User:Vtaylor/CIS2 Open Textbook Reviews

== Summer 2010==


 * http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Introduction_to_Psychology/Biological_basis_of_behavior

I was taking a look at the online text books that they had for psychology, I'm currently not taking that course but I plan to in the fall. As I was looking at how wiki-books presents the

information of the online text book, I was impressed, they have it setup with chapter, sub

chapters, important terms and information in bold and sum highlighted with as link to find out

more about a term or certain section. I think this is a great idea because of outrageously

expensive text books that we have today, but this I can tell this is still in the making, I can't

wait till the have implemented this for more text books in subjects. In my real estate class they

don't the book for online and its costs 70 dollars, so it would be nice if they could get real

estate text books up for people taking the course like myself.For certain classes I would still

buy an actual book because reading from a computer screen for too long gives me headache

and dizzy.


 * I must agree that I am not used to reading books online, it also gives me a headache. I do

envy the prices for the online textbooks..


 * Many times when I am working on homework or just researching a product it comes to

workspace. Today we view a lot of information on the internet. We are all use to having the text

book on the desk and typing your essay or assignment on the computer in Word. However,

with ebooks the problem I find is you have to open a window for the ebook itself + the word and

having to switch back and forth becomes a pain and definitely causes headaches.


 * URL: http://www.nano.umn.edu/nnin_opentext/index.jsp

This book was about nanotechnology and how it can help in the fight against cancer.

Nanotechnology deals with very small robots being inserted into humans attacking and killing

cancer cells. This, theoretically, should help humans find ways to cure cancer and it sounds

like a great idea. The size of nanotechnology would be from 1 to 100 nanometers, which is very

small and hard to phathom how something so small will be able to help humans. I love

technology and what it has done with the medical field and I am a fan of stem cell research and

this would be a great text to teach because it just portrays how much computers have

advanced and the possibility of mitigating the affect of various illnesses.

This book is used by University of Minnesota. I could not find any specific professor who uses

this book other than ones at University of Minnesota. I would use this book in a classroom

because it contains good viewpoints and has detailed information about what the authors are

trying to say. I think eBooks if purchased can be easier to have because of being able to

search for certain topics via computers and not having to waste time flipping through many

pages to find what you want.


 * http://www.peoi.org/Courses/Coursesen/ac/fram1.html

I was taking accounting class last quarter. As a metter of fact, I felt dizzy when i was reading

this open text book online. It only has four colours on all of the pages, it has no examples and

pictures. It's just like a handout with smaller font, and you can't even take notes on it. It's very

important for me to take notes on the text book because it helps me to relate each note and

the concept together. I usend such book once-it should not be called as a book, it's a handout

posted online by my math professer, Mr.Mosh. I printed his handout out anyways.


 * I felt dizzy while I was reading the open book as well and mine was Open Shakespeare

,"Hamlet". I agree that it is hard to keep notes with the open books. I think they are very good

reading "tool" for some subjects, but not everything.


 * I found this web-link very useful and I have bookmarked it in my “Computer Science”

bookmarked directory. I will use these books to help me with additional questions I have related

to certain computer science topics. The difference in cost, is that e-books like these are free,

the world wide web is full of information like these books on-line. I have had teachers reference

awesome teaching material for learning HTML. http://www.w3schools.com/ which I compared

to the ebook “Introduction To HTML”

http://www.collegeopentextbooks.org/computersciencebooks.html


 * http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=398964

I chose the topic of Education, specifically Reading. I liked the format and the user- friendly

book. Of course I would use it, as I am using an online book for this class. Online books are

easy to access, used and convenient, especially if you are traveling.

The cost is extremely important to college students. I believe that online text books are going

to be part of our future and one day make "real books" obsolete, especially with the movement

of a greener environment and the creation of new technology!
 * Terrific! I think you are the first to use the online version of the CIS2 textbook. Many students

complain about the cost of the 'dead tree' version so the online option seems perfect for this

course.


 * I'm also using online version of the book, not the paper one. Save some nature...


 * The lowered cost of the online version was the reason I choose that over text. Also the fact

that our class is online just made sense to pick the online text.


