Books and the Digital Age

I am really not too sure how I feel about books switching over to only being digital. Personally, I like to have a physical book in my hand. I like the feel of it. There is something about seeing words printed in a physical book that makes it feel more legitimate. To get a book published, a writer first has to take his or her work to a publisher. Usually, a book has to go through several edits and revisions before it can get published. A publisher would not want to publish a work that they did not think they could sell. This somewhat rigorous process makes me feel like a printed source is more reliable than some digital sources. It is true that there is likely a fairly rigorous editing process for digital content as well, but it is difficult to not feel like it is still somewhat unreliable. I mainly feel this way about books that are read for fun. Textbooks, on the other hand, I think I would be comfortable with in a digital format.

I do feel like there is a lot of potential for textbooks going digital. Several of the readings talked about having interactive pages with quizzes and in-depth descriptions. Engaging students actively in their lessons could potentially help them to retain the information they have been learning. Digital textbooks are also incredibly cheaper than physical textbooks. Often times students can’t even sell their books back and end up owning an expensive book they do not want or need.  Even with selling books back, the money back received is usually not very much.

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