The possibilities of digital texts… just trying to work out how the publisher “wins” on this, but good to know that the saving that students could make on textbooks would pay for an iPad. Should we be asking students to bring their own electronic tools?
Lecturer’s agreement with publisher gives first-years core psychology texts for free. Matthew Reisz writes
“Lectures are for enthusing and directing students more than just transmitting information,” said Phil Gee, associate professor in psychology at Plymouth University.
“In the past, some of my students couldn’t afford to buy textbooks and some didn’t bother – although I often felt that the ones who didn’t buy them needed them most. I want to give a lecture knowing that all the students have the textbooks.”
It is this that led Dr Gee to set up an innovative deal with publishing firm Cengage Learning, which means that all first-year undergraduates studying psychology at Plymouth receive free digital copies of 12 core texts for the whole of their university careers.
The students’ digital texts are automatically updated whenever a new edition of the book is published. All can be downloaded to laptops, iPads and iPhones, and the saving to students amounts to over £500.
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