The new Kindle Fire HD looks very promising for educational use. It has all the capabilities of an e-reader: It can store textbooks, novels, reference books, magazines and newspapers. It also offers a text-to-speech feature, so you can have your books read to you. It even has an Xray feature, which gives you background information about your reading material.
The Kindle Fire HD combines the features of an e-reader with the functions of a tablet, including Internet, mail and social media access, Skype video chat, picture and video-taking features and an onscreen keyboard. Moreover, it boasts access to all the popular apps, movies, music and games.
However, arguably the best feature is the Mayday button, located conveniently at the top of the screen, which offers live 24/7 tech support. A tech advisor pops up in the corner on a small screen, and guides you through functions with play-by-play drawings and explanations (Fried, 2013).
The Kindle Fire offers 10 hours of continued use on one battery charge, and either 32GB or 64GB storage capacity, depending on the version you purchase. It also comes with a 4 LTE wireless, so you can access the Internet pretty much anywhere.
The best part is the price: The Kindle Fire HD 7” tablet is only US $139 (and ranges up to $499 for larger models), compared with the iPad of the same size, which goes for $329 (and ranges up to $832.99).
My next recommendation for an educational mobile device would be the Google Nexus 7, which is $229 for the 7” tablet. It features a Qi charging mat (It is pronounced “chee” and, appropriately enough, means “energy” in Chinese.). There are no cables or plugs: You just place your Nexus on the Qi mat, and it starts charging.
The Nexus 7 also allows for multiple log-ins if classmates (or family members) want to share it. Lastly, the Nexus 7 also boasts extra power with a Quad-4 Snapdragon S-4 Pro processor, and the highest resolution on the market with 323 pixels per inch (1920x1200).
Its features are comparable to the Kindle Fire and iPad, but the Nexus 7 is thinner than either of the other two tablets, and it has that cool Qi charger (Yuhnke, 2013).
Still, I think you and your students may get more bang for your bucks with the Kindle Fire HD at $139.
References
Amazon (2013). Kindle Fire HD: the perfect family tablet. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CU0NSCU/ref=kin_comp_sm_ko2_txt
Best Kindle Comparison Review (2013). Retrieved from http://best-kindle-comparison-review.toptenreviews.com/
Fried, I. (2013, September 24). Jeff Bezoz says live-help button and other features make new Kindle Fire tablet uniquely Amazon. Retrieved from http://allthingsd.com/20130924/amazons-jeff-bezos-shows-off-the-latest-kindle-fire-tablets/
Yuhnke, K. (2013, September 25). Review: Google Nexus 7, better than iPad Mini or Kindle Fire HD? Retrieved from http://kdvr.com/2013/09/25/review-google-nexus-7-better-than-ipad-mini-or-kindle-fire/
The Kindle Fire HD sounds very promising. I appreciate that it functions like an e-reader. the text-to-speak and Xray features can be very useful to ESL students. The text -to -speak feature can help students with their pronunciation. The Xray feature provides background information about reading material which can be help students make connections with the material. I think that this technology may good a good tool for students.
ReplyDeleteGreat point: the Kindle Fire HD text-to-speech feature can help ESL students learn pronunciation. It would be great if it also had a "Record" and "Playback" feature. I like also that it stores textbooks. Students often don't bring all their textbooks to class (writing book, reader & workbook) because they don't want to carry them around all day, so they would love having one device that stores all their textbooks.
DeleteOne of my students has a 504 for ADD. He has an issue with his handwriting. He is able to bring his tablet to school to type on. He can then email me his assignments. Tablets are small and do not take up that much space. I can see the benefit in having one
ReplyDeleteOne of my students has a 504 for ADD. He has an issue with his handwriting. He is able to bring his tablet to school to type on. He can then email me his assignments. Tablets are small and do not take up that much space. I can see the benefit in having one
ReplyDeleteThat is an excellent solution for your student's writing difficulties. Thanks for sharing.
DeleteLili,
ReplyDeleteIf things don't work out for you as an educator, you have a promising potential in advertising!!! The Kindle Fire HD sounds like an excellent tool for education! I am not a big e-reader, but for many people this is an excellent alternative to printed media. And as Carla points out, the technology may have direct applications for learners with attention/writing challenges.
LOL! Thanks. I was comparison shopping. Does anyone out there have another opinion?
DeleteA Mayday button is certainly a great feature for adult learners! Soon I think all digital devices will have a feature like this. Great write up!
ReplyDeleteYes, I think every electronic device should have a Mayday button. (The term is anglicized French. "M'aidee" means "Help me!"
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