To help bring down textbook costs, a couple Ball State professors are starting to turn to other methods of presenting information.
Some alternatives that now are offered include materials accessible through the computer, such as PDFs or even websites that offer free online lessons.
In the past, Lathrop Johnson, professor of German, required an expensive textbook for his German classes, but has since switched to using an online course called Deutsch Interaktiv.
Not only does Deutsch Interaktiv provide features not found in textbooks, such as audio options, it is completely free for students.
Tracena Marie, instructor of theatre, also enforces a curriculum with no required print textbooks. Instead, she chooses to provide free PDFs of plays and encourages a more hands-on approach to teaching. While she doesn’t require a textbook for her particular class, she does recognize the need for them.
“Personally, I think it is really all about the subject matter of the course as to whether or not a teacher decides to assign a textbook for their student,” Marie said.
While she teaches an Introduction to Theatre class for any major, she said if she taught a theatre history course, she would require a textbook.
To keep up with the trend of online learning resources, T.I.S. Bookstore has adapted, like other bookstores, by expanding its websites and offering students the option to buy e-books, said Pam Suminski, T.I.S. manager.
Although there are benefits to using an online source, Johnson said there are some downfalls.
“There were problems last winter getting the program to start up,” he said. “Since we have an assignment everyday, students were having trouble in class. ... We think that students are helped by using something black and white that they can carry around with them and see and reference.”
As a result, introductory German classes will begin to phase textbooks back into the curriculum. Instead of returning to the more expensive books however, they will use a cheaper option.
Another option to save money, students will buy older editions of required textbooks. When Johnson was switching editions of his textbooks, some students asked if they could use an older edition.
“There were so few changes between the fifth edition and the sixth edition that it was obvious that the textbook company was just trying to rip off the student by making only superficial changes,” Johnson said.
While purchasing older textbooks can be beneficial, Johnson said, students should be careful when purchasing editions that are multiple years behind the newest ones.
“We had a wonderful textbook that we used at the third-year level, but it was 12 or 13 years old, so it was missing a whole lot of the new stuff about the European Union,” he said. “So we like to have current editions. It’s just sort of common sense.”
