Opinion
UW blind to the advantages of Kindle
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Also by Steve Horn:
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- L.A. gang tours promoting vice (December 15, 2009)
- Obey Rep. Obey: Stop paying for war (December 1, 2009)
- UW blind to the advantages of Kindle (November 17, 2009)
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Blind people can’t see the screens of Amazon’s Kindle DX e-readers. This is the rationale the university gave when explaining its refusal to incorporate the device into classrooms. In making this decision, the university has turned a blind eye toward inevitable technological progress, to environmental well being and to students’ financial struggles. Much more on that to come.
But first, a few basic, helpful facts about the Kindle DX, straight from Amazon.com: “It’s $489; it’s just over 1/3 of an inch [thick], as thin as most magazines; it holds up to 3,500 books, periodicals, and documents; New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases are only $9.99, unless marked otherwise; [and] you get free wireless delivery of books in less than 60 seconds.” E-books and e-textbooks, lacking the otherwise necessary printing, packaging and distribution overhead fees, are significantly cheaper to purchase than regular textbooks. The one-time financial blow of roughly $500 for the Kindle DX pales in comparison to the $500-plus many students shell out to purchase antiquated, heavy textbooks on a semester basis. In short, this thing totally kicks ass and looks like the future of books as we know it.
Now, back to business. As reported by the The Badger Herald,”While the Kindle DX provides text-to-speech technology in the reading of texts, the operation of the menu lacks this feature, making the device difficult to use by the blind.” (“UW dismisses Kindles for classroom education”, Nov. 13).
Let’s all take a collective deep breath and ponder all of this for a second. (pause…) Together now: Are you kidding me?! There’s gotta be more to the decision than that. After all, blind people can’t see the pages of regular textbooks, can’t see things posted on Learn@UW, can’t see video clips professors use in class, can’t see PowerPoint presentations used in lectures and, well, you get the point. Many methods professors use to distribute class materials are “difficult to use by the blind.”
We must all then ask: Is this decision even about the equal access to classroom materials for blind students at all? The above examples point to a simple answer: No, not in the least. It just doesn’t make any logical sense whatsoever.
Here’s my theory: this is a convenient way for the university to continue kowtowing to the big money, deep-pocket interests of textbook publishing companies. This decision will help keep them, and the bookstores that sell their books, in business. It is immoral to use a disabled group to disguise a gross capitalistic motive of keeping textbook publishing companies and textbook stores afloat, aiding them in continuing to profit off of the products of yesteryear. Yet, this is what the university seems to be doing.
Also, let’s not forget this: many UW professors have written textbooks and other publications and have a vested interest in continuing to profit off the sweat from college students’ backs (not just from lugging around their heavy textbooks) who struggle financially and take out loans to afford these highly over-priced textbooks. Don’t expect any dissent coming from that direction.
In the Darwinian capitalistic business world, survival of the fittest reigns supreme. Innovative companies prosper (think Google), while non-innovative companies eventually fall by the wayside (think Ford, GM and Chrysler). To borrow the words of The New York Times’ opinion columnist Thomas Friedman and apply them to the university’s Kindle decision, rather than the federal government’s choice to bail out the non-innovative, “sleeping” American auto industry, the university’s decision “will be remembered as pouring billions of dollars into the CD music business on the eve of the birth of the iPod and iTunes … [and] as pouring billions of dollars into improving typewriters on the eve of the birth of the PC and the Internet” (“When Detroit Slept,” Dec. 10, 2008). The university is pouring scores of money into book publishers and bookstores when we should have Kindles.
It appears textbook publishing and textbook vendors have convinced the university their short-term monetary interests are more important than long-term technological progress. Instead of being “concerned for the blind,” the university should provide students with an innovative way to purchase cheaper textbooks that would be less heavy to carry to class and better for the environment in the long run by saving paper.
On the verge of extinction, it is foolish to stave off the inevitable demise of the printed textbook, deceivingly and manipulatively using disabled people as a trump card. The only blind people to worry about on this issue are those blind toward the consequences and immorality of their decisions.
Steve Horn (sahorn@wisc.edu) is a junior majoring in political science and legal studies.
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how would highlighting and flipping through pages work with a kindle. would that be more tedeious? i’m assuming highlighting wouldn’t work.
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“Here’s my theory: this is a convenient way for the university to continue kowtowing to the big money, deep-pocket interests of textbook publishing companies.”
Given that the Federation for the Blind has brought lawsuits against a number of universities for attempting to adopt the Kindle, claiming that it violates the Federal Disabilities Act, this is a more likely cause.
Also, the UW actually believes that sacrificing the able to the needs of a very, very small minority of disabled is the moral thing to do. Think “diversity.”
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Why would spend $500 on technology that will be totally obsolete within half a year when Apple unveils its new media pad?
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Blind people can use special technology to “read” from their computer screens, so they can use them just like the rest of us “seeing” folks if the documents and websites are properly formatted. The problem with the Kindle is that it does not allow for this type of technology to be used—I’m guessing that’s why the UW has the problem with it. Do a little research on JAWS and Kurzweil and go try them out in one of the computer labs. And try being thankful that you don’t have to use them every day and worry that every single document you want to read is in a format that has to be converted properly.
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Steve,
You make a good point about how a legitimate concern over a discrimination issue faced by a small number of people (students who are blind or otherwise print-disabled) has the potential to be used as a political football by unscrupulous bureaucrats - whether or not you have such people at your school… I defer to your experience. But I think you have also overlooked the fact that ‘Kindle’ is not synonymous with ‘ebook’, nor should it be.
In practice, there are many other legitimate concerns over anointing the Kindle as ‘the’ ebook device for education. I suggest you turn your powers of critical observation on Amazon’s monopoly-oriented marketing techniques, such as their proprietary format and DRM, and also on the very welcome competition that is shaping up between various ebook platforms.
But the core concern remains one of non-discrimination against students who have different learning-style requirements. There is no reason to rush forward to implement any technology until there is a real assurance that it will not create new barriers for students with disabilities.
Keep up the critical stance.
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“But the core concern remains one of non-discrimination against students who have different learning-style requirements.”
But while a very small number of students are blind, most students can see. It is important to discriminate between these two types of students. There’s nothing wrong with providing technologies to help the blind overcome their disability, but it is wrong to treat the entire student body as being handicapped, which is what this opposition to Kindle amounts to.
“There is no reason to rush forward to implement any technology until there is a real assurance that it will not create new barriers for students with disabilities.”
But the standard for adopting new technologies cannot be the disabled. If barriers are created by new technologies, then any number of measures can be taken to help the disabled deal with these technologies - maybe special Kindles for blind students, or special software, etc. - but depriving sighted students of a valuable technology because of the disability of a small minority of students is unjust.
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How would you feel if you were one of the blind having to put up with yet another difficulty of learning in the classroom? You’ve outlined many of them above and then you seem to be okay with adding another one to the list. Do not think so fast as to dismiss the concerns of the blind. Also, do not use their disability as a clever headline implying that the university is being blind. That is disrespectful.
While Kindle seems convenient and fun for all the techie lovers out there, there are still some of us who prefer to literally turn the pages, highlight the book, and feel the weight of the text in our hands? Reading speed and comprehension is proven to be slower on computer-like screens. I’m sorry if I’m the only person on this campus who doesn’t want to waste their time and their money on a platform like the one Amazon is marketing, which does not appeal to all populations. And some of us keep our textbooks, how would that work if we wanted to have one of those obsolete things called a library? I guess I could set my Kindle on a shelf and tell everyone to be impressed.
I say down with Kindle.
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another winning headline from the editors of the badger herald.
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Who comes up with these headlines?