The advantages for learning are obvious too - instant search to find the paragraph needed for that essential quote being the most important, though not having to carry several kilos of books to class is also important.
Where e-books fail, however, is in the 'feel'. With services like Amazon's 'Look inside' feature and 'Search inside' one can get a good feel for what the content of a book is, how it is laid out and so on. But it still is not the same as actually going to a bookshop, picking up the x-hundred pages of type and flicking through it. Does it have (in the case of text books) the right kind of pictures, headings and sub-headings? Are there summaries at the end of a chapter? Are there footnotes, chapternotes or other aids for further reading?
Of course one can find all these things through Amazon's service (and others) but, maybe this is a generational thing, I still feel the need to physically hold the book and, in the case of text books, physically own it.
This is paradoxical as it is precisely text books where e-books are able to truly innovate, showing videos, dynamic interactive charts and have lots of links between sections throughout the book in question. Many of the big textbook publishers have all manner of online tools for students to test their comprehension after a given chapter.
In short, e-books are best. But choosing a book to recommend as an e-book? I need paper. Hence needing to make a special trip to the largest academic bookstore in Europe (apparently) and make a final decision on the books I'll be recommending on the Masters in Digital Marketing programme I will soon be teaching on.The students will have iPads and will be encouraged to use e-books...so my task is two-fold. Find paper-format books that I'm happy with that have e-book equivalents for the students.
Yes...I can smell the irony too...
I can't imagine living without 'real' books to hold, smell, and feel... there's something SO relaxing about snuggling up with a good 'real' book.
ReplyDeleteLike you I must have e-books to read on my phone in those queue-moments, or waiting-room moments.
I'm sad for all those people within the publishing sector whose jobs are 'on-the-line' because of the swing towards digital publishing.
Self-publishing is so easy these days, and I think Amazon Kindle is largely responsible for this.
Lots of my work now revolves around helping Authors and Writers prepare their work and publish it digitally.
The 'generational thing' that you touch on is worrying to me. I think children who are growing up with digital media in education, and are deprived of 'real' books will obviously acquire different skills and experiences in learning.
I don't know if those experiences and skills will actually make them better people and citizens. I would hope that they aren't being deprived of one in favour of the other. I think they should have both experiences at their finger-tips.
How many students are registered on your Masters in Digital Marketing degree? Is it the first cohort?
p.s. You might encourage the students to use e-books but I'm guessing that depending on their age some will gravitate towards paper-format. Perhaps you'll find it a useful topic for a future blog post.
Thank you @ParaTecVA. I also enjoy 'real' books, although I have less time to curl up in front of the fire with one anymore. But there are a couple of comments more to make:
ReplyDeletea. some real books are really heavy. If you want to read a hard-back (or even paperback) edition of something, erm, 'heavy' like James Joyce's 'Ulysses', you will need to balance the book on your knee or use both hands (and even then get wrist strain if holding it for a long time), whilst the latest Kindles are light enough to be comfortably held in one hand for extended periods.
b. I've realised that being able to read part of an e-book on one device and then continue reading from where I left off on another device, for example at home/in the office/on the tube, is so useful. In the past I had forgotten to bring a book with me on a journey and turned around to fetch it, even though it made me late, as I couldn't bear to actually sit for half-an-hour without reading material.
c. I take back what I said before about the advantage of real book stores. I spent several hours at Waterstones in Gower Street, in London - supposedly the biggest academic bookstore in Europe - and was able to only find (and browse) two of the 8 books I was looking for.
In the end, much as I hate to, I've had to go to Amazon and browse their 'Look inside' feature, with all the limitations that has.
By the way, we are expecting around 60 students I believe on the Masters programme, with an average age of around 23. Given that age, and their complimentary iPads, I do think they are going to be more comfortable with e-books rather than paper ones...but we shall see.