4 ms·

As a college student, I see a few problems with switching purely to electronic textbooks. 1) I would have to verify in every class that it's okay to be using a

by sorbus 15y ago

As a college student, I see a few problems with switching purely to electronic textbooks. 1) I would have to verify in every class that it's okay to be using a laptop or tablet - that's been the case in most of the classes I've had, so it's unlikely to be a huge problem, but still. 2) It is extremely unlikely that a laptop or tablet would be permitted in open-book tests (which, while uncommon, do occasionally show up, and are invariably more difficult than close-book tests). I would have to rent a textbook during the test, or arrange to borrow one from another student taking the same class at a different time. 3) Physical textbooks are really, really good at random-access. This has often been very useful when looking for constants without losing track of the pages equations are on. While electronic textbooks do let you skip randomly between pages, it would end up being a mixture of memorizing page numbers and looking at the table of contents. EDIT: removed issue four, because I completely missed that this is an addition to the current kindle system. (Text was "4) Renting. There doesn't seem to be an option to buy the electronic copy and have it forever. I might be unusual in that I'm keeping several of my textbooks that are either directly related to my major or very good, but still.") On the other hand, there are some classes where I've hardly used the required textbooks, or where I know I'm not going to need to review them, so electronic textbooks could be useful for those. The problem is knowing in advance which classes are which. (I just checked how much my textbooks for the next semester will cost. Around $700, used. Ouch.)

stuartjmoore 15y ago
Point #3 is purely a UI consideration, one where electronic textbooks could easily outdo their paper counterparts. Need to know the value of a constant in an equation? Just click on it. The Internet and electronics will turn learning upside down. Let's hope we don't drag our feet.
- sorbus 15y ago
  > Point #3 is purely a UI consideration, one where electronic textbooks could easily outdo their paper counterparts. Emphasis added. Until they do, it's still an issue. > The Internet and electronics will turn learning upside down. Let's hope we don't drag our feet. And let's hope that the people developing software to make this revolution possible don't drag their feet either.
- cbs 15y ago
  >The Internet and electronics will turn learning upside down. Let's hope we don't drag our feet. Awesome! But in the meantime I'm not going to deal with shitty UI because it might get better. I don't buy anything for my kindle other than things I expect to read cover to cover because it simply is terrible to navigate.
mostly_harmless 15y ago
I believe the 3rd problem is partially a software problem. I think with proper software to either emulate the advancement through a book, or with a recall function of recently viewed or saved pages; This problem could disappear.
farnsworth 15y ago
4) Buying Kindle books and owning it forever is old news- but now you can rent them too. But as another student who has tried the Kindle-textbook solution in the past, I agree with the other points more or less. I will add that being able to search the entire text of the book instantly is a huge plus for me. I really really want to like e-textbooks, but I wouldn't try experiment again without the large-format Kindle, and I just can't justify the massively increased price over the smaller Kindle.
- sorbus 15y ago
  > Buying Kindle books and owning it forever is old news- but now you can rent them too. Thanks for pointing that out; I've removed issue 4, because it's really just the product of my tired mind. Having the entire text searchable is a really big plus. I wish that physical textbooks would start including a digital index, to make it easier to find things in them.
carbocation 15y ago
With the right kind of digitized textbook, random access can be really nice on a computer. For things like medical texts, where the topic that you're searching for might be referenced in multiple places not all of which show up in the book's index, computerized texts are fantastic. If I need to learn serially from a book rather than merely reference it, I prefer physical texts; I simply find physical textbooks to be more pleasing.
Locke1689 15y ago
While electronic textbooks do let you skip randomly between pages, it would end up being a mixture of memorizing page numbers and looking at the table of contents. Have you ever actually used a Kindle textbook? There's a bookmark feature that allows you to immediately jump to preselected pages in the book. It's infinitely more useful than having a bunch of stupid physical placeholders in a textbook that you need to jump around with. Also, I can search my textbook. Can you?
- Goronmon 15y ago
  Also, I can search my textbook. Can you? Yes, it's called an Index.
  - Ronkdar 15y ago
    I would like for this to be a valid argument, but in at least 3/4 of the textbooks I own, the indices are such trash that they're not even worth looking at. The Table of Contents is often faster.
  - Locke1689 15y ago
    Not unless your book's index contains every word and phrase in the book.
jamesbritt 15y ago
I just checked how much my textbooks for the next semester will cost. Around $700, used. Ouch No kidding! Years back, in college, I hunted around and bought a copy of the textbook required for a course on discreet math. It was small and very expensive. Later I learned that some enterprising students had gotten a copy from the school library and, at $0.10/page, photocopied it (or at least the parts needed) and saved an ass-load of money. I have no idea if an open-book test would allow for bringing in a stack of photocopied pages, but ...
- icebraining 15y ago
  Where I study, photocopying is not only the rule, but informally encouraged by some teachers. And it's about 0.035€/page.
- ronnoch 15y ago
  I've been known to use the scanner instead. Then it's free.
- ivan_ah 15y ago
  A friend of mine once brought a photocopied version of a 500p book to the open book final exam. The prof was the author of the book and went up to the student during the final exam. "You photocopied my book???", and the student was "Yes, that is exactly what I did." Then they had a bit of skirmish. In the end, the prof backed off -- and that is a good thing. He made us buy his 100$ book and, essentially, do proofreading for him. He was also a visiting prof, so none of this 100$ was going to be recoverable next year...

