The estimated reading time for this post is 4 minutes
With the school year coming soon, you may be looking ahead to ways that tech can help you do your best. Amazon Kindle books offer plenty of features that may make your studying easier, more efficient and less expensive. You may find these features handy even if you’re not currently a student!
Here are 10 ways that Kindle can help you do better in school this year:
Read Anywhere
No worries about accidentally leaving your books at home or at school. Your Kindle books are with you wherever you go. Use Whispersync to sync to where you left off reading on any device. Your notes and highlights are synced too.
You don’t need a Kindle to read Kindle books.
You can read Kindle books on your computer, smartphone, and tablet. Whatever device you’re reading this article on you can read a Kindle book on.
☞ See, How to Read a Kindle Book on a Computer for more information on how you can read Kindle books on your computer.
Search
Search books, terms, notes and highlights. You can study effectively by searching for terms in a chapter, characters in a book or other mentions of a concept. You can find quotes easily by using Kindle’s search feature.
Whispersync for Voice
Whether you’re trying to finish up your Summer Reading List before the start of school or have trouble focusing on the text in a book, check out Whispersync for Voice. With this handy feature, you can listen to an Audible audiobook while you’re reading a Kindle book. The words are highlighted in the Kindle book as the narrator reads them aloud. You can slow down or speed up the narration according to your reading speed.
You can also switch back and forth between reading a Kindle book and listening to an Audible book without losing your place.
Whispersync for Voice is available on Kindle Fire tablets and is now available on updated Kindle apps for iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch and Android devices.
☞ See, Whispersync for Voice: The Marriage of Kindle and Audible for more details on this handy feature.
Changeable Fonts and Backgrounds
With Kindle books you can change the size and look of fonts to make reading easier on your eyes. If the text of a book is too small for you to read comfortably, change the font to bigger and avoid eye strain.
Kindle apps and the Kindle Fire let you change the color of the background so you can read on a white, black or sepia screen.
☞ See, Fixing Your Font Size! for more information on how to change font sizes.
Definitions
Use Kindle’s built-in dictionary to look up words with minimal interruption to your reading. You can also see definitions of terms in Wikipedia.
Study Terms
A recent update to Kindle software lets you keep track of words you’ve looked up and combines them into note cards so you can study them efficiently.
Send to Kindle
You can send other documents to your Kindle to read them easily. Use a Chrome or Firefox extension or email a document to your Kindle email address to make the document available for reading on your Kindle ereader or Kindle app on your mobile device or computer. Send to Kindle handouts, syllabuses, schedules and more to have them handy in one place.
You can even send this article to your Kindle ereader or app using the Send to Kindle button below!
☞ See, Send to Kindle — eRead (Almost) Anything for more information on Send to Kindle.
X-Ray
X-Ray for Kindle books can help you keep track of ideas, characters, and important places in books. This tool will show you chapters and locations in a Kindle book where these are mentioned. X-Ray for Books also provides background information, biographies, and other facts from websites such as Shelfari, Wikipedia. and YouTube.
☞ See, Kindle X-Ray – Quench Your Thirst for Knowledge for more information about Kindle X-Ray.
Save Money on Books
You may be able to save money by purchasing Kindle versions of your textbooks instead of the print versions. Compare the print versus Kindle versions of books to see if you can save money on school books.
Some Kindle textbooks are available to rent, saving you up to 80% off the cost of buying textbooks. See Amazon’s page on renting textbooks for more information.
☞ See, Load Your Kindle Lightly! for inexpensive ways to get Kindle books.
Kindle FreeTime
Enjoy distraction-free reading with Kindle FreeTime on Kindle Fire tablets. You can set timed goals for your reading and earn badges to encourage your progress. With Kindle FreeTime, you can limit the use of the Fire to a limited time for apps, games and videos, but allow use for an unlimited time for reading books.
Highlights and Notes
You can take notes and add highlights to Kindle books. On the Kindle app and Kindle Fire tablet, you can color-code your highlights for easier studying. You can sync and search your notes and highlights so you have them with them wherever you are and can find what you’re looking for quickly.
You can turn those notes into flashcards on your Kindle to help you study more efficiently.
Instant Downloads
No worries about heading to the bookstore or waiting for a book to be delivered. You can download a Kindle book in less than a minute.
Lighten Your Load
Backpacks can get overloaded with heavy textbooks. Lighten your load by using Kindle books which weigh nothing!
Your Thoughts
Do you use Kindle books to help you study? Which features of Kindle books work best for you? Do these features help you even if you’re not a student? Let us know in the Comments section below!
* Tablets and phones image by Zak Mensah
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Carolyn is away from the Internet enjoying her Kindle books. No need to fret, Wonder of Tech articles will be published while she’s away. She will return August 25 to respond to comments.
Hi Carolyn,
Although I don’t yet have a Kindle, but it’s been on my to-do list for a long time, something I’ve always wanted to get. I guess one in the family would do all of us some real good, isn’t it? 🙂
I liked all that you shared, especially the definitions and easy downloads, which makes it all the more a must for kids who are studying. More so, with my elder one doing her graduation, she’d love the X-Ray part too as she pursues her dentistry course.
Thanks for sharing. Have a nice week ahead, and have fun, wherever you are 🙂
Hi Harleena, Yes, a Kindle can really help with school work. My daughters have been using their Kindles a lot and find that they can be more focused using Whispersync for Voice.