 * URL:http://www.flatworldknowledge.com/printed-book/1588

As an accounting student, I had to take a class about "communication in the business world",

hence selecting this book. The book is about how to communicate in the business world. For

example, how to write emails, memo's, letters etc in an office environment. This book looks like

it easy to read and is in color (which is a bonus as black and white can get boring). However, I

am definitely a type of person who prefers to read a textbook rather than an e-book as I feel it

is strenuous for the eyes. The difference in costs does play a huge role as being a student, you

are always looking for ways to save but e-book would not be the way to go for me. I have never had class where an instructor permitted open textbooks.


 * http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=2587

This would be a great textbook for a more advanced course in Network Security. I'm not sure if

I'd use an e-textbook. I understand that it is cheaper, who doesn't love something for half price.

I think that after staring at a computer screen at work all day, then staring at the screen for

homework, it gets to be too much for the eyes. I like the idea of highlighting and making notes

in the text of what I think is important. Also, I knew I'd be traveling for part of this class and that

computer/Internet access would be challenging. It worked better for me to have the text

available to me whenever I had the time to read it.

When I was choosing classes to register (read Waitlist) for, there was another CIS class in

which the Instructor provided all class materials in digital format so the student didn't have to

purchase anything. I appreciated his attempt to be as green as possible.


 * Most open textbooks are digital and free of charge. Some open textbooks are also available

in printed format at relatively low cost.

Did you decide against the other CIS course because there was no textbook?

How important is a print textbook?


 * No, it wasn't a textbook issue, it was a wait-list issue. I was wait-listed for this class and the

other one. This was the one I was lucky enough to get a spot in. For me personally, a print

textbook is important. But then, I'm a girl who loves books, as Amazon and Barnes & Noble

can attest to.


 * URL: http://www.ck12.org/flexr/flexbook/829/

I chose a biology textbook, as that relates to my major at UCSD. I actually really like this

method, but I would rather it be a companion to a print textbook. This is because using a

computer offers many shortcuts to reading, such as using Ctrl+F to find specific phrases.

Having a print textbook forces a student to read the material, instead of just finding the answer.

I would use a book like this as a supplemental resource. The cost in purchasing print

textbooks as compared to e-books is not that important to me. None of my instructors are

using these books. In fact, I had never even heard of these until this assignment.


 * http://www.collegetextbooks.org/textbooks/textbooksbysubjects.html

http://cnx.org/content/m26340/latest/

The selected book is very similar to a former math class that I have taken. I believe the concept

of free books are excellent, however would pay the extra for printed version. The quality

compared to printed books are really not noticeable, to me. Personally, the online books do not

appeal to me, since I enjoy reading a book whenever, and wherever, and prefer turning to the

chosen pages rather than electronically.

At this time, I do not know anyone using the website to access textbooks.


 * http://cnx.org/content/col10491/latest/

This textbook to me is a very interesting textbook that teaches you about ethics in the

business world. As a business major, I have learned a lot of things, but my professors have

always told me that it is important to carry high ethical manners for credibility. This text not

only teaches you the fundamentals of ethics, but also it teaches how to use it in the real world

situations. The text shows stories of business that goes unethical and busts as well as

business that successfully deals out with ethics. To all business majors this is one text that

wouldn't hurt reading because we all have to agree that ethics is one important aspect in the

business world and in life.


 * Link: http://cnx.org/content/col10491/latest/

I found this open textbook to be very interesting. It really highlighted the theories that shape the

foundation of ethical behavior we have in business today. Being a profession in business and

commerce, I found the content to be very applicable to the mindsets of business leaders today.

So with that said, I would definitely consider using this open textbook online. It's convenient,

accessible from anywhere, and could become a great point of reference should I need to utilize

the texts.

The cost factor is definitely a big factor when considering a published textbook versus and it's

electronic form. Given the costs of textbooks today, having a more affordable option is always

welcome. However, I must say that for my own personal learning, I sometimes appreciate

having a textbook in front of me, in physical form. I find I can "mark up" my materials much

better than through the computer. So while cost is a factor, I think the ability to write notes,

highlight, etc. would be another determining condition.

Being out of school for a couple of years, I cannot remember any of my instructors using open

textbooks in their courses. However, I would not be surprised if more did today, given it's

convenience and cost savings.


