In college, unlike public high schools, students are most likely taking a different class with a different teacher who may have a different way of teaching compared to others.
Buying a book that you use maybe twice a week is a waste of time, money and space; e-books are the better option for students going into the future.
E-books can be bought on a tablet, computer, etc. and offer the same resources a regular textbook does without taking up a lot of space.
They can even be economical for students too.
In the case of W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., its website sells the ebook for one “21st Century Astronomy: Stars and Galaxies” for $60, whereas the printed version of the text is sold for $98.75.
This example is a book from one of my classes, and I wasn’t surprised to see the e-book listed cheaper than the printed version.
The printed version comes with an online code that goes with the homework, while the online version sells the homework code separately, but it is cheaper.
E-books also relieve the burden having to carry all those heavy books across campus at one time.
And you may need a different amount of books on a given day.
Most classes require at least one book, so a student taking 15 units may need to carry five or more.
That’s not including selected reading that teachers often have, because it all adds up to a heavy amount of books and you don’t want to lose any of it either.
The best option would be to have a tablet or laptop that has all of my readings and notes on it, in addition to any hard copies so that I’ll have my work on and offline.
One drawback of technology however, is that there’s no guarantee that it won’t malfunction and that’s probably the biggest issue facing e-books.
But in defense of e-books, there are multiple ways to get around that scenario.
Having back-up files on a laptop or USB solves the problem of everything being in one place, should anything go wrong.
There’s also the option of writing out important notes on paper, while at the same time highlighting specific areas of importance in the e-book.
Not to mention that students are often very busy, stressed and fatigued from their studies, so much so that other problems can occur.
I’ve often heard the story of an all-night study session where the student wakes up to find coffee, or drool, on their written-study guide.
Things happen, but as long as your files are backed up then the superior option for students is to use and purchase e-books.
Unfortunately, college isn’t cheap. but you’ll save some money, avoid shipping fees and save a tree too by going online for your reading.
