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Tag: Textbooks

  • College Textbooks: Tricks To Help You Save On Them

    College is expensive and if you are lucky enough to be able to afford tuition, you still have to come up with enough money to buy all of the necessary tools and supplies for each semester or quarter.

    College textbooks are some of the most expensive college materials that you will have to buy.

    Some books can cost hundreds of dollars and after your class if over, you are stuck with a bunch of heavy, large books that you no longer want or need.

    Before you go to the college bookstore and spend thousands of dollars on new textbooks, consider these tricks to help you save money on them.

    Rent The Books
    Did you know that you can rent college textbooks? This is a great option if you have a lot of general courses and don’t plan on keeping your books to reference in other classes. When you rent textbooks you can’t write in them and you have to be very careful with them. You can rent your books for a fraction of the cost of buying them.

    Buy Used
    The Internet and websites like Craigslist have made it easy for you to find anything used and for sale. Used books are much cheaper than new ones. Check out online classified websites, online auction sites or even check with your friends and classmates. Some college bookstores will buy back books and sell them used as well.

    Use Electronic Books
    Nowadays, everything is online and many college professors are fine with students using the electronic version of a textbook instead of a paper version. You may need to carry your laptop to class with you if you plan to go electronic, but you can download the electronic version of a textbook for a much lower price than buying the paper version.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Evolution in Texas Schools Encounters Resistance

    A report from the Dallas Morning News confirmed that Texas State Board of Education members approved a series of textbooks this week that cover Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution in its scientific entirety.

    Almost immediately after the books were approved, a protest was lodged by one textbook reviewer who maintains creationist beliefs. Two of the approved textbooks were sidelined in order to have a panel of science experts examine the text at the request of that reviewer, who pointed out 20 separate issues as “errors.”

    There are only two ways for the board to proceed from here: the errors are dismissed and the books are added to the curriculum, or they are confirmed as “errors” and publisher Pearson Education may need to add corrections and pay a fine before the books are implemented.

    Fox News reported one of the board members, Republican Thomas Ratliff of Mount Pleasant, as saying “To ask me — a business degree major from Texas Tech University — to distinguish whether the Earth cooled 4 billion years ago or 4.2 billion years ago for purposes of approving a textbook at 10:15 on a Thursday night is laughable… I believe this process is being hijacked, this book is being held hostage to make political changes.”

    Steven Meyer, a scholar with the Discovery Institute which is a conservative think-tank that favors the theory of Intelligent Design (a mock-up of evolution and creationism in which God’s guiding hand made it possible for man rise from the primordial ooze), said “[The books] will leave students in the dark about contemporary mainstream scientific controversies over Darwinian evolution.”

    “Unfortunately,” he added, “because Texas is a major purchaser of textbooks, the board’s action may have an adverse impact on science education across America for years to come.”

    On the other side, science teachers and opponents of creationism lauded the Texas State Board of Education. Josh Rosneau of the National Center for Science Education said “The state will give students the foundation for the exemplary education they need to succeed in the 21st century.”

    [Image via Wikimedia Commons]

  • Textbooks Are Now Available On Google Play

    During the big reveal of the new Nexus 7, Google also announced some of the updates coming to Android 4.3 and Google Play. One of the lesser talked about updates was that textbooks would be hitting Google Play soon. It took a few weeks, but college students can start shopping for the next semester on Google Play today.

    Google announced today via the Android blog that textbooks are now available on Google Play. The company claims to have secured partnerships with all the major textbook publishers so you shouldn’t have any trouble finding that obscure textbook on ancient Mesopotamian interpretive dances.

    Like with all other purchases on Google Play, you’ll have access to your textbooks on any device that sports Google Play Books. That means that you can buy a digital textbook and access them via the cloud on your Android tablet, iOS device or the Web.

    As for specific features within textbooks, here’s what Google says you’ll be able to do:

    With the Google Play Books app, you have convenient tools at hand to make studying simpler and faster. You can instantly search within a textbook for a particular word or phrase, bookmark chapters and pages, highlight and annotate key passages and get quick access to dictionaries, translation tools, Wikipedia and Google search.

