My concern is that there will be more and more of a digital divide between students, with what they grew up with, with what they have at home,”  he said.

Don Weinland can be reached at news@nevadasagebrush.com.

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