10 Ways E-Textbooks Become Your Best Study Partners

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Books Hooks
a student using ebooks

If you consider yourself a person who prefers traditional means of studying with a pencil and a textbook, then this article is for you! We know so many people who say that they do not like reading texts from computer screens and they need to underline the text to make sure they follow the idea they are reading about. Have you heard of e-textbooks before? If you have, are you still hesitant to try them? You are not alone. A lot of people tend to think that e-textbooks are simply pdf versions of the printed textbooks. In fact, it is not like that anymore. Nowadays, such e-books are designed with numerous collaboration tools, built-in study aids and note-sharing capabilities. There are even such interactive features as quick search and definition look-up which turn e-textbooks into extremely useful study partners you can have on your side. Such additional benefits as lightweight mobility and lower prices make them particularly attractive from a buyer’s point of view, of course. 

Below we will discuss in more detail how you can turn a textbook into your best study partner.

1. Save Money

saving and earning money on used textbooks
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Did you know that buying an e-textbook instead of a printed version can save you up to 60% off the full price? Therefore, before buying a brand-new book, try to check an e-textbook version first as it can release some stress off your wallet! With e-textbooks, you need to be attentive to the following:

  • License length: the shorter is the term of the license of an e-book, the lower its price will be. This means that before buying the textbook, you need to have a clear idea of how long you are going to use it for. If you think that you need a textbook only for the duration of the semester-long course, then a 90-day option should be enough. If you think that you might refer to the book at a later stage of your degree program or even after graduation, then your best option is a printed textbook where you can even write some notes. Having said that, nowadays there are some eReaders as Vital Source for example, which give you an option to export your notes from an e-book once your license has expired. You can refer to these notes at a later stage to remember some of the concepts you have studied before.
  • Textbook access code: this is one of the major reasons why you should be wary of free e-textbooks online. In most cases, the first owner of this textbook has already used the built-in tools and unique e-textbook access codes so that you will not be able to complete your college assignments for your prof’s evaluation. If you are purchasing an e-textbook from a trusted provider like Pearson e-textbooks, then you will definitely have access to the online evaluation tests over the duration of your license.

2. Instant Access

Digital textbooks allow you to get access to the study material immediately after the cash transaction has passed through. It is handy as you can avoid long queues and save time travelling around the city hunting for the book in one of those bookstores. Another useful thing is that you can wait till the beginning of the year to find out directly from your professor whether you definitely need to purchase a textbook. You do not want to end up in the situation when you purchased an expensive title from the reading list but the professor has never used it in the course. Moreover, you will avoid out of stock and delivery issues by purchasing the book online. Do not leave purchasing textbooks till your midterm exams though as it will impact your grades!

3. Interactive Features

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If you like highlighting the information when reading, then you will be surprised to hear that you can do it even with a digital college textbook! Moreover, you can select different colours of highlighters to differentiate between your notes. In such a way, you do not need to remember to bring highlighters with you to university! Usually, there is a feature to export your notes from an e-textbook into Word or Google Docs which is extremely handy for printing out later for reference and revision purposes! Many publishers release digital textbooks with options of creating flashcards based on the main topics of the chapter, as well as there, are often videos and quizzes incorporated into every topic to clarify the studied material.

4. Control Group Projects

Another important feature of digital textbooks is that they are able to respond to the collaboration needs of your university curriculum. All the college programs today encourage students to build up such soft skills as team – working and communication. Imagine that all the members of your group use the same online textbook and you can share the notes selected in green with all of your groupmates. It is handy, isn’t it? Professors themselves can share their own notes with students to speed up the learning process.

5. Study on the Go

student reading an ebook
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You can download e-textbook on your Kindle reader, laptop or tablet and continue studying when you are on the train or on the bus! You will become more efficient during the day and will have more time to relax in the evening.

6.  Study without Wi-Fi

If you already have an e-book on your device, then you should not worry about going into the forest for a weekend when your exams are approaching. You can do your revision without wi-fi since you will always have access to the digital text!

7. Lightweight

If you are revising biology or physics, digital textbooks can be a practical solution for you to release the stress off your shoulders! Forget heavy encyclopedia; with Kindle e-Readers and tablets that weigh practically nothing, you will feel the lightness of being despite all the revision you have to do!

8. Your e-Textbook can read to you

A lot of e-Reader platforms have incorporated a text-to-speech feature which means that it can read the text for you! Also, you can increase the font size which is useful for those people who have vision problems or suffer from dyslexia and other conditions impacting reading the text.

9. Additional Flexible Options

E-Textbooks have flexible tariff plans which means that you can decide on the licence length as well as rental options that suit your budget and your curriculum the most!

10. Save Trees

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BooksRun is always thinking about the environmental impact of deforestation on our planet which was one of the reasons we have launched our Let’s Go Green Together loyalty program! Now you can make a donation to plant more trees with our partner organization ONETREEPLANTED! The same thing happens with eBooks: you save trees by reading the text on your e-Reader rather than on a paper. Let’s stay eco-friendly together!

We hope you have been convinced now by the useful features of the 21st century digital textbooks. Do not wait for long to try them out yourself to get the top first-hand experience! We are sure you will like it!


Iliana K