    The textbooks may be digital, but publishers will still nickel and dime you into oblivion. That’s why Google offers digital textbook rentals on Google Play. It’s cheaper than buying a print copy, but it’s still ridiculously expensive. Still, it will save you a few bucks. Use that money to buy yourself something nice, like a mini-fridge. Trust me, you’ll need it.

  • Kindle Fire HD Discounted $50 For Students

    One of the promises that came with the growing tablet market was an end-run around college textbook price-gouging. Students everywhere were supposed to be using interactive textbooks and doing homework within social class apps by now. Obviously, that hasn’t happened yet, but Amazon is still pushing to make sure it’s tablets are in the hands of students.

    Slashgear is reporting that Amazon has launched a $50 off promotion for its Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ tablets – but only for students. Anyone who is signed up with Amazon Student (using a .edu email address) for a discounted Amazon Prime membership has access to the deal. Both the Wi-Fi and 4G LTE versions of the Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ are eligible for the sale price, and the deal lasts throughout the month of January.

    Amazon is encouraging Kindle owners to use their devices as learning tools. Amazon Student members can subscribe to Amazon Prime for $39 a year, which is slightly less than half the normal price. In addition, Amazon allows textbook rental through its Kindle tablets, and recently introduced the X-Ray feature for textbooks. X-Ray is an integrated glossary allows users to cross-reference words and passages throughout a book and on the web through Wikipedia and YouTube.

  • iPad Mini Event Will Focus On Education

    iPad Mini Event Will Focus On Education

    Education is obviously important to Apple. The company took time out in January to devote an entire press conference to iBooks 2 and interactive textbooks. Since then, schools around the world have ditched books in favor of giving every student an iPad. The company may be putting the focus back on education again according to a recent report.

    Bloomberg reports that Apple’s iPad Mini event set for tomorrow will focus on education. The iPad Mini is set to be a much cheaper device with some reports saying it will only cost $250 for the standard model. It would be much easier for schools to outfit their student body with tablets.

    Apple’s iPad has already proven to be a leader in education, but it’s starting to face some stiff competition. Just last week, Amazon revealed Whispersync, a new software that allows schools to send out course materials to all Kindle owners across its network. A cheaper Kindle Fire and Whispersync could draw educators away from the iPad. The iPad Mini, with its rumored low price, could bring those educators back.

    Consumer technology is still the battleground in which all three companies – Apple, Google and Amazon – will be fighting over this holiday season. Education doesn’t have the long term year-after-year success like the consumer market, but educators are big upfront buyers. Where else is Apple going to sell thousands of tablets to a single party?

    Apple and Amazon will now be competing for educators’ dollars, but what about Google? Google’s main platform is the Web with hardware being just one mean to that end. I still wouldn’t be surprised, however, if Google were to announce some new education incentives of their own in the near future. That probably won’t happen at next Monday’s Android event, but there could be something early next year.

    Besides education and the iPad Mini, Apple will probably show off a few more things of interest at its last big press event of the year. We’ll be bringing you all the news as it happens. Be sure to check out our extensive iPad Mini coverage to catch up on all the rumors and leaks.

  • Amazon Gets Into The Textbook Renting Business

    Your local college textbook store now has another competitor – and it’s a big one. Amazon has just begun to allow students to rent print textbooks for what they say can be up to 70% of the sale price. I specify “print,” because Amazon already lets students rent Kindle textbooks.

    Amazon textbook rentals work in a similar fashion to other textbook rental services like Chegg. Students can pay a percentage of the book’s price and keep it for an entire semester (130 days, specifically). When the semester’s over and you’re so sick of looking at it that you want to burn it, you can ship it back to Amazon for free.

    This is a new service from Amazon, as the “Rent your textbooks” option just began to appear on the “Textbooks” homepage. But the “rent” option is already starting to appear for textbooks across the site:

    Amazon textbook rentals

    This $154 textbook is available for rent for $44. Of course, buying it at your brick and mortar college bookstore would most likely run your over $200.

    At any time during the rental period, if you decide that you just can’t live without it, you can always buy the textbook for the full price.

