I agree with Bob. Check out the quality of the web sites before you buy.
Most of them I have seen have been pretty ho-hum (to be nice...).
As to the pedagogical value of e-books vs. regular hard-copy textbooks,
I would like to see a decent set of experimental comparisons because,
generalizing from my personal experience, they require different reading
strategies for successful use. Try reading a classic work from Project
Gutenberg and comparing that experience to the ordinary printed version
to see the difference.
A third condition I would add would be an e-book that was developed to
be used on a tablet-pc that allowed mark-ups on the content and
hot-links into a word processing program.
Ken
Robert Wildblood wrote:
I think that it really depends on the quality of the website. Some are
very good and some seem to be developed to try to get you to by their
book and they don't care if it is new or used if they require payment
for those students who buy a used book since they still get money from
them (and according to one book rep that I trust said results in more
money to the publisher than they would get for the say of a new book.
Ask your book rep to let you have full access to the site and look at it
carefully. I do use one for one of my courses because I think the
students do get extra value from it and it is free with a new book and
has an extra cost with a used book. I have also look at a couple of
other sites and don't see anything special about them.
Bob W.
On 4 Sep 2007, at 14:23, Eastman, Mark wrote:
I am trying to determine whether to add access to a publisher's web
site for an intro text in psychology. These promise a web site that
is more enhanced than the typical "companion" site for the book...but
require a new textbook each semester as the access code expires. I
don't teach an online course but I have typically used some of these
sites for in classroom teaching....demonstrations, videos, etc. I
have also created a WebCT course that serves as an enhancement that
doesn't require the "code".
The publisher offers a code based web site, and the entire book in
e-book form for about $25. No hard copy of the book with that price.
A student could purchase a new book with access code for about $65
Another alternative is to have the students next semester buy a used
book....and purchase the access code separately.
Yet another idea is not used the code accessed publisher's web site at
all.
I 'd appreciate any feedback on this issue.
Mark Eastman
Dr. Bob Wildblood
Lecturer in Psychology
Indiana University Kokomo
2300 S Washington St
PO Box 9003
Kokomo, IN 46904-9003
765-455-9483
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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Kenneth M. Steele, Ph.D. [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Professor
Department of Psychology http://www.psych.appstate.edu
Appalachian State University
Boone, NC 28608
USA
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