Professors see digital textbooks as future alternative

Teachers embrace e-books' interactivity, but some students prefer hardcover

By: Matt Woolbright

Posted: 10/7/08

The phrase "crack open the textbook and study," is no longer all-inclusive when it comes to studying at Texas A&M.

"As a group, we decided to [switch to primarily an e-book]," said chemistry senior lecturer Vickie Williamson. "The money was the driving factor; the cost to the students was most on our mind."

An e-book is an electronic copy of any printed material, usually in an online-accessible, searchable format. They are normally equipped with software to help with review sessions.

"After doing a review question, if the student gets the answer wrong, the e-book automatically brings up the section discussing the problem," Williamson said.

Teachers have used surveys and have talked to students to determine the overall level of student satisfaction. While classes typically have a positive reaction, some students found that the e-books are difficult to navigate and do not make the subject easier to learn.

"When we asked them if they liked it, the reaction was always very positive," Williamson said. "The few complaints I've gotten have been resolved, and most have been technology related."

Some students prefer the print copy to the digital version. "From those I have talked to [in Chemistry], they don't like it," said sophomore biomedical engineering major Matthew Rosner. "Many have gone out and bought the hardcopy like I have."

"Many of my classmates in [Math] 166 really dislike it," said freshman biology major Jimmy Wiedenfeld.

Complaints among students range from accessibility to ease of use and difficulty learning the material with the e-book. In some situations, it comes down to personal preference.

Freshman business major Bryan McCollum said he has not used an e-book, but is against the concept. He said he does not look forward to having a class with an e-book as the primary textbook.

"I would hate to have an e-book," McCollum said. "I want my books to be available to me when the Internet or my computer is not; I don't want my studying dependent on technology."

Junior kinesiology major Monika McCown does not like the electronic format either, for multiple reasons.

"It's hard to stay focused while reading off a computer screen," McCown said. "It's also harder to learn when I can't make notes or highlight in my book when it comes time to study."

"The e-book makes looking up examples for problems very frustrating," Wiedenfeld said. "You cannot simply flip between pages, you have to scroll through them and there is a lag that is really annoying."

Rosner said his ability to learn with the e-book was affected to the point that he ended up paying double by purchasing a standard textbook as well.

"It's hard to get on it because I have to log into the VPN [Virtual Private Networks] because I live off campus and the VPN is always crashing," Rosner said. "And to make the words big enough to read, you have to be constantly scrolling up and down."

Rosner added: "I actually went and bought the hardcopy after a couple of weeks because I couldn't stand the e-Book any longer."

The purpose of the VPN is to allow the same level of access for a student living off campus as students living in dorms.

Junior communication major Daniel Venzin favors the traditional textbook over its digital counterpart.

"I just like to have an actual book in front of me," Venzin said. "Just my own personal preference; it's kind of like how some people like to do their banking online and some like to do it in person."

"Textbooks may be big and cumbersome," Rosner said, "but there is a reason why they have lasted for hundreds of years: they are useful."