UVa students test out Kindles

A group of students at the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business Administration finally received a formal introduction to their Kindles on Thursday. Now the question is: Will these things really help?

For those not following the creation of every electronic gizmo and gadget, the students got devices, marketed by Amazon.com, that allow them to read texts electronically.

The 60 or so students are one of a handful of groups across the country testing the latest version of the Kindle for Amazon.

“We’d love to see you help us figure out if it’s a value or not,” Michael Koenig, the school’s director of MBA operations, told the assembled students.

But he made it clear that if the Kindle doesn’t make the grade, there’s no reason to keep using it.

“But at the point where it’s holding you back, just don’t let it,” he said.

Some students were guardedly optimistic.

Student Lorena Trujillo had only had the device for a couple of days before Thursday’s formal introduction, she said.

“I really don’t know how it’s going to work for me,” she said.

She added, “I’m not closed, but it might be a little bit hard to get used to.”

Trevor Thomas, another student, was hopeful that features he learned about Thursday, such as a search function, will make the Kindle a superior alternative to traditional texts. If not, he’s still happy not to have to lug stacks of papers around, he said.

“Size alone is enough to sell it to me,” he said.

Thomas’ comments echoed those of Martin Davidson, a senior faculty member who is also taking part in the study.

“For transport, it’s a little easier, because it’s not a big binder, it’s a skinny binder,” he said.

Davidson told students that he’s finding the Kindle more useful as it goes along.

The students are being allowed to use the Kindle for free during the school year. If they wish to keep it, it will cost them $200. Amazon just dropped the retail price on the third-generation units to $299.

There are still some things the Kindle can’t do, and Koenig said that’s part of the educational value: Students aren’t just guinea pigs testing the effectiveness in the classroom; they’re also getting a first-hand view of a business developing a product.

And Koenig said that, even if the Kindle doesn’t become the dominant electronic reader, the relationship has clear value to Darden, which is the second-leading publisher of business case studies in the nation, after Harvard Business School.

Through the project, Darden has established a publishing relationship with Amazon, he said. At the same time, Amazon has gathered enough rights to become one of, if not the, dominant player in the electronic academic publishing field, whichever reader ends up on top, Koenig said.