What’s your experience of e-textbooks?
Are traditional textbooks too old-school for today’s college classroom? Perhaps so ? especially for students enrolled at for-profit online colleges. According to an article on higher education website InsideHigherEd.com, the use of e-textbooks is growing at a remarkable rate at online for-profits.
Citing e-textbook usage rates at schools such as Kaplan University, Capella University and the University of Phoenix, the article points out that “the traditional book is becoming obsolete” at these schools.
Conversely, e-textbook usage in nonprofit online programs and at traditional colleges is very low.
While some in higher education have criticized the push for e-texts as largely motivated by economics, some for-profit online schools say their role as innovators is driving the change.
The verdict is still out on the impact e-texts may have on student learning. And as for student preference ? many who are using e-texts would rather use traditional college textbooks, according to any internal survey of students by the American Public University System that the article cites.
What’s your take? Do you attend a school where the use of e-texts is common? What are your experiences and preferences?
