Some find it convenient, others prefer to stick with what they know
This article was first published in the Summit Daily News. By Kathryn Corazzelli.
Digital textbooks aren’t only gaining popularity across the United States, but among Summit’s college students as well.
In the past year alone, the number of textbook titles available for digital download at Colorado Mountain College went from 50 to 233.
For CMC student Zachary Johnston, it’s a lot simpler than using a textbook. He likes being able to search through pages for key words, like a document.
“In terms of getting work done … it’s faster for me,” Johnston said. “Cost was a huge part of it for me. It makes a lot more sense financially.”
Johnston is a student of Robert Cartelli’s, who teaches e-commerce and e-business courses at the college. The textbooks for his classes are available online in a few different forms: a free version that’s online only, a downloadable format (which students can also print), an audio version or as a regular, old-fashioned bound book.
“For almost all my courses, I try to use something that is online, low-cost or free,” Cartelli said. “There are a number of formats to suit their learning styles, and a number of price points to suit their budgets.”
Cartelli said he has offered the online version for a little while now, and up until last year, most students opted for a printed version. The trend came to a tipping point last school year.
“It seems now that there’s very little reluctance to not having the paper copy,” Cartelli said. “The feedback I get is that it’s working.”
Johnston said it works for many his age because they don’t mind reading off of a screen; he hears from his parents and other older folks they don’t like the practice.
“With our generation, the screen reading isn’t so bad,” he said.
Steve Boyd, purchasing manager for the CMC, said students today do learn differently than in the past. He doesn’t know if e-books will ever eliminate or take over textbooks, but he does think they will become even more popular than they are now. And, it’s good for students to have more options as far as price goes — Boyd said many traditional textbooks can cost as much as $150-$200.
In Cartelli’s classes, if students opt to download the book rather than read it online for free, it costs $25.
The price of a device
Bob Follett, longtime Summit County resident and former president of academic publisher Follett Publishing Company, said it’s pretty clear the movement is toward using digital technology, but it’s not quite there yet. He teaches at the University of Denver, and when he asks students if they’re ready for an electronic textbook, many tell him they like to be able to underline, write notes and flip pages back and forth.
And while e-books do cost less than a traditional textbook, Follett said one of the biggest issues is the platform: Professors are reluctant to tell students to buy a certain device, especially when iPads start around $500. The e-textbook trend could grow even more when there’s a standard format that goes across all platforms, he said.