Ebooks

BBB<3 · May 3, 2013

It's also available in the Kno program which I watched a YouTube video of and it seemed neat.

i♥words · May 3, 2013

I start nursing school in the fall, and will be buying all ebooks (requirement) soon. My program uses Pageburst. Apparently there are plenty of "exciting" features like being able to search across all your books, highlighting, note-taking, and being able to attach documents or journal articles to relating sections of the text. (Wow, I can do that with a real book too.) It doesn't sound too bad, though I haven't looked up any reviews.

ghetiRN · May 3, 2013

We use pageburst and our textbook packages have both ebook and the actual text book. What I have started doing is purchasing the ebook separately from Pagebust then renting the book from Chegg (so much cheaper than buying the book package from the bookstore!). While I love the ebook for reading the chapters I need the actual book to study for tests. There is something about flipping through a book while studying that helps me. Also, the ebooks rock for doing care plans! So easy to find meds and find the patho! Lastly, the Evolve resources are great! If you add the book resources to your account (free!) you get a ton of practice questions!

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · May 3, 2013

I am a fan of PageBurst (Elsevier) because it is platform 'agnostic' - does not force you into Apple mode like some publishers. As an eBook aficionado, I encourage you to consider the actual gadget you will be using because it makes a huge difference. I do not recommend trying to use a single device for everything. If you're going to be spending a lot of time reading, I encourage you to invest in a dedicated eReader device - they are getting really inexpensive, so maybe you could persuade someone to 'gift' you one. You can download just about any eBook to any type of eReader -it's usually as simple as loading it on a flash drive. Just make sure that the format you're using will allow you to adjust the font.

I adore the traditional Kindle platform because it is really just like a (dead tree) book but most other devices have a backlit screen. I can't read small fonts (

Finally, consider the actual weight & ease of handling. Even though they may be much lighter than most nursing textbooks, some of those gadgets can feel really heavy after a while. If you have to touch the screen to flip pages, this can become very tedious if the 'flip' is geared to right handed and you're a leftie... some devices allow you to change those settings. I still prefer a physical 'button' on the side of the device, so I don't have to adjust my hold to advance the page.

BTW, if you're investing in a tablet, be sure to purchase insurance - some of them (especially iPads) are extremely fragile.

Stephalump · May 3, 2013

I find Pageburst to be buggy and annoying - I wish I would've bought my books on the Kno platform.

I'm a very kinesthetic person, and highlighting with my fingertip doesn't really replace laying out all my different colors, pulling the caps off, and physically highlighting. It just doesn't keep me engaged the same way.

There are some things I like about Ebooks. There are some places I find myself bookless but with surprise study time, and I always have my iPad. Not so much my 1000lbs of books. Also, when I'm studying, the search function on the pc platform is great. If my professor puts only the name of a diagnostic test on a PowerPoint, it takes me seconds to pull up the info in my ebook.

BBB<3 · May 3, 2013

I have a laptop and an iPhone with a kindle app on it. I've been considering buying an ipad for quite some time now. I seen a handy dandy swivel portfolio case for the ipad that would be perfect to prop it up and give me more desk space.

I would also like to add that I love to be organized and clutter can really bug me out at times. Having tons of sticky notes sticking out from every page can be annoying to me. Also the highlight functions of the ebooks I like because sometimes I highlight something then wish I hadn't and the whole book is highlighted. I seen on the kno program it will put all your highlights and what not into a journal all in one place which I think could be really helpful if I wanted to do a quick review of the main points.

springchick1, ADN, RN · May 3, 2013

Personally, I'm not a fan of ebooks. Yes, they are a lot lighter and it's easier to search for things but I like the hard copy. I like to e able to write notes and highlight what I want. And yes, I know you can do that in ebooks but I like to physically do it. That's just my opinion.

i♥words · May 3, 2013

I would also like to add that I love to be organized and clutter can really bug me out at times. Having tons of sticky notes sticking out from every page can be annoying to me. Also the highlight functions of the ebooks I like because sometimes I highlight something then wish I hadn't and the whole book is highlighted.

That's exactly how I am! I highlight and highlight and then I'm like, wow, the whole page is yellow. :sarcastic: At least you can "erase" highlighting in ebooks.

Exhaustipated, ADN, BSN · May 4, 2013

Generally speaking, I love ebooks. I have a dedicated ebook reader and I have Kindle on my tablet and on my PC and often read ebooks for pleasure. However, I rented an ebook last semester for my humanities class and I hated it. This one was through CafeScribe. I suppose I might like a different platform better, but with CafeScribe, the highlighting only seemed to work part of the time and overall, it felt clunky. Based on that experience, I personally won't be rushing to etextbooks anytime soon.

springchick1, ADN, RN · May 4, 2013

Generally speaking I love ebooks. I have a dedicated ebook reader and I have Kindle on my tablet and on my PC and often read ebooks for pleasure. However, I rented an ebook last semester for my humanities class and I hated it. This one was through CafeScribe. I suppose I might like a different platform better, but with CafeScribe, the highlighting only seemed to work part of the time and overall, it felt clunky. Based on that experience, I personally won't be rushing to etextbooks anytime soon.[/quote']
I agree with this. I do have a Kindle that I love so I guess I should say I don't like Ebooks for textbooks. I agree the highlighting felt weird and Si the version I have, it just takes to long to open the highlight, select the highlight color (which you have to do every time) swipe your finger over the part you want highlighted......you get the point. All that to say, even if you have an Ebooks reader that you love, it may not be the same with textbooks.

ArrowRN, BSN, RN · Jun 6, 2013

I was going to make a post on this, but since one is already here I've actually decided to get all eBooks for my classes. I do have physical textbooks as well but I like the features of eBooks where I can rent or buy them and make highlights and notes and not scratch up on my text books. Another feature I like is nursing books always refer you to some other stupid chapter and with an eBook I could just jump quickly to that section highlight it and get back to what I was reading.

I'm using kno.com for most of my books it too is a bit buggy.I'm using windows 7 and kno seems to can't keep up with my pace a lot and sometimes it just freezes up. Its not a computer issue because I am able to use other apps on my computer so it must be a kno bug.

I don't like not having the ability to copy/paste or exports my notes to say a word doc or to the teachers powerpoint but I plan on using snippy tool to cure that. Also Onenote can help with keeping notes from many documents together as well. With ebooks I find that I am able to read a whole lot more.

I also wanted to know, has anyone used the notes sharing features in kno or pageburst? so multiple students can share their ebook notes? I think this is a good way to cover more topics especially on things one may not be thinking of.