    Students who are scribblers, beware. It looks like it’s up to Amazon to determine whether or not they can charge you the full price of the book for excessive highlighting:

    As a courtesy to future customers, we ask that you limit your writing and highlighting to a minimal amount. If we determine that the book is no longer in acceptable rental condition when you return it, including because of excessive writing or highlighting, you will be charged the full purchase price, less any rental fees and extension fees you have already paid, and we will ship the book back to you to keep.

    Amazon also says that you may receive either a new or used textbook for your rental – depending on availability.

    While this may not be the nail in the coffin for college brick and mortar bookstores, it could be the framing of the coffin. As more online properties get into this business, the traditional model of paying a ridiculously high price for something you use for a couple of months and selling it back for a fraction of what you originally paid will go by the wayside. Good riddance.

    [via CNET]

  • Apple iBooks Vs. Traditional Textbooks [Infographic]

    Yes it is the digital age, but that doesn’t mean everything has to be digital. If you’re Apple however, it should be your mission to at least offer everything in a digital format and that’s pretty much what they do. One product which has been met with varying reviews is their iBook and a wide array of e-book reader options which seek to replace conventional textbooks.

    Recently Apple released their second incarnation of the iBook, but textbook are still out ranking iPads and iBooks as an excepted form of learning text by a very large margin. Of course change doesn’t happen overnight and there is certainly a lot more e-book readers available when compared with just a few years ago.

    The subject of this next infographic from WorldWideLearn.Com is the popularity of iBooks and a cost comparison between the device and traditional texts. It’s interesting what they found, and like I said, the numbers are changing everyday.

  • Sweden Looks To Replace Textbooks With iPads

    Sweden seems to have taken Nolan Bushnell’s words to heart. A school system in the country wants to modernize teaching with computer integration.

    A suburb of Stockholm, Sollentuna, is proposing that the public schools do away with textbooks by 2013. In their place, they want to give every student an iPad.

    Maria Stockhaus, chair of Sollentuna’s children and education board, argues that schools in her municipality are in the “backwater” compared to the rest of the country according to The Local.

    “The schools will take a step into the now instead of staying in the old days. Computers are as natural in schools as paper and pens, yet the fact that only every other teacher in Sweden has a computer today is completely insane,” Stockhaus said.

    There has been backlash at the idea though. Sweden’s education minister Jan Björklund insists that reading books and writing by hands are still relevant, even in the far out future of 2012.

    “Even in the future people will need to read and write. You can’t always have access to a computer in some places,” he told DN. “Books have an obvious place in school, and national exams are still written by hand. I predict that they will not follow through with their proposals.”

    Sollentuna has already issued computers to all teachers, and plans to give tablet PCs to every student from 2nd grade onward.

    The schools receiving iPads are Helenelundsskolan, Sofielundsskolan and Runbacka. Say those names three times fast.

    In a bold move, Stockhaus says that students won’t be given pen and paper until they are 8-years-old. This way, students will be accustomed to touch screen technology earlier in life. She argues that this will equip students for the future.

    The benefit of giving every child their own computer is more about leveling the playing field for families with different incomes.

    “We know that not every student has computer access at home. These students who come from homes with tighter finances have worse grades. An even greater wedge will occur if they do not get the same digital competence as the others,” Stockhaus said.

    She also claims that feedback is immediate on a computer, thus speeding up the learning process.

    Another school with a name I can’t pronounce (Tegelhagsskolan) introduced PC access to all students three years ago. Their students have consistently excelled in academics since.

    The initial investment will cost $2.45 million in the start up phase. The cost will increase to $3 million in 2013. It will be partially paid for by the elimination of costly textbooks.

  • Apple Sells 350,000 Textbooks In Three Days

    Apple’s announcement on Thursday that they were entering into the textbook market was generally met with enthusiasm, despite controversy over the EULA for their new iBooks Author tool. The program promised to deliver textbooks as interactive ebooks for $14.99 or less.

