Why Do Students Still Cling To Paper Textbooks?

nytimes.com:

"The screen won't go blank," said Faton Begolli, a sophomore from Boston. "There can't be a virus. It wouldn't be the same without books. They've defined 'academia' for a thousand years."

Read the whole story: nytimes.com

Comments

[Indra]

03:01 PM on 12/02/2010

This article is nonsense. There is a powerful lobby in the paper and ink end that just does not want to die. Every student I have ever talked to has said they would much rather carry all their work on one device than have a ton of heavy books to lug around all the time. As a student I agree. By the way there are an awful lot of profs that write books for their classes and they make an awful lot of money on these hard copies as long as they promise to stay away fro digital. People need to realoize that the text book scam is just as bad or worse than the Payola scam. digitized learning material is the only way to the future. Trees and ink are out. Even the New York Times realizes this as their revenue drops for their paper and ink rag.

[martintillier]

06:52 AM on 10/21/2010

Paper text-books, do not run out of batteries, they do not crash, they can be borrowed they are comparatively inexpensive and can be read even in bad light, plus they make any shelf look good.

[Stirner]

01:54 PM on 10/21/2010

"Comparatively inexpensive"? Compared to what? All are overpriced because they are required for the particular subject being taught. Kindles (and other ebook readers) do not run out of batteries (3 weeks before a quick recharging), they do not crash, and "can be read even in bad light" (So? I thought Edison solved that), and they don't need to be dusted -- and is there such a thing as text-books that make "any shelf look good"? Never saw one, as most are flimsy and badly bound, for a semester use and then, the usual, "revised" edition. Text-books have only one reason to exist: they are a constant source of profit for the publishers.

[Indra]

03:04 PM on 12/02/2010

"Comparati­vely inexpensiv­e". Apparently you have never been to college or are so well to do that you have never noticed how high priced school texts are. What have you been smoking ?

[Reyeshawk13]

10:41 PM on 10/20/2010

You can't highlight a Kindle. I know you can bookmark and other stuff, but the physical action of highlighting helps cement the information in your brain.

[eric14]

07:45 PM on 10/20/2010

I know a teacher who uses a large format display in her classroom because it has instantly variable input-output capabilities. The infinite flexibility of the display is geared to the physical movements of the teacher. It didn't cost much. It's called a blackboard.

And paper books? Try finding your way electronically through a document to ten different marked places each with equivalent of card-indexed notes you have created. Tactile response of book is associates with retrieval of data.

Oh, and for planning long documents, try a series of whiteboards with different functions assigned - not a computer.

[MenderofRoads]

10:16 PM on 10/20/2010

You can't save a blackboard and come back to it later.

I can flip through dozens of bookmarks and notes on my kindle in seconds.

Planning documents in a text document on a laptop is a lot quicker and less cumbersome than a series of whiteboards... which I've never even heard of anyone doing.

[eric14]

05:07 AM on 10/21/2010

Whiteboards used to produce complex documents in business environments. Overall structure in headings can be seen at once, overall sequence/structure easily reviewed.

[Januarycarol]

07:05 PM on 10/20/2010

This argument would be more interesting if e-books weren't driven by the profit motive. The discussion isn't about how to learn, or how to study,or when is a book a work of art, or what do we like surrounding us. It is about making a profit. Nothing classic about it.

[VegetableMan]

03:51 PM on 10/20/2010

"Why Do Students Still Cling To Paper Textbooks? "

here's a better question: why does the federal gov't still cling to printing 1000-page reports on paper instead of more cost effective and paper-saving pdfs?

[bruinlover09]

03:06 PM on 10/20/2010

I marked up my textbooks with notes, questions or rewords of relevant points. It is harder for me to concrete on a long reading assignment on the screen but easier for me to do in a book.

[BlackJAC]

02:40 PM on 10/20/2010

Simple: easier access and faster searching when writing a paper, especially when you don't know the exact wording of what you seek.

[bruinlover09]

03:07 PM on 10/20/2010

Which is why I will always have a paper dictionary. I never spell correctly and spell check never correctly guess the word that I am trying to spell.

[BlackJAC]

03:22 PM on 10/20/2010

Plus you can open them all up at once and leave them side-by-side on the table, while anything electronic is limited by the size of the screen.

[sempronia]

02:39 PM on 10/20/2010

Because you can read it with your computer off, and not be distracted by things on the internet... like commenting on HP... ;-)

[Paul The Octopus]

10:59 PM on 10/20/2010

Exactly!

[homily]

02:24 PM on 10/20/2010

I prefer paper text books/novels to digitized ones because it is MUCH easier on the eyes after studying/reading for a few hours.

If extra books are assigned by a teacher/professor and you only have to read 2 chapters from it, then it would be better if they made a paper package of just those texts or have them available online.

I think having options is always best. Students should have a choice of digitalized versus paper if both options are available.

[ixington]

02:39 PM on 10/20/2010

As a practicing scientist and PhD student, I prefer to keep a copy of both ebooks and paper texts on hand. I can search my .pdf textbook library for relevant passages quite quickly when I need; however, for studying purposes, it's much less distracting to hide away in a dark corner with a paper book and an ipod.. no extraneous multitasking/chatting to slow one down.

[homily]

03:30 PM on 10/20/2010

That is very true. A MAJOR advantage of digitized texts is that you can search words and phrases. I have some digitized and I really appreciate that function.
Still, if I read too much on the screen either my eyes feel tired or I get a migraine.

So, like you I do like using both when I am able to get access to both.

[healthanalyst]

02:19 PM on 10/20/2010

ebooks are garbage. I don't buy the hype, students want textbooks. You can read them whereever, take them to the cafeteria, library, bar, study lounge.

[Dye]

01:20 PM on 10/20/2010

My son is in high school and other than algebra he doesn't really use his textbooks that often. So much of his lessons are online these days. And the teachers provide "study guides" online to help prepare for tests.

[healthanalyst]

02:18 PM on 10/20/2010

He'll flunk out his first semester. I've seen kids like this all the time. He'd better change his study habits if he wants to make it in college.

[Reyeshawk13]

10:45 PM on 10/20/2010

My daughter is a senior this year. the only thing she uses the computer for is to get assignments, write papers, and get some notes her AP physics teacher puts up for the class. She spends almost all of her study time locked in her room with her textbooks and notes.