 * http://www.peoi.org/Courses/Coursesen/cprog/fram1.html

This is a link to an open text book in C programing. I payed text book would offer more details,

greater description and more examples but this is a good reference for those that could not

afford to pay for a text book about the subject.



https://vula.uct.ac.za/web/learnonline/manuals/CET%20MS%20Excel%202007%20Training%20Manual%20v1.1.pdf

I chose the Open Textbook that taught how to use Excel 2007 because I actually had to use

Excel for a class last year. I think that the Open Textbook is very helpful and similar to an

actual book. I would not mind using it if my class required it. I would use the Open Textbook,

but if I were to buy a book, I would prefer to buy the book we carry around because it is easier

for me to read. There is also less distractions because when I'm on the computer, I tend to

multitask and get distracted easily. None of my instructors are using Open Textbooks right

now.


 * I think that reading an Open textbook is hard also. Normally, while I am reading something on

the computer, I have hard times focusing on the "paper" for a long time because I get distracted

easy as well and I get a headache after looking at the computer for a long time. However, I

think that open books regarding Computer Science are better than written books because the

open Textbooks are giving us examples plus a "practice". Written books are good too but even

having a lot of pictures, I would still consider them as books with "dry information".



https://vula.uct.ac.za/web/learnonline/manuals/CET%20MS%20Word%202007%20Training%20Manual%20v1.2.pdf

I really like this new idea of online text books or ebooks. The print verision is also great

because when it comes to the beginning of every quarter I have to spend $200 - 300 on text

books! When I read in the syllabus that you can purchase a ebook of the required text book I

was excited. Not only was this much cheaper but also easy to use. Currently, this is the only

class i have had that offers a online book.

This particular open text I found is a Microsoft Word 2007 training manual. I currently use the

2007 version and just reading the first 10 pages on this manual, I found new hotkeys and ways

to help my word processing. On the downside to this open text is that it is in a .pdf format. If

there was a way to represent/simulate a book with two pages on each side that would be great.

This also depends on the screen size that the user has and if they can support more than one

page of text on their screen. mixed



http://docs.globaltext.terry.uga.edu:8095/anonymous/webdav/Business%20Fundamentals/BusinessFundamentals.pdf

This book is about business fundamentals. I've taken plenty of business classes and I would

say it would be useful if those classes had a free textbook like this. However, I feel like it's not

as indepth as some of the publishers hard copy textbooks. Being that it's free, I can't really

blame the authors for that fact. I know that if these types of books were available for engineers

and other science majors, it would be a huge plus. I've had many friends spend upwards of

$200 for textbooks that they may only get to use one quarter, and then a new version comes

out and the value of theirs plummets.


 * I don't like online books because I know that you can take notes in online book, and even

highlighted, but I feel different. It is not something that I'm used to and I like to read books. I

have not taken any class that requires open books.


 * http://www.america.gov/publications/books/berlin_wall.html

"The Berlin Wall: 20 Years Later"

I think it is a great textbook that offers some first hand perspectives that would not be found in

a mass produced textbook. While it cannot offer the same amount of information or an as

in-depth look as larger textbooks, the price of it alone makes it a positive asset.


 * For the open book ""The Berlin Wall: 20 Years Later", I really liked the fact that the book is

colorful and has pictures, as the same way an actual written book would have. This makes it

easier to read and follow. The price, I do agree, it is a positive asset.


 * http://www.peoi.org/Courses/Coursesen/ac/fram1.html

Because I am an Accounting major, I decided to look at the free accounting text books. It

seems like a lot of the major issues are being touched upon, but the book doesn't really seem

to have any depth. A lot of accounting is really being able to complete problems, and there

seems to be very little of that in this book. I would much rather pay a $200 for a book that was

written by professionals in the Accounting field who are recognized for their expertise. While

the books are very expensive and the companies tend to prey upon students, I think that the

barriers to entry of textbook writing is worth the price. I tend to buy my books used, so I never

pay the full price.



http://docs.globaltext.terry.uga.edu:8095/anonymous/webdav/E-Commerce/Electronic%20Commerce.pdf

this book is pretty cool because it has the same business practices that my 100 dollar book

was trying to teach me when i took the class at de anza. something like this would be great if

a teacher or teachers could adapted this to their learning schedule because it could make

going to school for all students cheaper and we could charge for other things. like everyone

gets a laptop.