    Now it looks like positive buzz isn’t the only reaction Apple has gotten to the announcement. According to Global Equity Research (via AllThingsD) Apple sold 350,000 textbooks in the three days following the announcement. The report also showed upwards of 90,000 downloads of iBooks Author.

    Though these numbers could be a surge due to the newness of the product, if they remain consistent it could be a major boon both to Apple and to textbook publishers, as well as to education in general. Much depends on Apple’s ability to persuade schools to adopt their textbook program, though. It will be interesting to see how this progresses in the coming months and years. The timing of Apple’s announcement is helpful, however, as it gives school boards and teachers plenty of time to weigh implementation before the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year.

  • iPad Textbook App For Algebra Boosts Student Math Scores 20%

    Apple may have re-invented the wheel this time, insofar you can consider the wheel as an algebra textbook.

    Over the past year, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, publisher of textbooks that you and me and everyone else we know have used since time immemorial, have been conducting a pilot study to test the effectiveness of an iPad-based algebra textbook (i.e., an app) to see how it might affect the quality of education for students. They recently concluded the study and the results show that their iPad algebra textbook app worked wonders for students’ math scores.

    Houghton Mifflin Harcourt provided a video of the launch of the HMH Fuse program at the school where the study was conducted:

    The app, HMH Fuse, isn’t just a regular textbook inside of an iPad. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt had the app specifically designed to “full utilize the functionality of the iPad and provide students with a comprehensive, multimedia education experience.” To see if the app would float, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt took their product to a middle school in California and where students were randomly assigned one of two conditions: the HMH Fuse: Algebra 1 app (with a slick new iPad, I imagine) or a textbook version of the same program.

    By the way, all you technophobes out there, get this straight: it’s not even like the students using different materials, okay? It’s the same content, just one’s gone all 2.0 with an iPad and is a lot more interactive whereas the control condition, the textbook, has the same information except it’s in book form.

    So anyways. How’d it work out?

    @HMHFuse
    HMH Fuse    Student Math Scores Jump 20% with HMH Algebra Curriculum for Apple® iPad®; http://t.co/z7oHJStb #edtech #mathchat 22 minutes ago via HootSuite · powered by @socialditto

    The discrepancy between the two groups’ test results are pretty staggering because the students who used HMH Fuse Algebra 1 scored 20%% higher on the state math exams. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt explains, “Comparing student performance, over 78% of students using HMH Fuse scored Proficient or Advanced on the state math test, compared to only 59% of their fellow students” who used the textbook version of the program.

    Houghton Mifflin Harcourt explained the difference in math scores, saying students who used HMH Fuse Algebra 1 “took the initiative to do their work, read the chapter repeatedly, watch lesson videos when they did not understand, and take notes and study, while also being free to leverage the technology for personal use – namely, games and entertainment – in their free time.”

    Somewhere, Apple is very pleased with themselves right now.

  • Apple Announces iBooks 2, iBooks Author, iTunes U App

    Apple Announces iBooks 2, iBooks Author, iTunes U App

    Apple announced the launch of iBooks 2 in New York City today. As expected, the update to Apple’s e-reader software is aimed squarely at textbooks. Textbooks in iBooks 2 include an amazing array of interactive features, including videos, interactive 3D models, and built-in glossaries. iBooks 2 also includes a wide array of highlighting and note taking options, as well as instant feedback on students’ answers to exercises contained in the text.

    Apple also announced iBooks Author, a Mac app that lets users create ebooks that include the full range of iBooks 2’s interactive features. It includes the ability to import videos, Keynote presentations, HTML or Java code, and create widgets like those found on the OS X dashboard. The software also makes it easy to create glossaries for ebooks. Clicking on a word creates a glossary entry for it, and allows the user to enter a definition.

    iBooks Author

    Also part of the announcement was a new project called Life On Earth, an “attempt to recreate the biology textbook” by E.O. Wilson, professor emeritus of biology at Harvard University. The book will be available in the iBookstore chapter by chapter. The first two chapters are available now for free, while other “aggressively priced” chapters will be coming later.

    iTunes U App

    Textbooks in the iBooks store are aimed at the high school market to begin with, and will be selling for $14.99 or less. Apple also announced partnerships with Pearson, McGraw Hill, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, which account for roughly 90% of the textbook market. Each company is starting with a range of basic textbooks available in the iBookstore