by sorbus 15y ago

stuartjmoore 15y ago

Point #3 is purely a UI consideration, one where electronic textbooks could easily outdo their paper counterparts. Need to know the value of a constant in an equation? Just click on it. The Internet and electronics will turn learning upside down. Let's hope we don't drag our feet.

sorbus 15y ago
> Point #3 is purely a UI consideration, one where electronic textbooks could easily outdo their paper counterparts. Emphasis added. Until they do, it's still an issue. > The Internet and electronics will turn learning upside down. Let's hope we don't drag our feet. And let's hope that the people developing software to make this revolution possible don't drag their feet either.
cbs 15y ago
>The Internet and electronics will turn learning upside down. Let's hope we don't drag our feet. Awesome! But in the meantime I'm not going to deal with shitty UI because it might get better. I don't buy anything for my kindle other than things I expect to read cover to cover because it simply is terrible to navigate.

mostly_harmless 15y ago

I believe the 3rd problem is partially a software problem. I think with proper software to either emulate the advancement through a book, or with a recall function of recently viewed or saved pages; This problem could disappear.

farnsworth 15y ago

4) Buying Kindle books and owning it forever is old news- but now you can rent them too. But as another student who has tried the Kindle-textbook solution in the past, I agree with the other points more or less. I will add that being able to search the entire text of the book instantly is a huge plus for me. I really really want to like e-textbooks, but I wouldn't try experiment again without the large-format Kindle, and I just can't justify the massively increased price over the smaller Kindle.

sorbus 15y ago
> Buying Kindle books and owning it forever is old news- but now you can rent them too. Thanks for pointing that out; I've removed issue 4, because it's really just the product of my tired mind. Having the entire text searchable is a really big plus. I wish that physical textbooks would start including a digital index, to make it easier to find things in them.

carbocation 15y ago

With the right kind of digitized textbook, random access can be really nice on a computer. For things like medical texts, where the topic that you're searching for might be referenced in multiple places not all of which show up in the book's index, computerized texts are fantastic. If I need to learn serially from a book rather than merely reference it, I prefer physical texts; I simply find physical textbooks to be more pleasing.

Locke1689 15y ago

While electronic textbooks do let you skip randomly between pages, it would end up being a mixture of memorizing page numbers and looking at the table of contents. Have you ever actually used a Kindle textbook? There's a bookmark feature that allows you to immediately jump to preselected pages in the book. It's infinitely more useful than having a bunch of stupid physical placeholders in a textbook that you need to jump around with. Also, I can search my textbook. Can you?

Goronmon 15y ago
Also, I can search my textbook. Can you? Yes, it's called an Index.
- Ronkdar 15y ago
  I would like for this to be a valid argument, but in at least 3/4 of the textbooks I own, the indices are such trash that they're not even worth looking at. The Table of Contents is often faster.
- Locke1689 15y ago
  Not unless your book's index contains every word and phrase in the book.

jamesbritt 15y ago

I just checked how much my textbooks for the next semester will cost. Around $700, used. Ouch No kidding! Years back, in college, I hunted around and bought a copy of the textbook required for a course on discreet math. It was small and very expensive. Later I learned that some enterprising students had gotten a copy from the school library and, at $0.10/page, photocopied it (or at least the parts needed) and saved an ass-load of money. I have no idea if an open-book test would allow for bringing in a stack of photocopied pages, but ...

icebraining 15y ago
Where I study, photocopying is not only the rule, but informally encouraged by some teachers. And it's about 0.035€/page.
ronnoch 15y ago
I've been known to use the scanner instead. Then it's free.
ivan_ah 15y ago
A friend of mine once brought a photocopied version of a 500p book to the open book final exam. The prof was the author of the book and went up to the student during the final exam. "You photocopied my book???", and the student was "Yes, that is exactly what I did." Then they had a bit of skirmish. In the end, the prof backed off -- and that is a good thing. He made us buy his 100$ book and, essentially, do proofreading for him. He was also a visiting prof, so none of this 100$ was going to be recoverable next year...