Fall 2009University Digest

No More Backpacks

Darden School to test Kindle’s potential

TOPICS: Schools & Departments, Darden School of Business, Students, Technology

alt text Students at the Darden School of Business may be getting a glimpse of the future of education this year. Online retailer Amazon selected Darden as one of seven schools that will put the Kindle DX through its paces as an educational tool during the next two semesters. Amazon introduced the Kindle in 2007.

“The sky is the limit in terms of the positive outcomes this project can produce,” says Darden dean Bob Bruner. “It has the potential to have a great impact on technology, environmental sustainability, student and school savings, teaching and learning.”

Students who participate in the Kindle testing will be able to carry all of their books and case studies in a wireless device that’s as thin as a magazine and weighs just over a pound. The device also provides highlighting and note-taking functionality, as well as a built-in dictionary.

“This project is significant,” says Robert Carraway, Darden’s associate dean for M.B.A. programs. “It affects many segments of the population. Education, journalism, the textbook industry, consumers and others could greatly benefit from the new device and the pilot study.”

For More Info

Comments

There are no comments for this article yet. Begin the discussion below!

U.Va. Magazine welcomes your respectful discussion. Comments are subject to editorial moderation. Review our user guidelines for more information »

HIGHLIGHTS

Rethinking the Way We Learn
Professor Daniel Willingham knows why students don't like school— it's all in how the brain works.
What We Talk About When We Talk About Money
Logan Sachon (Col '05) writes openly and honestly about finances, a subject once considered taboo, on the website The Billfold.
Make It Stick
Physics professor Lou Bloomfield sets out to fix a wobbly table and discovers a substance that might do much more.
Top 5 Lists
Want to know the top 5 hidden gems around Grounds? The all-time leading sports scorers? Top foods at the dining hall?
Unearthing Slavery at the University of Virginia
Recent discoveries on Grounds raise questions about the history of slavery.
War Stories
Generations of alumni reflect on military life over the past century, sharing stories of world wars and major American operations in Asia and the Middle East.
Charlottesville Then & Now
An interactive feature that compares scenes from the same spots in Charlottesville, nearly 100 years apart.
Ed Roseberry’s Charlottesville
Look through a few of the thousands of photographs Ed "Flash" Roseberry has taken of Charlottesville since the 1940s.
Blue Books
The agony and ecstasy of final exams (including excerpts from real blue book exams).
Holsinger’s Charlottesville
Rufus W. Holsinger photographed Charlottesville at the turn of the 20th century, capturing the Rotunda fire and much more.