Textbook alternatives benefit student education

College students develop balance and flexibility during their time at a university. They learn to pull all-night study sessions, write long term papers and manage to make it to class on time. Now, they even write their own textbooks. I wish others in the academic realm would follow their example and use textbook writing to enhance the higher educational experience.

Whether professors or publishers like it, the way in which students are hitting the books is changing drastically. I'm not just talking about the revolution of the eBook either. I'm talking about the methods students use to study, research and ultimately learn. If that boring old textbook isn't getting its message across quickly and effectively enough, students tune out. They skim the chapters and sometimes give up and find the information they need online instead. Besides, the information available on the Internet is probably more current anyway.

The Legal Environment of Business class at Truman – the first Truman course to experiment with writing content for its own textbook editions – has offered two outstanding benefits.

The first improvement is decreased cost. Anyone who has come across a current college student knows textbooks don't cost what they used to. A new textbook for that business class would cost $190 at the University Bookstore, but the student-made edition is $25 at the same store or free when downloaded. Websites like half.com or chegg.com have started the trend of providing students with a place to rent or purchase textbooks at a lower cost than buying them new from a local bookstore, but they rarely come close to low prices like these.

 The next equally important improvement is that this textbook, created by students for students, brings a more personal and conversational element to the classroom. This is powerful. Not only have they brought a textbook with fresh content into the classroom, but they've also introduced what was once just a reference point as a conversation piece. Besides, who really admires those tedious textbook writers anyway?

 So here is this new model open for critique and examination. The one element I just can't wrap my head around is that it's still so completely under-explored. Why are these students – the ones who haven't yet entered the "real world" – the only ones beginning to tap into this resource that is the Internet? Yes, I know it's not convenient for those who come up with course curriculum to redevelop their standard system. I know it's going to take some serious time and effort. But folks, the tides have turned, and they've turned that old-fashioned printed page into something shapeable, moveable and worthy of our attention. If we in the academic world want to get ahead, we need to embrace this shift in information-gathering and incorporate it into the coursework.

Now I'm not suggesting that every student should begin typing a new edition of their textbook for next semester. I don't think that would be a progressive effort. Yet, a combination of the old and new would be to our academic advantage. Generally speaking, instructors know how to research and gather information from credible sources in their own fields and students know how to navigate their way through ever-changing technology depending on their own interests. So, why not use this to our own advantage? We owe it to ourselves to get the conversation started on this topic. That's what each and every course being offered this semester and all those following semesters can do. The students wouldn't mind it either. They're flexible, remember?

Hannah Douglas is a senior communication major from Springfield, Il.