 * http://www.diveintopython.org/

This is a programming book. The only reason why I picked this is that I am not a big fan of

ebooks, However I do like using them to search for material. So assuming that I can do the

basic coding and all that I am trying to learn is syntax, then I can see the allure of an ebook.

However if I'm not comfortable, I like having a physical book, so I can trace the code. I can write

my own notes in the margins. I like to write notes next to the actual text supplementing what I

don't understand, or I need to ask someone to explain something about a topic in the book.


 * http://www.openshakespeare.org/work/

This website has has a list of all of Shakespeare's plays, reviews from readers, and even links

to where you can read his plays online. I think this site would be very useful for teaching

literature and might be a valuable resource for teaching an english class.


 * https://mitsloan.mit.edu/MSTIR/sustainability/Pages/default.aspx

It's not so much a textbook as a set of case studies for MIT's Sloan School of Management.

On the other hand, some of the case studies sounded really fascinating, like the one about

IBM. All the cases were formatted in PDF, ie Adobe Acrobat and therefore able to be

downloaded. There are a lot of reasons why downloading a book or a case report for a

class/lecture makes life so much simpler, not the least of which is often the cost. At the same

time, you can't mark an eBook up with highlighters, fold pages over, underline words, or make

notes in the margins. So it depends on the subject matter to me. Some things just require a

physical book.


 * http://www.openshakespeare.org/ Open Shakespeare

I took literature class the very first semester I had in DeAnza. Since a kid I love reading books

and "meeting" new characters. One of my favorite authors has always been William

Shakespeare. Most of his work has been turned into movies and had enormous success.

What I liked about the "Open Shakespeare" is that it gives me all kind of different information at

one place and just by "clicking" i can find what i really need. It is really hard to get all the

information at one place when it is an actual written book. However, I don't like the fact that

when I have to read, Hamlet for instance, I have to always keep my finger on the computer pad

and keep moving the page down. This irritates me and I am loosing the meaning of the context.

However, I did like the fact that I could read "Hamlet" in different formats.

I believe that 10 years from now, written books will be "antiques" and open books will be the

main tool for reading and studying.


 * http://abstract.ups.edu/ I picked this math book because I never realized I could look at them

online for free. I like how if ever I want to learn more math I can at any time for free because I

love math. I have never used an open book in class but it is a good option. I do not personally

prefer them however because they need to be viewed by a computer which is usually inside.


 * http://www.peoi.org/Courses/Coursesen/ac/fram1.html

I thought this book would be useful to me and relevant to my major (Business Economics with

an emphasis in accounting).

I use online textbooks all the time, this class included. I think that they are very useful and

usually much cheaper. However, that is only if you wish to keep your book. I usually buy mine

used hard copy and then sell them back to minimize costs. I have used online books before

and probably will use them again they are more useful in some ways (ctrl F) and lightweight.


 * I think online textbooks have a place, but cannot completely replace physical textbooks. With

that said, I use both on a regular basis at school.

Through the Open Textbook site, I found an interesting article about anxiety. http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/anxiety-disorders/complete-index.shtml

I think it's important that everyone is educated in how anxiety works and affects people. A lot of

people have anxiety, and fail to recognize or realize that they even have a problem. Anxiety is

very detrimental to your health, and a lot of problems can arise with continued anxiety.

Learning about it is the first step to knowing how to deal with it, or identify it in yourself, or the

people you know.


 * http://www.peoi.org/Courses/Coursesen/ac/fram1.html

This is not a good textbook at all. each chapter is about 1 page in content. My real textbook is

over 200 pages long. There is no way you can cover all of that content in such a short space.

The only time I would use an online textbook is when it is a PDF or online version of the actual

textbook. In that case, it becomes a good value for everyone involved. It is environmentally

friendly, cheap to produce, and easy to transport. I am currently using the online version of the

textbook for this course. As far as a free online textbook, I would not trust it since it comes

from a single author. There are not enough people to vet the information provided by the text

and there is no way to know if the author has some ulterior motive. I would rather use and

official textbook.