Survey for Class!
 

Hey everyone,

I'm trying to get the general public's opinion on whether or not printed educational materials like books and magazines should be converted into e-reading format, so I made a short little survey online that I'm hoping will give me a better idea of what people other than my peers think. So if you don't mind I'd like you to fill out the survey, it has six multiple choice questions and should take two minutes tops. Thanks!!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TJCLKZ8

i did it =)

Thanks I appreciate it :)

Did it :)

It's an interesting topic and we were just talking about it in my teaching lit class.

Done. There was no comments option, but my general thought is that I do like the e-book option- as long as it is significantly less expensive. Otherwise, I want the full physical book. Chances are I'd print out the e-book anyway if it's a textbook (or at least the portion required for the class) because I remember things better when they're tactile, and you can write on them. Another perk of e-books is that they are usually searchable- I've used these types for certifications and it's been a lifesaver.

But I still have every single textbook I ever bought, and I have referenced some of them.

Done

Not that there is an essay question (lol) but with Kindle and the iPad, some people may prefer to read their textbooks electronically. Personally, I like to highlight, underline, take notes and flag pages, so I wouldn't use them, but I think the option should be there.

Interestingly, there were rumors McGraw-Hill had an an exclusive contract with Apple to put their texts in e-format and they broke their non-disclosure agreement, breaking their contract, but the story was later retracted.

Took it.

As a faculty member, I'm interested in knowing what kind of response you get. One semester, I taught a class that used only one physical book (a cheap one, to boot) and many supplemental e-texts. (That's one of the benefits of Philosophy. Many classics have been available online - free - for years now.) I structured my class that way only once because of all the complaints I got. I guess it didn't matter that students could print the material if they wanted to; the biggest problem seemed to be the inconvenience of having to go online to read something. Maybe it wouldn't be so poorly received now that Kindle is available. ?? Interesting topic for a survey, though.

Took the survey. I'm like ree-Xi, I like to highlight, underline and flag my textbooks.

Took it :)

I personally don't have a preference, I see the good in both. I think an e-book would be awesome especially if it was significantly cheaper than a regular textbook. I am also one that likes to highlight, flag, etc but you could easily do that with an electronic version as well---you could print out the page/pages and highlight what you need. I think that would work better because you'd have easier access to the highlighted portion.

But I know that I can only look at the computer for a while before getting eye strain and headaches. I think that would be the case with e-books. I've never used Kindle or anything so I can't really comment on it.

I'd have a few requirements:

1) Color highlighting -- in law school, I had this 8-color system for book briefing cases. It worked very well. To this day, when I'm briefing something, I still highlight the holdings of the cases I'm working with in orange and the pertinent facts in pink, etc. And I'll print from Westlaw just so I can do that. If you flip through one of my old case books, it's a very ROYGBIV experience.

2) Notation which appears in the margins. I like to write margins in the notes.

3) Able to do my own indexing.

Thanks to everyone who responded!! I got some interesting responses.

Didn't know this but I will be sure to look it up, it might add an interesting dimension to my presentation.

I'll be sure to post stats when I'm done :)
And I did appreciate yall's comments, so thanks again!

My thoughts exactly. I did something very similiar to get through undergrad, and margin notes are a must.

Not to mention, I'd get tired of staring at a screen all day.

I'm taking grad classes online. While I think it's great that for a flat fee per class that is included in our tuition, an E-book is provided, I like to be able to highlight as well, and I cant unless I print. So every week, I have to print the current lesson on my own printer at home, and ink is NOT cheap. While we are certainly more than welcome to buy the printed copy on our own dime, we are not able to opt-out of the e-text available with the class.

:(

I also took the survey. I'm also taking online courses and while I can see that some people would like to have e-textbook, I also prefer the physical kind so I can flag pages, fold corners, etc. This is particularly important since our tests are online. I don't highlight or do margin notes because I physically take notes on all of my readings but sometimes those notes will refer to "chart blah on page blah" in case I need details for the exams. I too get very tired of looking at a computer screen all the time. I'm also not sure I would be ok with purchasing a Kindle. I'm not convinced the cost of the Kindle is worth the savings for buying books. I'm also one who keeps textbooks for later reference.

All that said, I still think they should have ebooks available for those who prefer them.

I teach HS World History and my students have access to both the print version and the online version. Most of the students like the fact that they have the online version because the print book is heavy. When I taught MS American History last year I had the online textbook, print and on CD. The CD version would read the information to them as well. What both sets of students liked about the online version is that they could expand the text so that they could read it better. I know your research is about college but we have the same issues in the other schools. There is one high school where I live that is a laptop school and all of their books are e-books and they do have access to the print version if needed.

There is a slow trend shift towards digital books. The Amazon kindle is pretty cool in the way that you can get a variety of books in one simple device.

Thanks to all of those who responded and took the survey!!

Also, these were the results if you were interested in knowing them:

1. Do you think that printed educational materials (i.e. books, magazines) should be converted into e-reader format?
Yes: 61%
No: 34.1%
I Don't Know: 4.9%

2. Do you prefer to have physical or electronic materials?
Physical: 60%
Electronic: 5%
No Preference: 27.5%
I Don't Know: 7.5%

3. Would you be willing to buy an e-reading device (Kindle etc.) for educational purposes?
Yes: 39%
No: 39%
I Don't Know: 22%

4. Would you be willing to pay for your textbooks in e-reading format?
Yes: 48.8%
No: 31.7%
I don't know: 19.5%

5. Would you be willing to pay for your textbooks in e-reading format if you had to pay full price but could only keep them for the academic term?
Yes: 0%
No: 95.1%
I Don't Know: 4.9%

6. Are you currently
In High School: 0%
In College or Grad School: 65.9%
Not in High School or College: 34.1%

I find it really interesting that the majority of people who took this prefer printed materials, but thinks the electronic conversion should be made. Any thoughts on that?

I think it's the struggle of being environmentally friendly versus really wanting the textbook. Thanks for posting the results.

It could be several things. One, it's always nice to have a choice. Even if one of the choices is something we wouldn't choose, it feels good to feel like we have a say. Two, electronic reading material that has the capability to be printed essentially allows people to have the best of both worlds (they can make notes/markings in their printed copy, and they can have the convenience/space-saving/ecofriendly/etc. benefits of the e copy).

I would be even more interested to know if there are specific courses/subjects that people would be more supportive of ebooks. For instance, when I was an undergrad, I would've jumped at the chance to have ebooks for my general education classes. I had one psychology class, the book was huge and costly, and I would definitely have preferred an ebook. (It obviously wasn't a choice all those years ago, but still.) For a course in my field, however, I probably wouldn't have wanted an ebook.

Thanks for posting the results!