You don’t need a Kindle to read a Kindle book so your daughters may want to try reading a Kindle book on their computer or mobile device first to see if they like it. The Kindle has more features than the Kindle apps but it’s best to see whether they like reading Kindle books before making the investment in a Kindle.
Yes, Kindle can provide an easy way to learning for students in schools. Also it will be more exciting for students to get education on Kindle. Their loads of books can also be reduced. Thanks mam for this informative post.
You’re right, Rahul, backpacks can be a lot lighter when kids use Kindle books because they weigh nothing at all. You can also change the font, layout, font size, color and more with Kindle books.
Hey Carolyn,
It’s quite interesting post.:)
As I am not aware of such type tech yet.
You have explained an amazing thing to us. As we all are learner and need to learn more and more through our lifetime and Kindle may help in that.
I personally like the feature of changing fonts, can be read anywhere. It’s really good to learn from Kindle.
Thanks for making me aware about this amazing stuff.:)
Enjoy your week ahead.:)
~Ravi
Hi Ravi, Yes, changing fonts can be very handy. You can see which ones appeal to you the most. You may find you like different fonts for fiction vs. nonfiction.
I also like that you can change the font size. Readers whose eyes tire easily may want larger font sizes to reduce eye strain.
Carolyn, I came to your site because Adrienne Smith had a link to from her recent blog post. I was pleasantly surprised to find someone, like yourself, who writes about techy stuff.
I enjoy technology and your article on the Kindle is excellent. I am seriously considering a hand held Kindle.
I use Kindle on my PC but sometimes I would really like to just be able to have a handheld device and go off somewhere and read, a challenge in itself since I have a houseful of kiddos.
But I have been thinking how nice it would be to have a Kindle to take to my favorite coffee shop and spend a couple of hours reading every now and then as a special treat.
And recently I discovered that audio capability with kindle. I am really excited about that. I like reading along with the audio or even listen to audio alone. It all depends on what I am doing.
And there are other capabilities that I had not thought about when using the Kindle like the notecards. Pretty neat since I have books I do personal studies with.
Thanks so much and I look forward to visiting your site more often.
Have a nice evening,
Ann Moore (Mom Internet)
Hi Ann, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! Sorry I’m late to replying but catching up post-vacation has been challenging with a house full of kiddos! 😉
Yes, I do love to take my Kindle and find a quiet place to read. I focus more when I use my Kindle, even though I have the Kindle app available on my phone, iPad and computer.
I agree with you about listening to books. I am a huge fan of Audible and generally have an Audible book on when I’m driving, exercising or folding laundry.
Let me know if you’d like some guidance about which model Kindle to get. Some, such as the Paperwhite model, don’t have audio available on the device. I’m still a fan of the Paperwhite though because of the lit screen.
I’m so glad you found The Wonder of Tech through Adrienne’s site. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts with us!
I have owned a Kindle – and now Kindle Fire – for several years, but have to admit I have not used it much for books. Probably would have been handy when I was still attending college classes. However, I did find it handy for storing thoughts, ideas while in class.
Hi Derron, Yes, the note-taking feature on the Kindle is very handy. I also like that you can see how many others have highlighted passages in a Kindle book, perhaps alerting you to the importance of a passage.
Hi Carolyn,
I have been a Kindle fan for a while now although I only use the iPad app to read the books I buy. I don’t think that I have ever explored all these wonderful features that you have shared apart from those default features that are available with the iPad app.
I guess it has worked for me because I like to focus on my reading when I read and I do not like to do multitasking while I’m reading. I don’t even like to and share on social media when I’m doing the reading. Distractions of any type to my reading experience and I do not prefer to be distracted.
However, I do see the value of these features and I might try some of them just for fun. God knows, I might like some of these and begin using them 🙂
Thank you for sharing and you have a wonderful rest of this week.
Regards,
Kumar
Hi Kumar, You’re right, you don’t need a Kindle to read a Kindle book. The Kindle app is available for nearly every mobile device except, perhaps, the Nook!
I have never been able to finish reading a Kindle book on my iPad. I get too distracted! I have had a Kindle for years and I do prefer it for reading, though I know others who like you have no problem reading books on an iPad.
You’re right, distractions are very annoying when you’re trying to read. I should probably put my iPad in Do Not Disturb mode when I’m trying to read that should work better for me!
Hey Caroline,
I like the idea of Whispersync for voice the most as people can learn how to pronounce the words as well and it can help them enhancing the reading skills as one can change the frequency of the narration. Though till now I have never used kindle to read books or any other article in it. But it surely decreased the cost of buying books and positively it saves paper.
Hi Aditya, Excellent point. Whispersync for Voice can help those trying to learn a language. They can learn new words and proper pronunciation.
Hi Carolyn,
I’m looking around to see posts I’ve missed while I wait for the rain to stop! I don’t think the Kindle is quite advanced enough for students. It would be amazing if they could search for academic papers easily. I have students ask me to do that, especially when a deadline is fast approaching! Fortunately, I’m quite good at it. I have a dissertation to read today! I learn quite a lot from them. I read one one Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights and was able to explain to a Chinese student why windows were so important to Victorian writers in the days of candles and oil lamps! Despite computers, I still take time to look out of the window!
Hi Mike, Actually, the Kindle Fire does connect to the Internet so you can search for academic papers on it. You can also send papers to your Kindle to read them when you’re offline.
See, Send to Kindle — eRead (Almost) Anything https://wonderoftech.com/send_to_kindle/
I’m glad you look out the window still, Mike, and capture what you see with your splendid photos!