Heard this on NH public radio this morning. College textbooks will be replaced with E-books read on laptops. The advocates were making the usual happy noises about progress and change and whatever. I kept thinking about those awful no text book courses my children were subjected to. With a textbook, you have something to study from and to review before the test. Without a textbook, all you have is your own classroom notes, and memory. With a textbook, parents can help with home work. Without one, forget it. Far as I am concerned, teaching a course without a textbook is student abuse.
How long will e-textbooks last before the next release of Windows renders them unreadable? Or the coming hard drive crash erases them for good? I have college textbooks still on my shelf that served me well at work for better than 40 years. I've got a lot of e-stuff around that is no longer readable, 9-track mag tapes, 8 inch and 5 inch floppy diskettes for example. Won't be long before the 3.5 inch floppies go away too.
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