Advice about E book and instructor highlights?

TLizS · Dec 5, 2014

instructor highlites is where the instructor can go into the ebook and highlite what they see as important.....you can then download those to your ebook and see what they have highlited.

As for usefulness I'm not sure...I don't start until january but they told us about this at our orientation....I would assume if it is something your professors use a lot...then it would be a good thing to have access to....

Our books come in a bundle with all of the online resources that we use and ebooks so we automatically have both a paper version and ebook

NICUmiiki, DNP, NP · Dec 13, 2014

You can subscribe to you instructor's highlight (and anyone else's). I loved it. You can see exactly what the instructor wants you to focus on.

Summers3 · Dec 14, 2014

Dear mikki,

Thanks for your response! So that means that the instructor highlights the textbook and you can see it directly so you know specifically. I feel I can do this in a used physical book since I can get it for cheaper. Does it offer any other benefits beside highlighting? Any other instructor benefits too?

Thanks!

Thanks! :)

Summers3 · Dec 14, 2014

Thank you for your response, TLizs! I haven't bought it yet either so I have no idea if it will be useful to me. :/ Best of luck with your semester! :)

NICUmiiki, DNP, NP · Dec 14, 2014

Let's see. We use several books in each class. The only thing I bring to class is my computer (back saver). Also I can make pdf files of just my readings (print a selection, save as PDF). You can print out whatever you want, but I only tend to print out difficult charts. Search is awesome: you wanna see what the med surg book has to say about a certain drug in Ch. 23? Just search. Also, the page numbers are correct, and you can easily jump to a certain page.

It doesn't bother me, but many in my class didn't like not having physical text books. Most of them have gotten used to it.

Divatologist, ADN · Dec 14, 2014

My instructors don't use eBooks. So, I can't speak on the highlights part. I did get eBook versions of all my textbooks. I love my eBooks. You can highlight and bookmark just like a regular book. You can also add notes to them. I like the eBooks because I was not about to carry those books around LOL! I have them on my iPad, but they're also available online. I also put a note taking app with a recorder on it and a document scanner app on my iPad. I freakin love my document scanner LOL! I scanned my study guide and transferred it to my note taking app and was able to take notes as the instructor went through the different parts of the study guide. I scanned everything! It came in handy because I'm good at losing paper LOL. I wasn't carrying a bunch of papers or books! Oh, you can also record the lecture while you're taking notes. You can hit a particular part of the notes you took and the recording will start playing what was being said at the time you were taking them.

I work. So, I claim everything I spend on school (tuition, uniform, shoes, books, stethoscope, etc) on my taxes and get everything back. So, I don't really trip on the difference in prices for the physical book vs. the eBook.

Summers3 · Dec 17, 2014

Dear divatologist,

Wow, thank you so much for your reply!

I did not even know you can claim all that you spend on school including all the items you just listed.... wow! I'm not starting my program until in the near future but for you, do you just keep the receipt or something?

Thanks!

Divatologist, ADN · Dec 17, 2014

You're welcome. I kept all my receipts on everything that I paid for including the drug testing and background check. Most places can send your receipt in an email, which is a great backup in case you lose your physical receipt. Just make a special email folder for them so you can quickly find them when you need them. I purchased my eBooks directly from the publisher. Keep an eye on their websites for sales. They usually have a sale before school starts. They will email your receipt to you. So, make sure you get a receipt for everything. I claimed all of that on my taxes. I believe when you do your taxes there is a breakdown of the things you can claim regarding tuition, books and supplies. I can't remember exactly. I had to pay for everything out of pocket. Before I would just claim my tuition and wouldn't really bother with the books. When I had to come out the pocket for all that stuff my 1st semester, I quickly changed my tune LOL! I gladly filled out the books and supplies amount on my taxes.

Also if you do decide to get the eBook, becareful with the Kindle versions of the book. Amazon offers their kindle version, but they also offer codes for the same book that comes directly from the publisher. The kindle versions are just copies of the book. They can be difficult to navigate. Things may have changed, but I purchased a book for class, which was a kindle version. There were no page numbers. That drove me crazy, especially when you're given an assignment and they tell you to read pages 112 - 124 LOL! The kindle version doesn't offer the same resources that you will get by purchasing the publisher's version. There are 2 textbook apps that are popular, vitalsource bookshelf and kno. Make sure that whatever eBook you buy is compatible with whatever application your instructor uses. I have bookshelf. You didn't mention which one your school uses, but it will probably be one of the two I mentioned. These apps give you the ablity to search by words or page number, which I love. They also have direct links to additional resources throughout the chapters. The kindle version doesn't offer that. I just wanted to give you a heads up in case you were purchasing the eBooks from other places like amazon. Make sure you get a code and not a copy.

Good luck to you!

Summers3 · Dec 24, 2014

Wow, I didn’t know that. Thank you for sharing! When you claim everything that you have listed (like tuition, loans, etc etc) did you get a decent portion of your money back or almost all of it? I’m not sure if I can do that since I am not currently working right now for the start of my program (I want to wait one or two semesters to get rolling before I decided if I go back to work and study at the same time or not). So when the next upcoming tax season starts, does that mean I won’t be able to do the same tax claims as you did since I won’t be working (and is not “independent”)?

Thank you again for your time! Happy holidays!

Divatologist, ADN · Dec 24, 2014

When I claim my tuition and books, I get the whole amount back. I'm not sure about how the loans work. I pay out of pocket. If you are working and have to file your taxes, then you should be able to claim whatever you spent on school for that year you are filing for. So, if you paid for your uniform, tuition, books, etc. in 2014, then you would claim it on the filing year for 2014. You may want to check to see if you can get that back even if you're not working. I have always worked. So, I can't speak on that, but it's worth looking into.

Publication 970 (2013), Tax Benefits for Education

Summers3 · Dec 24, 2014

Thank you again for your response!

When you said you got your tuition and books claim, you got it back. I thought you only get a percentage back? Or did you get mostly everything you have paid for tuition and books back?

And this is only because you paid out of pocket and didn't use like loans to cover it right?

I will definitely ask about the loans since I am unsure if I can afford to pay out of pocket for everything right now. So I might need to take loans to cover everything so i'm not sure if my situation will be like yours but hopefully I can get something back.

Thanks again for your time! :)