    Apple also announced an app for iTunes U, its program for making university-level curriculum freely available. The service is currently used primarily for delivering lectures. The new app is meant to turn iTunes U into an entire course management platform. The iTunes U app allows users to track assignments, watch or listen to lectures, take notes, and read assigned materials. Six schools, including Duke, Stanford, MIT, and Yale, have had early access to the new iTunes U and used it to create over 100 online courses. What’s more, while iTunes U has, as the name suggests, been primarily focused on higher education, it is now available for K-12 schools as well.

    All three apps – iBooks 2, iBooks Author, and iTunes U are live in the App Store right now, and all three are free. iBooks Author is a Mac app, while iTunes U is a universal iOS app. iBooks 2 is also a universal app, just as it has always been, but the textbook features showcased today are only available on the iPad.

  • Apple About To Launch New Pages, iBooks Software?

    Apple About To Launch New Pages, iBooks Software?

    All anyone knows for certain about the Apple event that starts in just a few minutes is that it is related to education. The rumor mill is generally agreed, though, that the announcement will involve textbooks and iBooks in some way. There have even been rumors of a “GarageBand for e-books,” a tool that would streamline the creation of e-book files. Now, just before the event, there are a few new details emerging. Jason O’Grady of ZDNet posted the following Tweet late last night:

    @JasonOGrady
    Jason O’Grady    A little birdie told me that Roger Rosner will announce Pages ’12, iBooks 2 (with Lion support) and textbook rentals in NYC today. 9 hours ago via Itsy! · powered by @socialditto

    Pages has been overdue for an update for awhile now, so a new version of Pages (and iWork in general) is not at all unlikely. Likewise, users have been clamoring for iBooks on OS X since iBooks was announced with the first iPad in 2010.

    Whatever Apple has in store is bound to be interesting, though. The announcement is scheduled for 10 AM Eastern time. Check back soon for more details.

  • Chegg Announces Web-Based eTextbook Reader

    Chegg, a website specializing in the sale and rental of textbooks, has announced a new way to study. Their new eTextbook Reader is a web-based e-reader allowing users to access their textbooks from any HTML5-compatible web browser. Chegg’s eTextbook Reader lets studends to a lot more than just read, though. It includes highlighting, search, definition, and note taking options, as well as the chance to consult with a network of students and experts with questions.

    Because it is browser-based, Chegg’s eTextbook Reader is completely platform agnostic: it will work on an iPad, Mac, PC, or Android tablet. Chegg also allows users the option of using the eTextbook version of a book while they wait for their physical copy to arrive. Purchasing a hard copy grants customers seven days of access to the eTextbook version.

    The timing of this announcement is interesting, to say the least. As we have reported previously, Apple is holding an event tomorrow in New York where they plan to make an education related announcement that will probably relate to ebooks and the textbook industry in some way.

    Chegg has included a video on their website showing their eTextbook Reader in action. Check it out below and let us know what you think in the comments.

    [Source: Chegg]

  • Borders Launches Online Textbook Marketplace

    Borders Launches Online Textbook Marketplace

    Borders has launched a new "Textbook Marketplace" that allows users to buy and sell new and used textbooks.

    The Marketplace features more than 1.4 million titles including a selection of used textbooks at a savings of up to 90 percent. Users can also earn cash via the site’s used textbook buyback option.

    "College students spend nearly $1,000 each year on textbooks according to some estimates. That’s a sizable financial burden for students and families, especially in this challenging economic climate," said Borders CEO Mike Edwards.

     

    Borders-Marketplace

     

    "As a retailer that provides education and inspiration to millions of customers on a daily basis, we couldn’t be more pleased to offer a huge array of textbooks at great prices to help students advance their education." 

    Borders says the Marketplace was created in partnership with online book retailer Alibris and features college, high school, middle and elementary school textbooks as well as other titles often used in classrooms. The site also features textbooks for home schooled children. Books are searchable by title, author, subject and ISBNs.