ebook-textbook-colleges

This backlash trend is gaining momentum


Students say they’re not ready for an all eTextbook offering

textbook-online-collegesIn a trend occurring in multiple colleges across the country, students are saying ‘no’ to eBooks, due poor ease-of-use, limited funds for eReaders, and lack of available resources.

The most recent example occurred at Alamo Colleges, where students say they have gathered more than 1,000 petition signatures in an attempt to stop the community college district from implementing a recently approved instructional material approach that has also drawn opposition from faculty members.

Northwest Vista College freshman Alexis Morrow, 17, who is leading the petition drive, said many students prefer traditional textbooks, don’t have the resources to buy eReaders and don’t want to see their options to rent or purchase textbooks limited. She presented the petition to Alamo Colleges trustees at their board meeting March 25th.

In January, trustees voted 8-1 to approve Chancellor Bruce Leslie’s recommendation to move the district toward use of online textbooks and open source materials. The new approach also calls for identifying the most effective instructional materials, which eventually could be adopted for each course across all five Alamo Colleges.

Scaling up such purchases across the colleges, Leslie has said, could lower the cost of textbooks. As the approach is implemented, students will pay for the electronic delivery of the materials along with their tuition and fees, so they’ll be prepared on the first day of class.

(Next page: The argument against eTextbooks)

Leslie has said the “textbook is dead” and is “being replaced very aggressively and very quickly by electronic forms.”

The strategy will start with evaluating materials for high-enrollment courses, some of which could move by fall 2015 to a single set of instructional materials, Jo-Carol Fabianke, the vice chancellor for academic success, has said.

But some students are still clinging to their hard copies.

“I don’t think (the change) is a good idea because all they’re doing is switching to online eBooks because they feel it’s better,” said Northwest Vista sophomore Patrick Stewart, 20, who is also gathering signatures. “Students don’t know what they’re going to be paying for.”

Stewart said he was able to find a $100 difference on a math book by looking in two bookstores, “and that saves a lot of money, as you know, in this economy.”

Morrow said buying an eReader isn’t in the budget for many students.

“We are college kids,” she said. “Most of us are working not the best jobs at the moment.”

Many students rely on computer labs or home computers, which means they may not be able to access the virtual textbooks during class, Morrow said.

Asked if those circulating the petition were verifying that only current Alamo Colleges students were signing it, she said most signatures were collected in a classroom setting and that students were asked to include their status, whether full- or part-time, and their eMail addresses.

Morrow suggested some alternatives at the board meeting, “whether it’s just reconsidering the wording of the proposal … or scrapping the idea altogether and finding a new way.” She said she would like to see collaboration among students, administrators and faculty to solve the problems that students have with the proposal.

©2014 the San Antonio Express-News. Visit the San Antonio Express-News at www.mysanantonio.com. Distributed by MCT Information Services

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