Below, student blogger Hunter McRae discusses the value of the ebook from the end-user’s perspective. To see data that supports the efficacy of the e-book as a learning tool, click here.
Student Blogger, Hunter McRae
Regardless of the class a student has signed up for, there’s one thing that that student can be sure of: they will need a textbook. Since the dawn of our school days, we’ve used some form of textbook, and it seems that as our capacity, desire and drive to learn increases, so does the size of the textbook. So it seems that as time progresses, the direct correlation between us and the book show that we’ll continually need a bigger book, or simply more of them to hold all that knowledge!
So what do we do? Evolve. EBooks? We’ve all heard of them, though not everybody has one… yet. Many businesses have caught onto the need for this go-anywhere library-of-sorts, and technology has delivered the goods. Between the Kindle, the Nook, iPad, or even the iPhone, chances are that many of your textbooks are available digitally. As this expansion of technology continues to flood the market, more and more instructors give their students the option to use this kind of textbook.
Should you already possess one of these many readers, you’ve probably already jumped on the “ebandwagon”, but for others, it may not be within your realm of scholarly pursuits just yet. That’s reasonable. Many of you may enjoy the convenience of your bookstore, or an online discount, which is a very valid reason to stay traditional. It’s true, the concept of an eBook is quite new, but consider your educational needs a little ways down the road (and the needs of your poor, book-lugging spine!) and try to imagine the long-term benefits of such an innovation.
It’s true that professors requiring only an electronic textbook may be a ways off, but I’d be willing to guess that in a semester or two, it will become the preferred option among your classmates. Technology has changed nearly every aspect of our lives…why should the manner in which we read be the exception? Remember the end of each of your semesters, and your turn at the buyback counter at the bookstore? If you’ve tried to sell back your book with no luck, then congratulations– you’ve joined the many others whose personal libraries of reference textbooks have reached the ceiling. Luckily, just one eBook will easily hold that whole stack of books, and keep them at your fingertips no less.
When taking multiple classes at once, it goes without saying that this little device is a back saver. All those years of being burdened with book after book are over, and the convenience of the tablet that can house your books, be your calculator, take you to a search engine, or let you play angry birds when you’re bored, makes this the perfect student-centric device.
Facebook: Your students spend far too much time on here anyway, right? Why not create a Facebook group for each section? There, you can post questions which allow for organized comments, upload specific documents for them to review, maybe even post a picture about a concept that perhaps needs a little more illustration.