Unfortunately, carrying around a heavy backpack full of textbooks is a reality for me these days. I remember laughing out loud when I was told there were no digital options for these books, no iPad version, no online version. I’m sure some amazing company like onswipe will help publishers with this problem, sadly I’ll be done with my MBA program by then I’m sure.
Textbooks are:
- Not searchable. Instead of attempting to use indexes to look up terms in my book I just google them and usually end up on wikipedia.
- Heavy. My work bag contains a MacBook Air, one folder, a pen and a pencil. It’s light as a feather and I love that. My school bag weighs almost 30 lbs and requires daily reorganizing of textbooks and supplemental materials (all tons of paper of course).
- Hard to hold. Every morning I sit in this big, comfy chair in my living room in front of a fireplace drinking coffee and reading before work. Because textbooks are so big and bulky I have to sit at the kitchen table all slumped over when reading course material.
The content in these textbooks matters to me and engages me, but the format is so awkward, bulky and archaic that I’m distracted and don’t enjoy the experience of interacting with the material. Now, where’s my highlighter?
Kelly Taylor's Blog 