News - Amazon to rent textbooks out to students

[HEXUS]

Motivated by kindness, a smart marketing move or both?

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[OilSheikh]

I never read books when I was in uni. Lecture notes were more than enough and you had google for things you didn't get.

Then, again I got a 2.2

[aidanjt]

Academic text books are a complete joke. I was looking at a defacto-standard physics and engineering reference textbook on Amazon, and they're looking for $200. $200, for a compilation of formulas the author didn't even come up with himself. No ebook either, of course. Another popular theme in academia, ignoring technological and societal progress.

[shaz]

Some text books can costs hundreds for some courses especially medical books, even though ALL of the information can be found by google. Universities need to be promoting modern ways of learning which are so much more cost effective.

[jimbouk]

I was peeved that we had a mandatory textbook costing north of £50 - the only reason it was mandatory is that the lecturer had a 2 week break mid-term and just set work from the text book!

[shaz]

I was peeved that we had a mandatory textbook costing north of £50 - the only reason it was mandatory is that the lecturer had a 2 week break mid-term and just set work from the text book!

ahaha some lecturers really take the piss. Just to drop 50 quid like that because he took a holiday mid term.

[Badbonji]

I get a large list of textbooks but only buy the ones that I think I'll find useful for more than just one module, otherwise they aren't worth it. One book last year cost £100 alone (doing an MSci in Physics) and most of the information is easily available online. Although there was one module last year that was entirely self taught from two textbooks...

[CarrierPigeon]

the price of textbook is ridiculous, and what's even more ridiculous is the fact that most of them can be accessed via Google, for free.

Universities need to find a more modern way to teach, IMHO of course.

[Scribe]

I remember we had a huge reading list with some books up to £80... however I was studying computer science so erm... yeah... the internet sufficed.

[Fjo]

Exactly, in my Software Engineering first year i bought a couple of the books recommended. Never again afterwards though.
The only way you could get up to date information was to use the net too, so even eBooks/scans were only used when it was insisted upon for mandatory references during project write-ups.

[OilSheikh]

Exactly, in my Software Engineering first year i bought a couple of the books recommended. Never again afterwards though.
The only way you could get up to date information was to use the net too, so even eBooks/scans were only used when it was insisted upon for mandatory references during project write-ups.

Just remembered, I never went to the Library either!

[Spud1]

Exactly, in my Software Engineering first year i bought a couple of the books recommended. Never again afterwards though.
The only way you could get up to date information was to use the net too, so even eBooks/scans were only used when it was insisted upon for mandatory references during project write-ups.

That was part of the problem on my course though - the courses themselves were not really up to date (teaching us .net 1.1 in VB when .net 2.0 with c# was already the norm...) so often the recommended texts were the easiest place to get the information!

Luckily the library at Stafford was pretty good so we could get what we needed. Like many I bought some books in year 1 but never again after that..now they suffice pretty well as monitor stands

[OilSheikh]

That was part of the problem on my course though - the courses themselves were not really up to date (teaching us .net 1.1 in VB when .net 2.0 with c# was already the norm...) so often the recommended texts were the easiest place to get the information!

Luckily the library at Stafford was pretty good so we could get what we needed. Like many I bought some books in year 1 but never again after that..now they suffice pretty well as monitor stands

At least, you learnt .NET. When I graduated in 2007, all we had learnt was C++ & JAVA and soon after I found out that my uni had ripped me off big time!

[Agent]

You guys think the UK is bad? You should see the US!

It's common that buying a book is required....or you're removed from the course. The book is normally always written by the lecturer, or they have a role in it and get commissions.

Actual enforcement of buying books at UK University's I've not seen yet, although I'm not stating it doesn't happen. Most places also have good library's as Spud says. I know our place will pretty much get any book in you request.

All of the courses I'm aware of at our places have a recommended reading list, but not required because as you lot rightly point out - the net is where it's at.

[Spud1]

At least, you learnt .NET. When I graduated in 2007, all we had learnt was C++ & JAVA and soon after I found out that my uni had ripped me off big time!

Remember though that at least for Computer Science (and similar) - the degrees are not there to teach you the subject matter, they teach you the concepts and the idea of working/self learning - everything else you learn yourself. Stafford was an awful university but as a consequence they did that last part very well - my 2nd+3rd years (with a placement in between) I went to only the bare minimum of tutorials/lectures and learnt the rest in my own time, and still came out with [showoff mode] a 1st in the top percentile [/showoff mode] - you just needed to make friends with one of the few very good lecturers there (the number one being a guy called "David Thomas" - who I am still in touch with today) and then the rest of it comes fairly easily.

I'm sure this is not the case with some of the better uni's or on more knowledge based courses like Medicine, but for Comp Sci @ Stafford it sure was!

[Agent]

Stafford was an awful university...but for Comp Sci @ Stafford it sure was!

To be fair, I went to and graduated from there and loved it (I didn't do computer science though). After graduating I pretty much walked into a job thankfully.

Like any education - look at the specific course you're interested in and for the most part disregard the others at the same place as you get good courses and you get bad courses at every Uni. Many of the people I graduated with also have decent jobs out of it.....but as you said rightly - the degree isn't there to teach you every single thing about the subject and I put endless hours of my own time in!

edit - by far the biggest thing I got out of Uni was the contacts. My lecturers knew a lot of people in the jobs I wanted and I was quickly put in touch with a few of them after graduating. One of those contacts was my first industry job which turned out to be invaluable.