Digital College Books?
Ok so I am no spring chicken - and perhaps the
saying is true that you can't teach an old dog new tricks
but....
When I attended (and still attend) college courses, the purpose is not simply to punch a ticket and earn a degree. I actually want to learn something. Sure, there are tickets that I do have to punch and I would rather not have to take yet another English course (though obviously needed). However, when I complete the course I am the type who keeps my course material.
I keep my notes, I keep my papers and yes I keep my books.
In a news article circulating the web, a set of colleges are offering digital books to students at a discounted prices of 33% less than the printed material. Now, I am sure that for a college student struggling with the costs of a modern education but is this really such a good idea?
A teacher once told me that a book, especially in the educational realm, is never really yours until you begin to mark it up. Make notes, highlight, question (and write those questions in the material) the material being presented. Can you do this with an e-book? I also have to ask, how easy is it to learn from an e-book.
I have had a few run-ins with digital documentation. I have tried to read lengthy material online, on my palm, my laptop, and a variety of other electronic displays and quite frankly it doesn't work for me. Almost always I end up printing the material out. Why? Because when reading material for any purpose other than pleasure you need to be able to flip back and forth between pages. You need to write in the borders, and to highlight information of import. I simply cannot do that sufficiently with e-material.
I also have to ask if 33% is a deep enough cut for such material?
Sure, the printers are saving money, and it's a good deal - but not if I cannot print the material out myself. And then, at this point I probably haven't saved anything. Here is an idea. If I am going to get the material in e-format then the discount should be a lot deeper than 33%. Not only that, I should get the material in PDF format so that I can print it out. Everyone is happy. I must of course agree not to give the material to anyone else unless I destroy all my printed copies - and this is just as things are now.
If I buy one copy of say, 1984, then I have one copy that I can dispose of as I see fit. I can read it, I can sell it when I am done, I can give it away or I can throw it away. But, if someone were to offer me a copy of that same novel at a 33% discount and tell me it is only available in electronic format, which I cannot print, and which expires after 180 days - I would tell them to hug a root.
At least when I buy it (for full price) I get to keep it forever (should I so choose). And when it comes right down to it, the most expensive book I have had to purchase was only $105.00, a 33% discount would bring the price down to $70. And frankly, for a math course, an e-book wouldn't have helped me anyway. Finally, don't most colleges have used books you can buy? How much of a discount do you get for purchasing used material? I don't know. I always purchase new. I don't want someone else's notes (especially if they failed). In any case, the discount for an e-book would have to be deeper than the cost of a used book.
Now, suppose you offered me a 70% discount. That might be something I would be interested in. But again, it would depend upon the course. A 70% discount for an English e-book, a collection of required reading, might be the way to go. Let's face it - am I ever again going to read "Shooting an Elephant" by Orwell, or White's "Once More to the Lake"? Probably not, so a deeply discounted e-book might have been the way to go here. But my math material? No way in hell. Astronomy? Probably not.
On the upside, e-books would definitely have a couple benefits over printed material.
Think of the ability to carry with you, on your PDA, your entire course material. I wouldn't need my backpack anymore!
Also, e-material has the added benefit of being the most accurate and up to date. Except in the area of computer programming. In the case of the programming books - despite how many students complained the examples were incorrect they would probably still be unchanged in the 30th edition.
When I attended (and still attend) college courses, the purpose is not simply to punch a ticket and earn a degree. I actually want to learn something. Sure, there are tickets that I do have to punch and I would rather not have to take yet another English course (though obviously needed). However, when I complete the course I am the type who keeps my course material.
I keep my notes, I keep my papers and yes I keep my books.
In a news article circulating the web, a set of colleges are offering digital books to students at a discounted prices of 33% less than the printed material. Now, I am sure that for a college student struggling with the costs of a modern education but is this really such a good idea?
A teacher once told me that a book, especially in the educational realm, is never really yours until you begin to mark it up. Make notes, highlight, question (and write those questions in the material) the material being presented. Can you do this with an e-book? I also have to ask, how easy is it to learn from an e-book.
I have had a few run-ins with digital documentation. I have tried to read lengthy material online, on my palm, my laptop, and a variety of other electronic displays and quite frankly it doesn't work for me. Almost always I end up printing the material out. Why? Because when reading material for any purpose other than pleasure you need to be able to flip back and forth between pages. You need to write in the borders, and to highlight information of import. I simply cannot do that sufficiently with e-material.
I also have to ask if 33% is a deep enough cut for such material?
Sure, the printers are saving money, and it's a good deal - but not if I cannot print the material out myself. And then, at this point I probably haven't saved anything. Here is an idea. If I am going to get the material in e-format then the discount should be a lot deeper than 33%. Not only that, I should get the material in PDF format so that I can print it out. Everyone is happy. I must of course agree not to give the material to anyone else unless I destroy all my printed copies - and this is just as things are now.
If I buy one copy of say, 1984, then I have one copy that I can dispose of as I see fit. I can read it, I can sell it when I am done, I can give it away or I can throw it away. But, if someone were to offer me a copy of that same novel at a 33% discount and tell me it is only available in electronic format, which I cannot print, and which expires after 180 days - I would tell them to hug a root.
At least when I buy it (for full price) I get to keep it forever (should I so choose). And when it comes right down to it, the most expensive book I have had to purchase was only $105.00, a 33% discount would bring the price down to $70. And frankly, for a math course, an e-book wouldn't have helped me anyway. Finally, don't most colleges have used books you can buy? How much of a discount do you get for purchasing used material? I don't know. I always purchase new. I don't want someone else's notes (especially if they failed). In any case, the discount for an e-book would have to be deeper than the cost of a used book.
Now, suppose you offered me a 70% discount. That might be something I would be interested in. But again, it would depend upon the course. A 70% discount for an English e-book, a collection of required reading, might be the way to go. Let's face it - am I ever again going to read "Shooting an Elephant" by Orwell, or White's "Once More to the Lake"? Probably not, so a deeply discounted e-book might have been the way to go here. But my math material? No way in hell. Astronomy? Probably not.
On the upside, e-books would definitely have a couple benefits over printed material.
Think of the ability to carry with you, on your PDA, your entire course material. I wouldn't need my backpack anymore!
Also, e-material has the added benefit of being the most accurate and up to date. Except in the area of computer programming. In the case of the programming books - despite how many students complained the examples were incorrect they would probably still be unchanged in the 30th edition.
Posted: Wed - August 10, 2005 at 07:22 PM If this blog entry was of use to you, why not show your appreciation by donating to support the site? Just click on the MAKE A DONATION button on the right hand side of the page! It's all handled by PAYPAL.
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Published On: Aug 30, 2006 06:55 AM
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Published On: Aug 30, 2006 06:55 AM