Has anyone got ereaders at their school

[Millsy79]

Has anyone elses school purchased ereaders? If so can you recommend which one works best in a school environment.

I persoanlly own a Kindle, which is brilliant but i havent seen anywhere were you can enter proxy server settings so downloading books wirelessly wouldn't be an option. However this could be a good thing as it means that pupils cant download books to the device whilst they're loaning it.

The kindle seems like a sturdy device but i'm not sure if it would be up to the demands that pupils can put them them through. Has any one else got experience with any other ereaders that they may think is more suitable to cope with the demands of a classroom.

Also if we had 20 ereaders would we have to buy 20 copies of each book then, and if a device is broken or lost would we then have to repurchase all the books that were held on the device or can the books be backed up on line somewhere.

Thanks

[gwendes]

You can't enter proxy server details on Kindle. I would go for 3G version.
I think Kindle is perfectly hardy for a school environment.
Get cases!
The books are purchased for life and can be transferred.

add. I just love showing off the back of mine



Guess the signatures?

[sted]

Also if we had 20 ereaders would we have to buy 20 copies of each book then, and if a device is broken or lost would we then have to repurchase all the books that were held on the device or can the books be backed up on line somewhere.

Thanks

im not sure this is quite 100% kosher but with a kindle if they are all registered to the same amazon account you should be able to read any book on any device (as i do with kindle pc(on pc and laptop) and my kindle

i know its a pain but couldnt you download the books to a pc then usb them onto the kindle (also stops kids buying books and preserves battery life if wifi is off/useless)

[gwendes]

im not sure this is quite 100% kosher but with a kindle if they are all registered to the same amazon account you should be able to read any book on any device (as i do with kindle pc(on pc and laptop) and my kindle

Don't think this is true. You'd need a copy for each device because you need to nominate which you send it to when buying (I have two on my account)

i know its a pain but couldnt you download the books to a pc then usb them onto the kindle (also stops kids buying books and preserves battery life if wifi is off/useless)

Prob a good plan this.

[jamesb]

im not sure this is quite 100% kosher but with a kindle if they are all registered to the same amazon account you should be able to read any book on any device (as i do with kindle pc(on pc and laptop) and my kindle

Usually a book will be available on about five devices at any time.

i know its a pain but couldnt you download the books to a pc then usb them onto the kindle (also stops kids buying books and preserves battery life if wifi is off/useless)

I think the problem with a Kindle would be that there's nothing to stop the kids, if they get it onto wifi somewhere, buying books through the Amazon 1-click buy site. Not such a problem if you're buying one for each kid and getting them to set up their own accounts, but a bit more of an issue if you've got the school account details in there.

It might be better to go with another ebook reader, without an integrated store attached. I used to have one of the original Sony eReaders which felt a lot more substantial than my current Kindle, and comes with a cover.

Your best bet in a school situation would be to get classic books which are out of copyright, there are plenty of them out there. With these you don't need to worry about DRM at all, can let kids use the books however they want, aren't paying for them and could have a repository of books on your fileserver for kids or teachers to grab as they need them.

[sted]

Don't think this is true. You'd need a copy for each device because you need to nominate which you send it to when buying (I have two on my account)



Prob a good plan this.

you dont need a copy per device as ive started reading a book on my laptop continued on pc and finished on my kindle. I assume there is a limit though as if not id just get everyone im likely to share books with (so say mum/dad/sister/brother in law etc) to get one amazon account and we could then share books round easily

[gwendes]

you dont need a copy per device as ive started reading a book on my laptop continued on pc and finished on my kindle. I assume there is a limit though as if not id just get everyone im likely to share books with (so say mum/dad/sister/brother in law etc) to get one amazon account and we could then share books round easily

Amazon's official line is that there's no limit. If a book has any limit it will be less than 6 and it should be stated.

Regarding the Device Quantity Restriction: Publishers choose whether they apply digital rights management software (DRM) to their content. There is no limit on the number of times a title can be downloaded to a registered Kindle device or application (such as Kindle for iPhone or Kindle for PC), but there may be limits on the number of Kindle devices and applications (usually 6) that can simultaneously use a single book. If the limit is less than six Kindles devices or applications for a specific title, you'll see the message "Simultaneous Device usage: Up to X simultaneous devices, per publisher limits" on the website detail page.You can check out the device quantity restriction marked as "Simultaneous Device Usage" on the Product detail page.We specifically don't have a count as to how many downloads you've done, however you will get an alert when you exceed your limit from the system.Once you reach the limit we are unable to restore the License again

[aerospacemango]

add. I just love showing off the back of mine



Guess the signatures?

Ooooookayyyyy!!!

Starting from the left hand side....

Ruthie Henshall( West End Star),

above that, Derek Randall (Cricketer-Ex),

at the bottom, Josie Long (Comedian),

bottom right is PZ Myers (Biology Professor)

Top right, under the xx is Bruce Willis (although this could easily be Best Wishes)

How many did I get right?????

[tech_guy]

Who are these people?!

[aerospacemango]

I think the one under Bruce Willis / Best Wishes is.............

Paul Hewson......A.K.A Bono (You can deffo see the Paul bit, then the "H", so I'm guessing that as he usually signs as BONO, he'd be out of practice at signing his own name?)

*The one across the middle and the one right at the top are giving me trouble though.....

First one looks like an "E", so probably Evonne Goolagong (70's tennis player, who became Evonne Cawley)


Still waiting to see how many I've got right!!!!

PMSL!!!

[gwendes]

I'll put you out of your misery aerospacemango


From the top...

Tim Minchin (comedian and singer)
James Randi (founder of the JREF and skeptic - with a 'k')
Prof. Richard Wiseman (author)
Dr Richard Dawkins (evolutionary biologist and author)
Dr Susan Blackmore (parapsychologist and author)
PZ Myers (Pharyngula and professor of biology)
Simon Singh (author and mathematician)
Robin Ince (TV/radio writer/comedian etc)
and the lovely, lovely Josie Long - she does comedy stuffs

[aerospacemango]

Well, at least I managed to get 2 of them....though Josie Long WAS a bit easy!

Still in shock that it WASN'T Bruce Willis!!!!

LOL!!!

[gwendes]

Remaining on my must have list are:

Ben Goldacre
Graham Linehan
Stephen Fry
Mark Watson
Daniel C Dennett
Dara O'Briain.

I think after that I will be happy

I have a mutual friend with Graham so should be easy next time I'm in London and Mark Watson has agreed to sign it after his show in Portsmouth at the end of the month.

Dr Ben and Dara will be at Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People - any extras I can get there would be nice