Reading More and Reading More Effectively:
The Outcomes of Renting Customized Kindle eReaders
to Increase Undergraduate Students’ Access to Course Materials

The Net Generation, or Millennials, as they are called, is the most technologically oriented and technologically entertained population in American history. They are, however, also a-literate; they know how to read, but they are choosing not to read (Bauerlein, 2008), or perhaps choosing not to read in the same way as their instructors. Reading printed text is something that people from their parents’ generation do, the older generation that does not understand what is significant in contemporary society. In order to reach this new generation of learners, students who are figuratively and quite literally excited by technology, colleges and universities need to rethink how course content is delivered. Students can no longer be asked to disengage from their worlds when they walk through their campus doors, going backwards in time in order to become educated individuals who are expected to make contributions to their contemporary communities and societies. One of the ways we can engage these students is through the use of electronic versions of textbooks and other course materials.

The aim of this project is to design an eReader rental program that supports student success because it provides access to course materials, creates a virtual learning community through social networking capabilities, encourages more effective reading and critical thinking through immediate and constant access to the Internet, and promotes the development of academic practice.