Option of textbooks or ebooks

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Hello everyone!

I'm straying nursing school in August, my program has given us an option for normal textbooks, ebooks, or both.i was able to buy ll of the textbook from a graduating senior for 500, but I was considering purchasing the ebooks for my IPad from the bookstore for another 500. Do you think this is worth the money, or should I just stick with the regular books I already have?

Thank you!

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It depends on how you learn best. I have ebook versions of NCLEX books, but as far as text books go, I write & highlight like crazy. I compare power points to chapters, so I'm constantly flipping through pages. I'm getting ready to graduate and still use my old med/surg books as references, so you may want to make sure the ebook a will last throughout your degree. Also, you can't sell ebook a to future nursing students.

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I start in the fall and I bought the ebook versions of my textbooks. I really like them, and it's easy to highlight and make notes.

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I prefer buying the physical copies and I take them to work to read when we're dead. I also do not like dealing with ebook textbooks because they usually have an expiration date of a year or two or you are unable to download it and save it. Granted, those are non-nursing ebook textbooks I've dealt with. If I want to get something cheaper that I won't keep forever, I'll just rent the books. I bought my patho book (International edition), my adult nursing (regular edition, class used it for 2 semesters), OB and Peds book (10 week class), and critical care. I rented community, fundamentals, psych, and the first semester of skills.

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Like PP, it is definitely based off how you learn. I have to have the textbook. I don't know why I just learn better when it's physically in my hand instead of on an electronic device. I highlight like crazy too!!! I don't plan on selling my books either though. I want them for references and to be able to use them if I do advanced practice. Lol

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Specializes in Hospice.
Like PP, it is definitely based off how you learn. I have to have the textbook. I don't know why I just learn better when it's physically in my hand instead of on an electronic device. I highlight like crazy too!!! I don't plan on selling my books either though. I want them for references and to be able to use them if I do advanced practice. Lol

What she said.

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I really do not recommend the text rep. I just got them last semester for my EMT classes and they did not work very well at all. you're supposed to be able to use them when you left outside of an area with wifi however I always had problems with my book crashing. I was never able to study away from home because my book never worked. and they were a real pain to download.Plus sometimes, you can only use them for one semester, and then they disappear. I will never do that again!

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If the eBooks have a perpetual license, I'd go that route.

I've long since tossed my hard copies but still reference the eBooks from my program (I graduated in 2009).

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I think it depends on what ebook program your textbooks are on. My textbooks are published by Elsevier, and I'm using their Pageburst app for my laptop and tablet. The pluses are that you actually download the book, so you keep it forever. Even if you switch computers or tablets, you can contact customer service to get a new code so that you can download the books on your new device. I did buy the hard copy textbooks as well, because I figured I would like them more. (I was required to buy a package that included the ebooks.) But, since starting to read them, I actually prefer the ebooks. It's much easier to highlight, erase highlights, make notes, and search for information. Whatever changes you make in one format automatically syncs to the others, so if I highlight something using my tablet I can get onto the laptop version and my highlights are there. Sure, they're not for everyone, but they're worth looking into.

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I think it depends on what ebook program your textbooks are on. My textbooks are published by Elsevier and I'm using their Pageburst app for my laptop and tablet. The pluses are that you actually download the book, so you keep it forever. Even if you switch computers or tablets, you can contact customer service to get a new code so that you can download the books on your new device. I did buy the hard copy textbooks as well, because I figured I would like them more. (I was required to buy a package that included the ebooks.) But, since starting to read them, I actually prefer the ebooks. It's much easier to highlight, erase highlights, make notes, and search for information. Whatever changes you make in one format automatically syncs to the others, so if I highlight something using my tablet I can get onto the laptop version and my highlights are there. Sure, they're not for everyone, but they're worth looking into.[/quote']

Mine are from elsevier too and I've been wondering if it's worth it to get the ebooks along with the regular books. Do you use the ebooks in class at all? I was thinking the ebooks would save me the trouble of lugging huge books around. I have a tablet and I think it would be nice to have a portable version of the books and copies that I could keep around so I eventually could get rid of my hard copies when I'm done with them.

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Mine are from elsevier too and I've been wondering if it's worth it to get the ebooks along with the regular books. Do you use the ebooks in class at all? I was thinking the ebooks would save me the trouble of lugging huge books around. I have a tablet and I think it would be nice to have a portable version of the books and copies that I could keep around so I eventually could get rid of my hard copies when I'm done with them.

I'm not sure if I will need them for use in class since I don't start until the fall, but I will say that in all of my past classes I liked having my textbooks with me. I usually keep the textbook out and follow along in the lectures, highlighting things that the professor says are super important and making notes to add information. It's always helped me study.

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To be completely honest, I read before class. Sometimes I took my book, sometimes I didn't. Most of the time I did not because I read before class. Then, I would print out the notes for lecture and listen to everything the professor said. I can recall a lot of stuff by ear because my instructors keep your attention all the time with all their exciting nursing stories and quirkiness. I feel like I learn in multiple ways! Anyway, I would listen to her, and they like to ask questions about the stuff you were "supposed" to read, and I definitely raised my hand quite a few times!! I basically used the lecture time to overview what I read and see what I did not get and go back and work on with what I could not answer when the instructor asked it in class. Then, I go back to my apartment, nap and go back over what I read again. It's a long process, but after reading it twice, I could find out exactly what the high points of the diseases that were talked about. So, I never lugged around my books anyway...

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