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Despite Cost, Students Prefer Print Textbooks Over E-Books
By Catherine Groux
Posted August 24, 2012 10:00 AM
Despite the cost, students still prefer print versions of their textbooks.The average college student now spends about $655 each year on required course materials like textbooks, according to a recent study by OnCampus Research. While this price may seem excessive, it is a decrease from previous years, largely due to the more cost-effective textbook options available to students, including e-books.
However, while some academic professionals praise e-books as being a more affordable option for college students, many degree seekers still prefer print textbooks.
In the spring 2012 semester, five schools, including Cornell University, Indiana University at Bloomington and the University of Minnesota, became part of a pilot program in which students were required to pay a materials fee that covered the cost of e-textbooks, The Chronicle of Higher Education reports. This pilot developed from a partnership between the schools, Internet2, McGraw-Hill and Courseload. Using this method, the participating colleges hoped they could ultimately lower the cost of course materials for students.
When the program came to a close at the end of the semester, students were surveyed on their reaction to the pilot, as well as the e-books they had been using. While participants praised the pilot for saving them money and being easier to carry around campus, many said they simply did not like reading texts on electronic devices. According to the report, "difficult readability of the text...was mentioned numerous times by students as well as lack of native functionality on tablets such as the iPad."
Additionally, many students said that when purchasing e-books in the future, they would look for texts that could be accessed without the internet, as well as those that would be available throughout their college careers, not just one semester.
Bradley C. Wheeler, the vice president for information technology at Indiana University and the creator of the model e-book pilot project at the school, told the Chronicle that while digital textbooks have been somewhat slow to catch on among students, he still believes in their potential for the future.
"With technology, many things change with repeated use," Wheeler said. "People have lots of early first impressions as they experience new things, and then over time you start to see things become more mainstream, as the technology improves and skills and even attitudes toward use improve.
