4 ms·

Unfortunately a lot of textbooks come with a unique code to access the homework problems and an older or used textbook can't be used.

emwjacobson 9y ago
I’m able to get most of my books online for free, and have been lucky with professors not requiring textbooks. This semester though I’m forced to purchase a $200 textbook just so I can turn in my homework through some online system, it’s a joke.
- thephyber 9y ago
  > This semester though I’m forced to purchase a $200 textbook just so I can turn in my homework through some online system Walled gardens encroaching on education. Can you mention what system it is? There's a few thousand entrepreneurs on this site that might be interested in disrupting broken business models like that one.
  - dsfyu404ed 9y ago
    Probably Pearson My$subjectLab. Educators hate it too. There exist free alternatives at least for math but it's kind of a MS-office vs libreoffice situation.
    - trillic 9y ago
      My profs write and grade their own problem sets. Turn them in via email or Canvas. There are other alternatives.
      - fjsolwmv 9y ago
        You go to a rare school that isn't a scam.
- dvtv75 9y ago
  When I was doing Algorithms and Data Structures at the University of Otago, the required textbook was Cormen's Introduction to Algorithms first edition. More than $NZ130 at the time, and we got a few weeks into the course before they told us we didn't actually need it for coursework, they just wanted to make sure we had a copy. I see it's available for $US6.61 used on Amazon now... edit: had the price about $50 too high.
  - _kwmj 9y ago
    When you say "they just wanted to make sure we had a copy" you mean - they made you buy it as a "requirement" (that there was no way around it), or they just told you and most of you bought? And by "they" you meant the faculty (professors etc) or college administration or some other office office? Just curious about it. I am from India and there are no fixed text books here (at least the colleges I know about - central Govt. funded). There are syllabi and you are free to study the course with anything you want - books, or no books. My college library solved textbook problem for almost 40% students and rest were solved by hands-me-downs from seniors, 2nd hand book stores (some of them have very capable xerox machines too), and then there's "online".
protomyth 9y ago
Yep, there is a nasty little trend of textbooks whose homework assignments require a code for a publisher site. The student is then required to fill out the answers on that site. It mostly happens in lower level classes. Why grade students when the computer will do most of the work? On a side note, I saw a video of some professor ticked off that students got a hold of a test battery from a publisher. This "get all the questions from the publisher" makes me think these folks don't want to put any effort into the class. What is the difference between a prestigious university and a community college given that level of effort?
- coherentpony 9y ago
  > What is the difference between a prestigious university and a community college given that level of effort? The tuition bill.

emwjacobson 9y ago

I’m able to get most of my books online for free, and have been lucky with professors not requiring textbooks. This semester though I’m forced to purchase a $200 textbook just so I can turn in my homework through some online system, it’s a joke.

thephyber 9y ago
> This semester though I’m forced to purchase a $200 textbook just so I can turn in my homework through some online system Walled gardens encroaching on education. Can you mention what system it is? There's a few thousand entrepreneurs on this site that might be interested in disrupting broken business models like that one.
- dsfyu404ed 9y ago
  Probably Pearson My$subjectLab. Educators hate it too. There exist free alternatives at least for math but it's kind of a MS-office vs libreoffice situation.
  - trillic 9y ago
    My profs write and grade their own problem sets. Turn them in via email or Canvas. There are other alternatives.
    - fjsolwmv 9y ago
      You go to a rare school that isn't a scam.
dvtv75 9y ago
When I was doing Algorithms and Data Structures at the University of Otago, the required textbook was Cormen's Introduction to Algorithms first edition. More than $NZ130 at the time, and we got a few weeks into the course before they told us we didn't actually need it for coursework, they just wanted to make sure we had a copy. I see it's available for $US6.61 used on Amazon now... edit: had the price about $50 too high.
- _kwmj 9y ago
  When you say "they just wanted to make sure we had a copy" you mean - they made you buy it as a "requirement" (that there was no way around it), or they just told you and most of you bought? And by "they" you meant the faculty (professors etc) or college administration or some other office office? Just curious about it. I am from India and there are no fixed text books here (at least the colleges I know about - central Govt. funded). There are syllabi and you are free to study the course with anything you want - books, or no books. My college library solved textbook problem for almost 40% students and rest were solved by hands-me-downs from seniors, 2nd hand book stores (some of them have very capable xerox machines too), and then there's "online".

protomyth 9y ago

Yep, there is a nasty little trend of textbooks whose homework assignments require a code for a publisher site. The student is then required to fill out the answers on that site. It mostly happens in lower level classes. Why grade students when the computer will do most of the work? On a side note, I saw a video of some professor ticked off that students got a hold of a test battery from a publisher. This "get all the questions from the publisher" makes me think these folks don't want to put any effort into the class. What is the difference between a prestigious university and a community college given that level of effort?

coherentpony 9y ago
> What is the difference between a prestigious university and a community college given that level of effort? The tuition bill.