eBooks vs. Physical Copy

[TheBarbieDoll]

Do students usually get eBooks or the physical version? What is more common/effective?

[Aureliuse]

I get physical books (always) even in practice. I find it easier to find stuff with ribbons and sticky notes.

Also, I like to smell the pages.

[ThreeWhiteLights]

From my experience, more students prefer reading physical books and I share this preference. However, I do not think one method is more effective than the other.

I just stare at a screen way more than I already want to and reading a book feels like a break. 

Edited August 30, 2021 by ThreeWhiteLights

[TheBarbieDoll]

19 minutes ago, ThreeWhiteLights said:

From my experience, more students prefer reading physical books and I share this preference. However, I do not think one method is more effective than the other.

I just stare at a screen way more than I already want to and reading a book feels like a break. 

i was hearing a ebook is better for home exams? because ur able to ctrl+F/faster to pull up information....is this accurate?

[PePeHalpert]

12 minutes ago, TheBarbieDoll said:

i was hearing a ebook is better for home exams? because ur able to ctrl+F/faster to pull up information....is this accurate?

I think that depends on the exam software.  The software my school used (keep in mind this was pre-pandemic and may have changed) essentially locked your computer so you were prohibited from accessing anything outside of your exam answer sheet.  

[TobyFlenderson]

33 minutes ago, TheBarbieDoll said:

i was hearing a ebook is better for home exams? because ur able to ctrl+F/faster to pull up information....is this accurate?

For home exams, certainly. But depending on the school, you may not have at-home exams now, and I suspect that in-person exams will prohibit using your computer for anything other than typing your answers. That's how it was pre-COVID, at least.

 

Edit: as others have since pointed out, you really shouldn't be looking at your textbook during an exam anyway. That would be an indication that things have gone wrong. 

[MapleLeafs]

Doesn't really matter, though physical is better for resale purposes. If you're looking at your textbook during an exam, you're likely performing poorly as it is. 

[Lycidas]

32 minutes ago, TheBarbieDoll said:

i was hearing a ebook is better for home exams? because ur able to ctrl+F/faster to pull up information....is this accurate?

If you have time during the exam to ctrl-F anything from the textbook, you're doing something wrong. 

[cherrytree]

If you hear from the prof/other students that a new edition of a textbook will be released soon, that would be a factor in favour of getting the usually cheaper e-copy, as a physical copy of an older edition would not have much if at all resale value and it takes up space. But I know a lot of people really hate having to do readings and study with an e-copy so that may not mean much to them